The Dominion Post Advertising Department took home Best Advertisement of the Year honors at the recent West Virginia Press Association Conference, where awards were announced for the Advertising and Editorial Contest.
The Advertising staff won seven awards, including four first-place honors. One of those was for Best Theme Pages for the WVU Football Rally Posters that are inserted into The Dominion Post each week of the West Virginia University football season.
Those posters also won Best Advertisement of the Year for the newspaper.
“I’m very proud of our Advertising team for winning seven awards, including four first-place ads and the 2024 Advertisement of the Year,” said Advertising Manager Jessica Roberts Bellino. “We take pride in working hard for our customers, and it’s always nice to be recognized for our accomplishments.”
The West Virginia Press Association holds this annual contest to recognize the best of the year’s advertising and editorial content. First-, second- and third-place awards go to the top three entries in each of four divisions, which are based on circulation.
The Editorial staff took home 17 awards, including four first-place.
Adam Raese, The Dominion Post publisher, said while the newspaper employees do not work for accolades, it is nice to be recognized.
“Working at a daily paper has always meant living life 24 hours at a time. Each new day brings with it new challenges, stories and opportunities,” Raese said. “Each and every day, there will always be more stories than can be covered and more events and businesses than can be advertised. Covering as much as possible and making the tough decisions about where we put our focus and how we present that information is the job, and it’s one we are proud to do for our subscribers.
“However, that daily grind is easy to get caught up in — each of us so focused on the next 24 hours we forget the last. So it is very nice to have our teams’ hard work acknowledged by these awards, giving us a moment to reflect on some of the best of what we have done over the last year. We thank the West Virginia Press Association for holding this competition and our customers who allow us to continue doing what we do for our community.”
The advertising contest saw 1,062 entries in 21 categories. Those won by The Dominion Post:
1st place — Best Process Color Ad larger than a quarter page, Jesalyn Kamaka and the Morris staff for Now Booking.
1st place — Best Theme Pages, staff for WVU Rally Posters.
1st place — Best Ad Campaign half page or larger, Roberts Bellino and WVU Medicine for Treat Yourself Better.
1st place — Best Online Static Ad, Roberts Bellino and WVU Medicine for WVU Sports Medicine Group.
2nd place — Best Ad Campaign half page or larger, Roberts Bellino and WVU Medicine for ER vs. Urgent Care.
2nd place — Best Color Ad quarter page or less, Sabrina Ulrich and Paul Baird for Bark in the Park.
3rd place — Best Single Black and White Ad larger than a quarter page, Debbie Harrison and Baird for Greer — Dyke Raese Hall of Fame.
In the editorial contest, there were 1,494 entries in 31 categories. Those won by The Dominion Post:
1st place — Best Sports Special Section, Cody Nespor for Mountaineer Rivalries.
1st place — Best Editorial Page, Jessica Nelson.
1st place — Best Sports Columnist, Justin Jackson.
1st place — Best Sports News and Feature Reporting, Nespor for From Finland to Almost Heaven.
2nd place — Best Sports Special Section, Nespor for Mohawk Bowl.
2nd place — Best Sports Event Reporting, Nespor for Back for Part Two.
2nd place — Best Legal Affairs Reporter, Erin Cleavenger for coverage of a Monongalia County deputy on trial.
2nd place — Best In-depth or Investigative Reporting, David Beard for Dunbar STOP COVID spending.
3rd place — Sports Photography, William Wotring for State Champions.
3rd place — Best Editorial, Nelson for Justice Set Us Up.
