POULSBO — The North Kitsap Herald won nine awards, including Community Service, in the 2016 Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

The awards were presented at the association’s annual convention, Oct. 14-16 in Wenatchee. Editor Richard Walker received the Feature Writer of the Year award for the second time; he won the award in 2006 and was a runner-up in 2015. Former publisher Lori Maxim, who now works for Morris Multimedia in Georgia, received the Miles Turnbull Master Editor Publisher Award.

All told, Sound Publishing’s Kitsap News Group won 73 awards. The Kitsap News Group includes the Bainbridge Island Review, Bremerton Patriot, Central Kitsap Reporter, North Kitsap Herald and Port Orchard Independent.

Washington’s newspapers entered 2,142 in six divisions, representing work done from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016. Entries were judged by members of the New York Press Association.

FIRST PLACE

Community Service: Staff, “Map Your Poulsbo Neighborhood.” The North Kitsap Herald teamed with local resident Kim Colebrook and several public agencies to present a series of forums at which neighborhood representatives learned the first nine steps to take immediately following a disaster to ensure homes are secure and neighborhoods protected; how to identify a neighborhood gathering site and a neighborhood care center; and how to conduct a neighborhood skills and equipment inventory.

Feature Writer of the Year: Richard Walker.

Color Pictorial: Sophie Bonomi, “Bright moon on a windy evening.”

Use of Process Color 1⁄2 Page or Larger Ad: Mark Gillespie, Bill McDonald, “Dahlquist’s Winter is Coming.”

Use of Clip Art in Advertising: Johanna Buxton, Annie Lavalle, “Café Jacamoe.”

SECOND PLACE

Topical/Non-Tourism Special Sections: Staff, “Tis the Season 2015.”

Use of Clip Art in Advertising: Mark Gillespie, Bill McDonald, “Merry Christmas from Advanced Rentals and Sales.”

THIRD PLACE

Best Editorial: Richard Walker, “Do a better job with outreach, planning meetings.”

Best Story on the Arts: Sophie Bonomi, “Making the invisible visible: Kitsap artists help tell vendors’ stories in portraits.”

In addition, six special sections edited by Leslie Kelly, specialty publications editor for the Kitsap News Group, won awards. “Celebrate Summer on Bainbridge” and “Celebrate Port Orchard — 125 Years” each won first place.

The North Kitsap Herald produced this disaster-preparedness special section as part of the “Map Your Poulsbo Neighborhood” project.