The Statesboro Herald was named the best small daily newspaper in Georgia during the Georgia Press Association's annual awards banquet Friday in Jekyll Island.
      The Herald earned a first place in the General Excellence category of the 2010 Better Newspaper Contest in Division D for papers with 8,000 and under circulation. The annual contest is run by the Georgia Press Association, which represents 34 daily and 120 weekly newspapers in the state. The Herald also won first place in General Excellence in 2004 and 2006.
      The Herald earned 22 awards in the contest, including nine first place, nine second place and four third place honors for work that was published in 2009. The paper, which is owned by Savannah-based Morris Multimedia, captured more awards than any other of the 12 papers in Division D.
      "To be recognized as the best is a testament to the hard work of the entire staff," said Randy Morton, publisher of the Herald. "I congratulate our staff for putting together such a quality product for our readers."
     The Herald website - statesboroherald.com - was named best in the state, competing with all the newspaper websites in Georgia.
      Photographer Scott Bryant won 10 awards, including four first places. His photo of the family of the late Sgt. Brock Chavers accepting the flag at his funeral won first place in the News category, while a shot of a disappointed dog at the rained out Kiwanis Fair Parade earned first in the Feature Photograph category. Bryant won first place in the Photo Essay category for a series of photos from the Eagle Science Camp at Georgia Southern and his photo slide look back at 2009 won first place in the Best Photo Gallery on a Newspaper Web site category.
      He also earned second place in the following categories: News Photo, Sports Feature, Sports Photo and Spot News. He won third place in the following: Sports Photo and Best Photo Gallery on a Newspaper Web site.
      Reporter Phil Boyum earned a first place in the Humorous Column category for a series of three columns, including one about going on vacation. Boyum also was awarded a second place in Hard News Writing.
      Reporter Holli Deal Bragg won third place in Serious Column wrting and she was the reporter and writer for the "John's Place" story that won third place in Community Service.
      Sports editor Matt Yogus earned a second place in Sports Writing for a selection of articles that included a story that explained how Georgia Southern uses exceptions to allow some student athletes into school.
      Business editor Jan Moore earned a second place in Business Reporting, while executive editor James Healy won a second place for Education Coverage..
      In awards given to the newspaper as a whole, the Herald earned the following:

First place
      General Excellence
      Page One - For entries designed by Araina Reaves and James Healy
      Editorial Writing - For a collection of editorials that included opinions about the Judy McCorkle rehiring and funding for CCAT.
      Lifestyles Section - Editor Araina Reaves
Second place
      Layout and Design
Third place
      Community Service
      Special Sections - For the Pride sections generated by the entire staff
Other Morris Multimedia newspapers also were recognized for their work in 2009. The Times in Gainesville won first place General Excellence and 21 total awards in Division B for papers of circulation between 15,000 and 40,000. In Division C for papers of circulation between 8,000 and 15,000, the Forsyth County News won first place General Excellence and 18 total awards.