Sun earns seven first-place newspaper awards

Sunday, Sept. 26, 1999 | 9:33 a.m.

The Las Vegas Sun won seven first-place awards and reporter Ben Grove earned a top individual award in the Nevada Press Association's 1999 Better Newspaper Contest.

Grove, now the Sun's Capitol Hill reporter in Washington, was named Journalist of Merit for his work as the Sun's reporter covering the Clark County School District.

Two Sun reporters and three Sun photographers won first-place awards in the NPA's annual contest. In all, the Sun earned 29 awards.

The Sun's first-place winners were: Reporter Stacy Willis, Best News Feature; Reporter Spencer Patterson, Best Sports Story; Photographer Aaron Mayes, Best Multiple Feature Photos; Photo Editor R. Marsh Starks, Best Illustrated Photo, and Photographer Ethan Miller, Best Sports Photo.

First-place awards also went to the Sun staff for Best Overall Design and Best Sports Page Design.

The Sun's second-place winners were: Staff, Community Service; Reporter Martin Kuz, Best Feature Story; Reporter Gary Thompson, Best Business Story; Reporter Dean Juipe, Best Sports Story; Reporter Tim Graham, Best Sports Feature Story; Sports Editor Ron Kantowski, Best Local Sports Column; Editorial Page Editor Mike Campbell, Best Editorial; Staff, Best Editorial Page; Staff, Best Feature Page Design; Mike Smith, Best Editorial Cartoonist; Photographer Steve Marcus, Best Feature Photo; Starks, Best Sports Photo.

Additionally, Bornfeld earned third place and Dickensheets and Reporter Ed Koch received honorable mentions in the Best Feature Story category; Bornfeld placed third in Best Headline Writing; Graham, Thompson and Reporter John Wilen placed third in Best Investigative Story; Graphics Editor Pam Killinsworth placed third in Best Information Graphic; Marcus earned an honorable mention in Best Spot News Photo, and Mayes took third in Best Portrait.