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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

ORANGE BEACH – For the 19th year in a row, the Shelby County Reporter earned the Alabama Press Association’s biggest award at the APA Media Awards banquet on Saturday, June 28 at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach.

SCR competed in Division C against some of the largest weekly publications in the state and took home General Excellence—recognizing the combined efforts of multiple departments for their journalism efforts in 2024.

In addition to the success of its paper, Shelby County Newsmedia Inc. received several other accolades, including the top spot in the Advertising Sweepstakes category for the fourth year in a row with Mountain Brook Magazine winning the Magazine of the Year category.

Ranking the top three in each contest and category, SCNI had 41 top-three finishes in the editorial contest, 28 in the advertising contest and 12 in the magazine contest for a total of 81 top-three finishes.

The editorial team of the Shelby County Reporter achieved 16 first place wins in the Editorial Contest with an impressive 41 finishes inside the top three.

The advertising team secured 12 wins with 10 second-place awards and six third-place finishes in this year’s contest.

Mountain Brook Magazine received first place as Magazine of the Year in the magazine category which saw four wins this year, three second-place finishes and five third-place finishes.

This year’s Alabama Press Association Awards saw 53 publications submit 1,725 entries in the editorial contest, 22 publications submit 406 entries in the advertising contest and 21 publications submit 381 entries in the magazine contest. The Michigan Press Association membership judged entries this year to determine the winners in each category.

Shelby County Newsmedia Inc. received the following in this year’s contest:

Editorial Contest (16 first, 13 second, 12 third: Total of 41)

• First place in General Excellence
• First Place in Most Improved
• First Place in Best Editorial Page or Section
• First place for Best Lifestyles/Family Pages
• First place for Best Local News Coverage
• First place in FOI-First Amendment Award for “Battle of Breakaway Pointe” by Noah Wortham
• First Place for Best Use of Photographs/Editorial Content by Connor Bucy, Rowan Futrell, Jamie Dawkins
• First place in Best Human Interest Column for “Reading between the lines” by Donald Mottern
• First place in Best Editorial Column or Commentary for “Noah’s columns” by Noah Wortham
• First place in Best Feature photo for “Romello Cooper on the bench” by Dawn Harrison
• First place in Best Photo Essay for “Along for the ride” by Jeremy Raines
• First place in Best Niche Publication – Newsprint or Glossy for “Football” by Andrew Simonson
• First place in Creative Use of Multimedia for “Shelby County Hall of Fame” by Alec Etheredge
• First place in Best Use of Social Media for “YouTube Shorts” by Alec Etheredge
• First place in Best Use of Video (Shorter than 2 minutes) for “Gracie Bradford gets surprise announcement about trip to Disney World” by Alec Etheredge
• First place in Best Use of Video (Longer than 2 minutes) for “Thompson back on top after 7A title” by Alec Etheredge
• Second place for Best Local Education Coverage
• Second place in FOI-First Amendment Award for “Helena TAG discrepancy leads to more open government” by Don Mottern, Mackenzee Simms
• Second place in Best Sports Single Event Story for “Heardmont heroics” by Alec Etheredge
• Second place in Best Sports Feature Story for “Frankie Perez’s journey to success with THS” by Andrew Simonson
• Second place in Best News Photo for “Man kicked from horse in midair” by Jeremy Raines
• Second place in Best Spot News photo for “Teacher hugs former students ahead of graduation” by Rachel Raiford
• Second place in Best Photo Essay for “Dazzling display” by Jason Homan
• Second place in Best Headline for “Red Hot Chili Preppers” by staff
• Second place in Best Special Section – Newsprint for “Election Guide” by staff
• Second place for Best Niche Publication – Newsprint or Glossy for “Profile” by staff
• Second place in Best Use of Social Media for “Facebook videos” by Alec Etheredge
• Second place in Best Podcast Series for “Live Football Pregame Show” by Alec Etheredge, Andrew Simonson
• Second place in Best Use of Video (Longer than 2 minutes) for “Oak Mountain claims state soccer championship” by Alec Etheredge
• Third place in Best Sports Coverage by Andrew Simonson
• Third place in Best Production and Printing
• Third place in Best Spot News Story for “Columbiana remembers Charity Snow” by Noah Wortham
• Third place in Best Local Sports Column for “Let’s work as a team to create a common-sense policy for NIL” by Andrew Simonson
• Third place in Best Feature photo for “Shelby County Showcase of Bands” by Jason Homan
• Third place in Best Spot News Photo for “Won’t be forgotten” by Jeremy Raines
• Third place in Best Sports Photo for “Joseph King flies high” by Dawn Harrison
• Third place in Best Use of Graphics or Illustrations for “Battle of Breakaway Pointe” by Connor Bucy
• Third place in Online Breaking News Coverage for “Oak Mountain Amphitheatre closing after 39 years” by staff
• Third place in Best Use of Social Media for “Live Shelby County Football Pregame Show” by Alec Etheredge, Andrew Simonson
• Third place in Best Use of Video (Longer than 2 minutes) for “Oak Mountain beats rival Chelsea” by Alec Etheredge
• Third place in Best Community Event for “Shelby County Hall of Fame”

Advertising Contest (12 wins, 10 second, 6 third: Total of 28)

• First place in Advertising Sweepstakes Award
• First place in Best Classified Page or Section
• First place in Best Single Ad 1/2 page and under, B/W for “Buck Creek” by Rhett McCreight
• First place in Best Single Ad 1/2 page and under, Color for “Vulcan Termite and Pest” by Rhett McCreight
• First place for Best Regularly Scheduled Special Section – Newsprint or Glossy for “Football” by staff
• First place in Best One Time Special Section – Newsprint or Glossy for “Letters to Santa”
• First place in Best Advertising Campaign for “Athlete of the Week” by staff
• First place in Best Original/Creative Idea for “Vulcan: Wanted Dead Not Alive” by Rhett McCreight
• First place in Best Classified Display Ad for “Steward Machine” by Octavia Campbell
• First place in Best Use of Humor for “Vulcan: Wanted Dead not Alive” by Rhett McCreight
• First place in Best Presentation of Online Advertising for www.shelbycountyreporter.com by staff
• First place in Best Innovative Online Advertising – Single Ad for “Football Show” by Alec Etheredge
• Second place in Best Single Ad 1/2 page and under, B/W for “Oak View Animal Hospital” by staff
• Second place in Best Single Ad over 1/2 page, B/W for “Small Business Celebration” by Rhett McCreight
• Second place in Best Single Ad over 1/2 page, Color for “Buck Creek” by Rhett McCreight
• Second place in Best One Time Special Section – Newsprint or Glossy for “Thompson Championship”
• Second place in Best Original/Creative Idea for “Law Mower for Sale” by Vee Romero
• Second place in Best Classified Display Ad for “TNT Fireworks Superstore” by Octavia Campbell
• Second place in Best Signature Page for “Horseshoe Bend High School” by staff
• Second place in Best Niche Publication for “Visitor’s Guide”
• Second place in Best Innovative Online Advertising – Single Ad for “Buck Creek Family Dental” by Rachel Henderson
• Second in Online Revenue Builder for “Online Football Coverage” by Connor Bucy, Alec Etheredge
• Third place in Best Single Ad 1/2 page and under, Color for “Buck Creek” by Rhett McCreight
• Third place in Best One Time Special Section – Newsprint or Glossy for “Metro Football”
• Third place in Best Classified Display Ad for “Lawn Mower for Sale” by Vee Romero
• Third place in Best Niche Publication for “Football”
• Third place in Best Innovative Online Advertising – Single Ad for “Oak View Animal Hospital” by Rhett McCreight
• Third place in Online Revenue Builder for “Gain Access” by staff

Magazine Contest ( 4 first, 3 second, 5 third: Total of 12)

• First place in Magazine of the Year for Mountain Brook Magazine
• First place in Best Advertising Campaign or Series for “The Cooke Store” in Mountain Brook Magazine by staff
• First place in Best Overall Design for Mountain Brook Magazine
• First place in Best Community Event for “Shelby County Hall of Fame” in Shelby Living by Anna Grace Moore, Alec Etheredge
• Second place in Best Culinary Feature for “Veal and Valor” in Mountain Brook Magazine by Anna Grace Moore, Taylor Hager
• Second place in Best Photo Essay for “The Western Frontier” in Hoover’s Magazine by Rowan Futrell
• Second place in Best Individual Website for Mountain Brook Magazine at www.mountainbrookmagazine.com
• Third place in Best Single Feature Story for “The American Dream” in Vestavia Hills Magazine by Anna Grace Moore, Blair Ramsey
• Third place in Best Business Feature for “The American Dream” in Vestavia Hills Magazine by Anna Grace Moore, Blair Ramsey
• Third place in Best Photo Essay for “Veal and Valor” in Mountain Brooks Magazine by Taylor Hager, Jamie Dawkins
• Third place in Best Advertising Campaign or Series for “Fringe” in Mountain Brook Magazine by staff
• Third place in Best House Ad or Self-Promotion for “Subscribe Now” in Mountain Brook Magazine by staff