Westlake Picayune staff members won 11 awards at the Texas Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest last weekend in Austin, which netted the newspaper the Sweepstakes Award as the top winner among medium-large weekly newspapers statewide.

Publisher Jay Plotkin said the fact that the Picayune has won the TPA’s Sweepstakes award two out of the last three years is a testament to the staff’s dedication.

“Everyone at the Picayune feels strongly about serving the community, and the staff gets plenty of help from area residents in the form of feedback and suggestions,” Plotkin said. “So, they feel that earning this honor was a complete team effort.”

The Picayune won first place for page design, feature photos by Jason Jarrett and sports coverage by sports editor and assistant editor Thomas Jones. 

Other key awards contributing to the point total that won the Sweepstakes honor were: second place for sports photos by Paul Brick and Stephen Colwell;  second place for both news and features stories by Dane Anderson and Will Pafford; third place for advertising design by Gabby Ruenes;  and fourth place for both general excellence and headline writing.

The Picayune also recently won key awards at the South Texas Press Association Awards Banquet. The were: first place for serious column writing by Jones, third place for feature writing by Anderson and Laura Hensley, third place for sports pages by Jones; and third place for both sports photos and page design.