The Hartwell Sun staff was recognized for winning half a dozen awards in the Georgia Press Association's (GPA) Better Newspaper Contest during the GPA's annual convention on Jekyll Island June 13.
Awards were given for work published in 2025 and were based on The Sun's circulation division.
Photographer Bill Powell won a first place award in the spot news photograph category. Two of Powell's photos were entered for the contest, both drone shots of Lake Hartwell, with the winning photo showcasing wakeboarders at sunset.
Sports writer Benjamin London won second place in the sports feature photograph category. A pair of photos were entered for the category – one of the Hart County Lady Volley Dogs celebrating a win and the other of the crowning of Miss Bulldog prior to a football game.
The Sun staff won second place in the special issues category. Both The Sun's Breast Cancer Awareness issue in October and the Best of Hartwell special section were entered for the category.
The Sun staff was also awarded third place in the lifestyle coverage category for its coverage of lifestyle topics in the community in April, October and November 2025.
Editor/Publisher Rose Scoggins won two second place awards, one for feauture photograph and one for headline writing. The feature photograph was taken during the Ag Expo at the Hart County Agriscience Center of the pedal tractor race.
The winning headlines included "Avian flu flocks in," about the avian flu in January, "Talking trash," about the Hart County Board of Commissioners' transfer station discussion and "Studying H2Options," about the Hart County Water and Sewer Authority looking at the cost of a water treatment facility.