The Daily Leader brought home three awards, including a first-place honor, in the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters and Media Editors contest held in New Orleans recently.

The news organization’s wins, announced in a ceremony at the National World War II Museum, came from more than 1,400 entries submitted by print and broadcast journalists in the two-state region for work done in 2017.

The newspaper’s first-place win came in the personal column category for a series of three columns written by publisher Luke Horton.

Horton “told stories that stick with a reader and in a way that makes the reader reflect on their own experiences. I enjoyed reading these columns,” a judge wrote.

Other notable wins came for Donna Campbell, who earned a second-place award in the breaking news category for “A Senseless Tragedy,” the story about the tragic shooting deaths of eight people in May and the arrest of suspect Willie Corey Godbolt.

“Such a tragic event and the paper covered every angle above and beyond what had to be a trying news day,” judges wrote.

Campbell also earned a second-place award with Matt Rushing for their continuing coverage of the Memorial Day weekend shootings.

Judges said it was “stunning coverage both in photos and reportage. Staff assigned in a very organized fashion to bring out different aspects of this story.”