The Stanly News & Press brought home an award at the annual 2022 NCPA (North Carolina Press Association) Editorial and Advertising Awards Thursday night.

B.J. Drye

General manager and editor B.J. Drye won second place in the SNAP’s division for best headline writing.

The winning entry consisted of:

• “Joker leads to winning hands for kids,” the headline for a story by Charles Curcio about Oakboro K9 officer Joker winning a photo contest and the community’s response;

• “The Wedding of the Opera,” the title for a story by Chris Miller about a couple getting married in the old Albemarle Opera House; and

• “Slime Time” / “Sliming Salyer sends Scouts’ sales to goal,” the heading for a story by Drye concerning Scouts sliming their Scoutleader after reaching their cookie sales’ goal. Troop 1061 in Locust sold 14,686 boxes, leading to the sliming of Contina Salyer.

It is the second consecutive year Drye has placed in the headline writing category.

“I thank Charles and Chris for bringing two of these great stories from the community,” Drye said. “The words and photos from their reports helped inspire me to write some award-winning headlines.

“All three pieces of this entry show what is at the heart of community journalism: people (and dogs) with interesting stories,” Drye added.