West Orange Times & Observer wins Florida Press Association awards

The West Orange Times & Observer received 10 awards, including three first-place honors, at the Florida Press Association’s 2014 Better Weekly Awards presentation and luncheon July 24, in Lake Mary.

See below for a list of winning entries, along with links to the stories:

First place, Faith and Family Reporting: Strength in Numbers, Amy Quesinberry Rhode

First place, Medical & Science Reporting: A New Hope, Amy Quesinberry Rhode

First place, Humorous Column: Remembering (enduring) junior high, Amy Quesinberry Rhode

Second place, Overall Graphic Design: Jessica Eng

Second place, Sports Section: Steven Ryzewski

Second place, Sports Column: Video reminds us what's good about football, Steven Ryzewski

Third place, Front Page Makeup: staff

Third place, Community History: Beauty in the Fields, Amy Quesinberry Rhode

Third place, Education Reporting: Brick by Brick, Michael Eng

Third Place, General News Story: Foundation Academy rallies around two of its teachers, Michael Eng

In addition to the West Orange Times & Observer, the Observer Media Group publishes newspapers in Sarasota, Longboat Key, Siesta Key, East Manatee County, Plant City, Palm Coast and Ormond Beach. It also publishes the Business Observer, a business weekly covering Florida's Gulf Coast.

As a company, OMG-owned newspapers received 67 awards, including 22 first-place awards. OMG newspapers won all three General Excellence honors in the different circulation categories (Palm Coast Observer, Longboat Observer and Business Observer), and the Sarasota Observer received the sweepstakes trophy for the most overall awards.