Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine wins first place in Oklahoma Press Association contest
Jun. 12—Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine was awarded first place in the 2022 Oklahoma Press Association Magazine Contest.
The award was announced Saturday in Shawnee during OPA's annual conference.
Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine is a product of the Stillwater News Press. The magazine was previously named Magazine of the Year in Division II of the 2022 Best of CNHI journalism awards. CNHI, based in Montgomery, Alabama, operates print and digital products in numerous communities across 22 states.
The magazine was rebranded, redesigned and relaunched in March 2022.
"We're thrilled, humbled and very grateful for this honor," editor Beau Simmons said. "We had a clear vision for the magazine to be representative of our community, and you can't go wrong focusing on the people who make Stillwater a special place."
Contest entries included March and August editions of the magazine.
The second issue of Volume 2 of Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine is scheduled to release near the end of the month. That will be the annual Progress edition.
The Stillwater News Press placed second in the top division of the Sequoyah Awards, which honors the top-scoring newspapers in eight categories of the OPA contest.
The News Press placed first in the Sports Coverage category. The News Press sports department has taken first place in the category four of the past five years.
"Really loved the design on all three (entries)," judges wrote. "All were clean. They all had clear centerpiece stories/packages, plus they used the abundance of space well. Always enjoy all-local sports sections, as well."
The News Press placed second in Layout & Design, Editorial Writing, Photography and News Content.
"The enterprise stories — encrypted radio coverage and trans students, as two examples — go beyond the news of the day to show impact," judges wrote. "The strong editorial voice on the opinion page is another bright spot.
"Great use of large visuals to drive the storytelling and page flow."
Sports Editor Jason Elmquist won three individual first-place awards. Elmquist won first place in Sports Story with his article about Pioneer wrestler Dax Hughes. Elmquist placed first and third in the Feature Photograph category. He also won first in Photo Essay for a page on the Glencoe Boys' state basketball championship.
