The Gazette takes home 15 awards from LPA

The Ville Platte Gazette took home a total of 15 awards, including three first-place honors, from the Louisiana Press Association’s Better Newspaper Competition held at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles on Saturday.
Gazette Associate Editor Elizabeth West took home a total of three awards.
West took third place in Best Single Editorial category for a column on her passion for her hometown of Pine Prairie; third place in the Individual Feature Writing category for a story on the Orphan Train Museum in Opelousas, and first place in the Individual Photo Color category for a photo of a decorative hat from the Creole Festival.
Gazette Managing Editor Raymond Partsch III took home a total of six awards.
Partsch took third place in the Best Front Page category, and also second place in Best Headline, Best News Photo and Best Feature Photo categories. Partsch also took first place for Best Editorial Page and first in Individual Feature Writing for his story on Fred’s Lounge in Mamou.
Sports Editor Tracey Jagneaux placed third in the Best Sports Column category for a pair of columns on LSU head coach Les Miles and high school football playoffs. Former Staff Photographer Bruce Campbell also took third place in the Best Sports Photo category.
Staff Reporter Nick Jagneaux took second place in the Best Breaking News Story category for a story on the Mamou Police Chief resigning.
The Gazette Advertising Department, which consists of Kathy Longino, Becky Nelson, Monique Ardoin and Lea Campbell, also picked up three awards as well.
Advertising took third place honors in the Staff Generated Black & White Category for “Congratulations Exhibitors” ad and third in the Staff Generated Color Category for “Cotton... The Gem of the South” ad. For its youth baseball ads “South Carolina, here we come!” the Gazette brought home second place in the Best Ad Campaign category.
The Ville Platte Gazette competed in Division 4, the same classification as The Eunice News.