Staff of the Bremerton Patriot and central Kitsap Reporter newspapers took home eight awards at the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual meeting which was last weekend in Chelan.

Reporter Kevan Moore took first place for Best Front Page Design, Group III, for the May 3, 2013 front page which pictured the USS Stennis and the words, “She’s Back.” The front page honored the Stennis which came home from deployment on that day.

Moore also placed first for General News Photo, Groups III and IV, for his photograph titled “Stennis tears of joy” shot at the homecoming.

He placed third in Groups III and IV with his photo “Local runners gather to honor Boston victims,” a photo taken of members of a local running club who prayed in Silverdale on the day of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Moore placed third in Group III in Best Government Reporting for his story “Pacific Avenue work called into question,” which was a story about failing brick pavers that were part of a downtown improvement project.

Judges said it was a “solid story about government accountability.”

Reporter Seraine Page placed first in Group III in the color feature photo for “Ice, ice baby,” a photo of the frozen ice on Dye’s Inlet in Silverdale last winter. She placed second in Group III for Best Education Story with a feature on “Grandpa Dan,” a volunteer at Pine Crest Elementary School. Judges said it was a “heart-warming story, cleanly written and good job with interviews.”

Advertising representative Jennifer Zuver and graphic artist Bryon Kempf took home a first place award for their combined work on an ad for Clear Creek Dentistry for combined groups III and IV.

The Patriot competes in the Group III division for papers with a circulation of 5,000 to 12,500. Group IV includes papers with a circulation larger than 12,500.

In all, Sound Publishing papers in Kitsap County took home 41 awards with the Bainbridge Island Review garnering 16, The Port Orchard Independent getting 11, the Bremerton Patriot/Central Kitsap Reporter earning 8 and the North Kitsap Herald winning six. Eleven of those awards were first place honors.

Additionally, Discover Kitsap, an annual tourism publication that all the Kitsap News Group staffs contribute to, placed second in the Special Publications category.

The contest was judged by members of the Arizona Newspaper Association, the Pamplin Media Group in Oregon and assorted volunteers from Colorado,Montana and Washington. There were a total of 2,302 entries this year. Comparatively, 2013 had 2,081 entries and 2012 had 2,255 entries.