The Times Virginian won three awards at the 2024 Virginia Press Association (VPA) Annual Conference & Awards Banquet held Saturday at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

All awards at the statewide competition were given for work published in 2023, and are separated by class according to circulation size.

Toby Robertson and Lisa Coleman won First Place in the Picture Story or Essay category. Their winning photography collection was from the 2023 Appomattox Christmas Parade that was featured in the Nov. 29, 2023 edition of the Times Virginian.

Robertson, along with his wife Janet, are freelance photographers for Womack Publishing and are self-employed as owners of Photography by Toby. They contributed nine photographs to the award-winning collection. The couple is well-known and respected in Appomattox County due to their many appearances at school events and other local functions.

Coleman has been employed at the Times Virginian as office administrator since 2019. She is generally the first person seen by individuals who come to the newspaper office, as well as the first voice they hear when they call the office. Coleman attended the 2023 Appomattox Christmas Parade and contributed two photographs to the winning collection.

Charles Conrad won First Place in the Public Safety Writing category. The winning submissions were articles titled “Two plead guilty in case involving death threats to ACHS students” from Feb. 8, 2023; “Appomattox DSS aims to increase child abuse awareness” from May 3, 2023; and “Domestic violence vigil held in Appomattox” from Oct. 25, 2023.

Conrad has been a reporter at the Times Virginian since 2016.

Leon Mettler won a Third Place award in the Column Writing category. Chosen from his weekly “Hunt Smart, Fish Hard” column for entry into the 2024 VPA contest were stories titled “Alaska The Last Frontier” from July 26, 2023; “Doe Fights Rancher” from Dec. 13, 2023; and “Squirrel Hunting with a .32 Caliber Black Powder Muzzleloader” from Dec. 27, 2023.

Mettler’s column has been seen by Times Virginian readers since 1991. His insightful and entertaining columns share personal hunting and fishing experiences, as well as valuable information regarding public events and wildlife game laws.

This is also in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Support local journalism by purchasing the issue at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition or view the full article in the e-edition version.