People Sentinel Journalists Win 13 South Carolina Press Association Awards

The People-Sentinel brought home 13 awards from the South Carolina Press Association's 2025 news contest, including five first-place finishes, after publisher Jonathan Vickery and reporter Stephanie Shaver traveled to Columbia on March 6 to accept the honors at the SCPA's annual awards luncheon.

The paper's haul broke down to five first-place awards, three second-place awards, and five third-place awards, spanning categories that the association recognized for impactful writing, photos, and page design. Vickery and Shaver were among journalists from across the state who gathered to accept what the association described as hundreds of awards in total.

One of the first-place wins came in Breaking News Reporting. Barbara Ball, president of the S.C. Press Association board, presented that award to Shaver and Vickery at the luncheon.

Vickery reflected on what the recognition means to the paper's mission. "It's always nice to be recognized for our work, though that's not why we do our jobs. We work hard every day so we can keep our community informed so they can know what's happening and be better informed to make decisions. However, these awards certainly reinforce that we are doing important work and motivate us to keep being watchdogs for our community," he said.

The luncheon also recognized several journalists with local ties. Caleb Bozard, a Barnwell native who reports for The Post & Courier Columbia/Free Times, received an award for Government Reporting, presented by Jen Madden, co-executive director of the S.C. Press Association. Michael Lollis, another Barnwell native, earned a first-place award for Feature Photo; he works for The Journal in Williamston. Seanna Adcox, a Williston native who serves as editor of the digital S.C. Daily Gazette, also attended the SCPA meeting and awards lunch. Her publication won 12 awards.

The People-Sentinel published its account of the wins on March 10, 2026.