SNOQUALMIE - The Snoqualmie Valley Record recently walked away with six awards in an annual contest sponsored by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. The results were announced last week at a conference in Tacoma.

Former Valley Record reporter Michelle Gisi and photographer Bruce Savadow each nabbed first-place honors in the association's Group II Division, which includes newspapers with circulations of 2,601 to 5,000.

Gisi earned first place for best education story. The story, under the headline, "Finding 'A-ha!' moments," detailed the first day of school for new North Bend Elementary teacher Amy Soltys. It appeared in the Valley Record Sept. 14, 2000.

Savadow took first place in the scenic/pictorial category with his photograph titled "Reflections," which showed a tree reflected in water. He also took first place in the feature category with his photo, "Hold onto that board," which showed a snowboarder in midair at Snoqualmie Pass. The photo appeared with a story March 1 about snowboard and ski thefts.

In the general news category, Gisi won second place with her April 12 story about a possible undercount of the city of Snoqualmie in the 2000 Census. Editor Barry Rochford was awarded second place in the general feature category for his Nov. 9, 2000, article about North Bend resident Joe Crecca, an Air Force pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

The Valley Record staff also earned second place in the comprehensive coverage category for its March 8 edition, which detailed the aftermath of the Feb. 28 Nisqually Earthquake.

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