Continuing its long tradition of serving the public — since 1901 — The Cullman Times earned multiple editorial and advertising awards, in addition to media recognition, from the recently announced 2022 Alabama Press Association Media Awards contests.

APA contest committee chairperson Dee Ann Campbell made the announcements June 26, noting that 52 Alabama newspapers submitted 1,858 individual entries in the editorial contest alone. The contests, editorial and advertising, are broken into divisions based upon circulation and were judged by peers from the Illinois Press Association.

“We don’t go about our daily jobs to win awards,” said Katherine Miller, publisher of The Cullman Times. “But in the midst of providing Cullman County with high quality local news and marketing, the honors we’ve earned are gratifying. They show to the public what I see every day — the hard work and dedication that goes into serving our community. I couldn’t be more proud of our team.”

In the editorial division, the newsroom submitted 27 entries in 10 categories winning 13. The advertising division of the newspaper similarly earned several first-, second- and third-place finishes.

“It takes an entire team, from editorial and advertising to the front office, printing and mail room staff to make a newspaper,” said Tom Mayer, editor of The Cullman Times. “Unless every single person is putting forth their best effort, we can’t accomplish what we set out to do every day — keep Cullman County informed. The awards we earn in contests such as this show that, indeed, we have that kind of team effort in Cullman.”

The 2022 Alabama Press Association Media Awards contest winners by department:

EditorialBest Sports Coverage

2nd Place: Jake Winfrey

Best Local Economic Coverage Division B

1st Place: Amy Henderson, Benjamin Bullard

Best Local Education Coverage Division B

2nd Place: Amy Henderson, Benjamin Bullard, Tyler Hanes

Best Spot News Story

2nd Place: The Cullman Times for “‘It was so scary’” by Benjamin Bullard, Amanda Shavers

Best Feature Story Coverage

2nd Place: The Cullman Times for “Freedom Riders 60th anniversary” by Amy Henderson

3rd Place: The Cullman Times for “‘I know some of it is not going to get better’” by Amy Henderson

Best News Feature Story Coverage

3rd Place: “Sweet taste of success” by Benjamin Bullard

Best Editorial

1st Place: “Mo Brooks wrong on Juneteenth vote” by Amy Henderson

2nd Place: “An attack against democracy” by Amy Henderson

Best Sports Single Event Story

1st Place: “‘OUR GIRLS BATTLED’: Good Hope completes wild comeback, stuns No. 5 Deshler in OT thriller” by Jake Winfrey

Best Sports Feature Story

3rd Place: The Cullman Times for “A love of the game” by Jake Winfrey

Best Photo Essay

1st Place: “Trump rally” by Amanda Shavers

2nd Place: “Sacred Heart School Veterans Day parade” by Amanda Shavers

Advertising

Best Classified Page or Section

3rd Place: The Cullman Times by Debbie Miller, Amanda Tolbert

Best Single Ad 1/2 page and under, color Division B

2nd Place: The Cullman Times for “RE Garrison Trucking” by Sarah King

Best Single Ad over 1/2 page, color Division B

2nd Place: The Cullman Times for “Cullman Internal Medicine” by Sarah King

Best One Time Special Section-Newsprint or Glossy Division B

1st Place: The Cullman Times for “Day of Destruction: 10 Years Later” by Katherine Miller, staff

Best Original/Creative Idea Division B

2nd Place: The Cullman Times for “Flag Day/Fourth of July” by Katherine Miller, staff

3rd Place: The Cullman Times for “Thank You Teachers” by Debbie Miller

Best Niche Publication

3rd Place: The Cullman Times for “Cullman Football 2021” by Katherine Miller, staff