BOSTON — PenBayPilot.com took first place Saturday night, Feb. 21, for Best Overall Website in its circulation category, at the annual awards banquet held by the New England Newspaper and Press Association. The event took place during the two-day conference of journalists, advertising representatives, and newspaper editors and publishers from the six New England states.

The conference was held at the Seaport Hotel in South Boston.

“Just a great local news website!” wrote the judges, in their commentary. “The site features good local content, ample visuals, easy navigation and adds value to the readers’ experience in the community it serves. The advertising revenue seems to be nicely tucked into lists of local restaurants and retailers that appear more like a service than a solicitation.”

Penobscot Bay Pilot went live Sept. 10, 2012, and its readership has steadily increased since then, resulting in a 250 percent growth rate to date. But a community website is only as robust and lively as the region and people it represents.

PenBayPilot.com thanks the community for help making awards like this happen!

Editorial directors Lynda Clancy and Holly S. Edwards also took home individual awards.

Edwards took first place in multi-media coverage with her event promotion page about the 2014 U.S. National Toboggan Championships.

“A combination of week-by-week photos, video and articles takes website viewers through the lead up to, and conclusion of, the championships,” judges wrote. “It was handy to have the stories all in one file; if the viewer missed a week, he or she could simply catch up and then move forward. In addition to a thorough calendar of events, the reporters also treated readers to profiles of two local people involved in the races, the artist behind the championship’s poster and the chute master for the race. They included photos and were tightly written but still brought the character to life. Overall, it is a nicely done package.”

Clancy took second place in multi-media coverage with her story about sailing aboard the U.S. Coast Guard training tall ship, Eagle, departing out of New London, Conn., for Newport, Va., in September 2013. On the fore, on the main, on the mizzen: Sailing aboard the U.S. tallship Eagle.

“It’s an interesting report of a weeklong training session aboard square-rigger Eagle, a classic sailing ship.... It contains more than 60 photos, and in the online version, the photos can be viewed so readers don’t have to scroll through the article to see the images. The article is thorough and informative, and there are some spectacular photos of the ship at sea.”

 Clancy also took third place in science and technology reporting for her article, Searsmont citizens demand better oversight at Spectra pipeline compressor station.

“Good example of solid, watch dog community journalism,” the judges wrote.

PenBayPilot.com was entered into the contest along with its print partners, the Boothbay Register and Wiscasset Newspaper. From those entities, Lisa Kristoff took first place for an arts and entertainment article, while the Wiscasset Newspaper received awards for videos by Susan Johns and Ben Bulkeley.

Related links:

• 2015 NENPA Competition: Complete list of winners and judges’ comments

• New England Newspaper and Press Association