By Laura Walter

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Independent Newsmedia staff members collected 28 awards — including three best-in-show honors — in the 2023 Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association contest.

The Daily State News, Salisbury Independent, Dorchester Banner and Bay To Bay News all had wins announced May 3 in Annapolis, Maryland.

“The awesome thing about the awards list is that it represents so many aspects of our company,” said Andrew West, editor-in-chief for INI Delmarva.

Media professionals from the New Jersey Press Association judged the association’s 1,500-plus entries in 86 categories for journalism, design, marketing and other big moves by the press. News organizations compete against others in metro and community daily, weekly and website-only divisions.

The winners in each category are then judged in all divisions for best-in-show awards.

“Looking over this past year, I’m overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for what our team accomplished,” said Konrad LaPrade, group publisher. “The MDDC awards reflect these achievements well, by showcasing our new features, event advertising, special sections and general design excellence,

“The State News may be celebrating our 70th anniversary, but we are continuing to innovate when it comes to our products and services, and it is wonderful to see the staff get recognized for their efforts.”

Many of the company’s awards were for visual excellence in graphic design.

“Our graphics team continues to raise the bar for ad design in our area,” said Thomas Maglio, creative director who manages the design staff “It fills me with great pride to be able to say we have such an award-winning staff available to support our advertisers and community. That’s what everyone on this team wants to be — the best there is for the people who trust us.”

Independent’s winners:

Daily State News Division C

•Community Service Program, First Place and Best in Show — “Excellence in Education” by Tonda Parks, Heather Cregar, Jessica Cook, Laura Walter and Thomas Maglio.

•New Business Concept/Wild Card, First Place and Best in Show — “March Mad fun” by DJ Short, Daily State News Team.

•Local Column: Feature or Humor, First Place — “Fresh Ink: I recall the day at Sellers Ink” by Tom Maglio.

•Features-driven multimedia storytelling, First Place — “Great balls of fire: Brother’s Pyro lights up state fair sky” by Andrew West

•Local Column: Critical Thinking, Second Place — “On 70th anniversary, Delaware State News cherishes community service, support” by Andrew West.

•Advertising-driven special section (in-paper product), Second Place — “Citywide Black History” by DJ Short and Laura Walter.

•Community Service Program, Second Place — “Citywide Black History Celebration” by Heather Cregar, Jessica Cook, Marketing and News Teams.

•Advertising-driven Special Publication (standalone), First Place — Sussex County Profile by Tom Maglio and Laura Walter.

•Best Event, First Place — “Dover Comic Con” by Heather Cregar, Jessica Cook, Marketing Team.

•Best Event, Second Place — “W3 What Women Want Fest” by Heather Cregar, Jessica Cook, Marketing Team.

•Feature Page Design, Second Place — “Bay to the Beach Byways: A beautiful home for Art in Salisbury” by Tom Maglio and DJ Short.

•Advertising Campaign, First Place — “Capital Schools” by Angi Hicks.

•Restaurant/Entertainment ad (large-print only), First Place — “Betsy Ross Restaurant” by Angi Hicks

•Business non-retail ad (large print only), First Place — “Delaware Medicare Assistance Bureau” by Angi Hicks

•Business non-retail ad (small print only), First Place — “King Cole Farm” by Angi Hicks and Pat Abel

•Self-Promotion Advertising, Second Place — “Local News Every Day” by Angi Hicks, Heather Cregar.

•Retail ad–Large print only, First Place — “Sharp Energy” by Angi Hicks and Joy Ferrio.

Dorchester Banner, Division F

•Business non-retail ad (large print only), First Place and Best in Show — “Hurlock Maryland’ by Angi Hicks, Dave Cannon.

•Advertising-driven Special Publication (standalone), First Place — “Water Moves Us: Dorchester Economic Profile” by Tom Maglio and Laura Walter.

Salisbury Independent
Division E

•Continuing Coverage, First Place — “Salisbury mayoral changes” by Gregory Bassett and Liz Holland.

•News-driven Special Section, First Place — “Salisbury Rising” by Gregory Bassett.

•Local Column: Critical Thinking, Second Place — “In a roundabout way, obelisk is also a tribute to late Salisbury Independent editor” by Andrew West.

•Self-Promotion Advertising, Second Place — “INI House Distribution” by Angi Hicks and Heather Cregar.

•Business non-retail ad (large-print only), Second Place — “Kathleen Momme” by Angi Hicks and Cathy Koyanagi.

•Retail ad (large-print only), Second Place — “Kuhn’s Jewelry” by DJ Short and Cathy Koyanagi

Salisbury Independent’s founding editor, Greg Bassett, was honored with a moment of silence during the awards, as he passed away last December. His reporting also won two awards.

“There is a mix of joy and sadness with the awards for Greg Bassett,” said Mr. West. “The two entries submitted for him showcase his depth of knowledge about the city, and his commitment to providing readers with content that helped them make informed decisions. He and Liz Holland did an excellent job of letting readers know about the mayoral changes and the candidates to fill the role.”

Editor West also wrote an award-winning piece after Mr. Bassett’s death. “My column was a tribute to Bassett’s longevity in the business and his love for Salisbury. Greg championed the Independent for nearly 10 years. We will continue to build on the foundation he created over the next decade.”

“The awards Greg won were bittersweet for me,” said Mr. LaPrade. “He was a great journalist and a better friend. He would be proud of these awards.”

The Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association represents over 100 member news media organizations in the region, in advocacy, revenue generation, professional development and industry recognition.