Southside Messenger Wins Ten at VPA Conference

The Southside Messenger newspaper is proud to announce that Linda Snyder, news and advertising graphic designer at the Southside Messenger, brought home a total of nine awards from the annual Virginia Press Association (VPA) conference at The Hotel Roanoke on April 18, 2015.

“It’s easy to do good work when you like what you do and where you work,” said Linda. Her wins in advertising included a category sweep in the Home and Garden (color) division, taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Linda also took home another 1st place win in the Education and Churches (color) category. Additionally, she was awarded a 2nd place award for her design work in Automotive and two 3rd place wins for Fashion/Personal Care (color) and Entertainment (color). On top of winning seven advertising division awards, Linda won two 2nd place awards for her newspaper layout and design skills in Lifestyle/Entertainment and Page Design.

“Linda’s work speaks for itself. We and our customers are very fortunate to have her,” commented Averett Jones, Editor of the Southside Messenger. “Linda is simply the best there is in ad design.” Linda has over 25 years of graphic design experience and has been with the Southside Messenger for 3 years.

In addition to Linda’s numerous awards, Helene McDaniels of the Dinwiddie Monitor, a sister paper of the Southside Messenger, was named Outstanding Sales Professional of the Year. The Southside Messenger Staff also took home a 2nd place award in the Combination Picture and Story division.

According to the VPA website, “The Virginia Press Association was founded in the late 19th century and incorporated by a special act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1881. We represent newspaper interests in the General Assembly through lobbying efforts and facilitate print and online advertising campaigns for our members. We also hold one of the largest news contests in the nation, annually attracting more than 5,000 entries.”