The Bainbridge Island Review was presented with 15 awards for excellence in news, advertising, photography and design in the Washington Newspaper Publisher Association’s 2013 better newspaper contest.

Awards in the competition were announced during the newspaper association’s annual convention, held Oct. 4-5 in Olympia.

“I’m incredibly proud of the hard work of our entire team,” said Donna Etchey, publisher of the Review. “Each week, I’m impressed with their outstanding efforts to inform our readers, and their passion for quality community journalism is inspiring.”

The competition included 78 newspapers from across Washington, and there were 2,135 entries in this year’s contest. Members of the Tennessee Press Association Newspapers judged the 2013 competition, and the contest was based on newspapers published between April 2012 and March 2013.

The Review earned recognition in advertising — including “Ad of the Year” — as well as news writing, arts coverage, sports and feature photography, and page design.

In advertising, Karen Johnson won first place in the “Best Branding Ad” category for an advertisement featuring Wing Point Golf & Country Club.

The ad was also named “Ad of the Year.”

The judges said: “A well-balanced design draws in the audience with images that create an activity-based theme and strong color scheme. Simply the best of the ads!”

Johnson also claimed first place in the “Ad Campaign for a Single Advertiser” with an ad for Bainbridge Senior Living.

She took first place with the ad “Discover Cuba” for Earthbound Expeditions in the “Use of Process Color” category.

Former Review artist Bill Asher won first place in the “Best Single Ad for Single Advertiser” (half page or larger) for an ad for Eagle Harbor Book Company.

Asher also took second place in the same category for an ad for Living Well Chiropractic.

Review reporter Cecilia Garza nearly swept the competition in the “Best Story on the Arts” category.

Garza won first place for an article on “Cold Crossover.”

“Cold Crossover” tells the story behind the book written by local author, Tom Kelly. In Kelly’s mystery thriller “Cold Crossover,” he brings to life his own experiences as a Pacific Northwest sports writer in the fictional, high school star athlete Linnebert “Cheese” Oliver and retired coach, Ernie Creekmore.

The judges congratulated Garza on a well-done story, and said, “Interesting subject matter that any small town person who’s heard Friday night football talk at the local hardware store can relate to.”

Garza also won second place in the best arts story category for “F-U-N-N-Y: The definition, please,” a Bainbridge Performing Arts show about the complexities and the hilarity of preteen spelling bee enthusiasts.

The judges said: “Well executed story about a weird comedy. This newspaper’s approach to art stories is top notch. And presentation (which was not considered for purposes of this competition) is really the icing on the cake.”

Garza won third place in the “Best Personality Profile-Long” category for “Rediscovering the color of life.”

“Rediscovering the color of life,” followed the transformation of local artist Stewart Daniels as he pulled on his own life’s turmoil to renew his passion for painting.

Former Review reporter Richard D. Oxley won third place in the “News of the Weird” category for “Woman insults officers’ prowess while arrested for DUI.”

The judges said: “Funny, funny news story. Well, maybe not to the woman, but still …”

Review editor Brian Kelly won third place in “Comprehensive Coverage of a Single Issue or Series” for his coverage of the Ostling civil rights trial.

“Well written,” the judges noted. “Very detailed, very moving accounts.”

Kelly also won first place in “Best Front Page Design” and third place for “Best Feature Page Design.”

Kelly also brought home a second-place award in color feature photography and a second-place award in color sports feature photography.