The Countywide received 12 awards in the South Texas Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented during the group’s annual convention at the Omni Marina Hotel in Corpus Christi.

The Countywide was awarded the sweepstakes award for being the best all around newspaper in Division 1.

Reporter Jason Jansky received first place honors for Feature Writing. The Countywide was also presented with first place honors in the categories of Headline Writing and Page Design.

Columnist Pam Baker was awarded second place honors in the Humorous Column Writing category. Columnist Joe Baker was awarded second place honors in the Serious Column Writing category. Baker also received second place honors in the Sports Photos category, third place honors in the Editorial Writing category and third place honors in the Feature Photos category.

The Countywide received third place honors in the Sports Page category.

Assistant Editor Chris Rodriguez was awarded honorable mention in the Family/Social Pages category and The Countywide also received honorable mention in the News Coverage category.

Editor-Publisher Joe Baker said that The Countywide performed better in this contest than in any other contest previously entered.

"We hope to continue to improve and give this community the best newspaper we can," Baker said.