“Wonderful presentation of profiles of interesting folks. My guess is that people love to be in it or see someone they know. What a keepsake!”

Those were the words of a juror for the 2013 North Carolina Press Association annual News, Editorial and Photojournalism Contest about the Washington Daily News publication “Profile,” a special section released in March of last year. The publication, featuring profiles of a broad array of Beaufort County residents won first place in the Special Section category.

The North Carolina Press Association contest singles out exceptional work by North Carolina’s newspapers in two categories — community newspapers and daily newspapers — which are further broken down by circulation numbers. The Washington Daily News falls under the category of daily newspapers with a daily circulation under 12,500. Winners of the NCPA contest were announced Feb. 27, during NCPA’s annual Winter Institute and Annual Meeting in Chapel Hill.

The Washington Daily News also scored a first place finish in the Feature Section Design category for two entries from the standing Sunday feature, Pamlico Life: “The life an artist, displayed,” a piece about the work of Irene Glover Forbes, a local artist who died of Lou Gehrig’s Disease; and “Getting lost: the only way to go,” a feature about the photography of Washington native Liz Partrick. Both features were written and designed by Vail Stewart Rumley.

Topping off the Daily News’ NCPA wins was a second-place finish for Washington The Magazine, the glossy, color magazine spotlighting the history and culture of Washington and surrounding areas.

In October, Daily News’ staff gathers entries to submit from the previous 12 months, from general and deadline news reporting to photography.

NCPA is one of the oldest newspaper advocacy organizations in the nation. Founded in 1873, it administers one of the largest editorial contests in the nation.