The Fitzhugh newspaper was proud to learn Monday, March 15 they have received several awards from the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA).

The CCNA honours the top community newspapers across the country. Papers are judged within their circulation range.

Photojournalist Matt Timmins led the way for the Fitzhugh, earning three awards in the 3,000-3,999 circulation range. Timmins captured second place in the photo essay competition for his rafting olympics spread, third place in the spot news category for a picture of a fatal accident near Hinton and first place in the feature photo category for a picture from the 24 Hours of Adrenaline.

This was Timmins’ first CCNA win. Credit for the photo essay award also goes to Melissa Montrose, who designed the layout of the centre spread.

“Matt should be very proud of his accomplishments. We’re quite fortunate to have such a high calibre photographer at the Fitzhugh,” said editor Justin Brisbane.

The Fitzhugh also earned a blue ribbon in the general excellence category, which judges the overall quality of the publication, front page and editorial page.

“We’re happy to receive this recognition, and hope it’s only the beginning. Awards are nice, but we want to continue to improve our service to the community by delivering quality journalism to the public,” Brisbane said.

These are the first CCNA awards for the Fitzhugh in its four year history.