The Times News has won several state news and advertising awards through the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association for pieces published in 2024

The Lehigh Valley Press editions have also garnered awards, including the Bethlehem Press winning the prestigious Sweepstakes award for winning the most awards in the circulation edition. George Taylor of Tamaqua is the editor of the Bethlehem Press.

The Times News awards include:

• Jarrad Hedes and Ed Socha won second place in the news beat reporting category for coverage of the Lehighton Area School Board book debate.

• Kelly Monitz Socha won honorable mention for news beat reporting on the Panther Valley Blueprint Communities.

• Marta Gouger took an honorable mention in the business community for a West End Fair feature titled “The star of the midway is a real rat.”

• Barry Reed won an honorable mention for a series of It’s In Your Nature columns.

• Jeff Moeller took second place in the sports feature category for “The Golden Guys” about Robert Supowit, an 86-year-old referee, and other diehard officials.

• The Times News sports staff also captured second place in the Sports Enterprise category for the 2024 Times News Football tab, titled “Passing the Torch.”

• Donald R. Serfass garnered second place in the Lifestyle/Entertainment Beat for stories on Pennsylvania Coal Region Culture.

Serfass also won an honorable mention in the feature photo category for “Full Steam Ahead,” a photo of the 2102 iron horse chugging through Hometown on a fall foliage excursion from Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe.

Lehigh Valley Press

The Bethlehem Press was named a Sweepstakes Winner in the 2025 Professional Keystone Media Awards.

The award is in Division VI, Weekly General News Publications, for work published during 2024 in the Bethlehem Press. George Taylor is editor of the Bethlehem Press.

It was the eighth time that the Bethlehem Press was a Sweepstakes Winner in the Professional Keystone Awards, having previously been named a Sweepstakes Winner in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. The Bethlehem Press is celebrating its 20th year.

The Bethlehem Press won 16 Keystone awards.

Whitehall-Coplay Press and Parkland Press each won an award.

Winners are:

• Second Place, Editorial, for Kelly Lutterschmidt, editor, Whitehall-Coplay Press: “What’s on your bucket list?; The importance of a fact-checker; Community newspapers; A ‘true asset’ to you and your family

Parkland Press.

• Honorable Mention, Column, Bonnie Lee Strunk: Life’s injustices are everybody’s problem; Romantic hearts never grow old; Each of us has enormous power within

• News Feature Story, First Place, Nate Jastrzemski: Remembering Clennon; Rainbow

• Sports-Outdoor Column, Second Place, Jeff Moeller: PSU bowl game; Dark side; Confrontational

• Personality Profile, Second Place, Dana Grubb: Train layout a labor of love and friendship

• Lifestyle-Entertainment Beat, First Place, Therese O’Brien: Lehigh Valley health and public affairs

• Lifestyle-Entertainment Beat, Second Place, Paul Willistein: 18th Annual ABEs Salute Lehigh Valley Stage

• Sports Action Photo, Second Place, Mark Kirlin: Rodney Vasquez and the Pates made quick work of Allen in last week’s game

• Photo Story-Essay, Second Place, Ruth Grady: Gumdrops, Hershey kisses, Skittles and more

• News Page Design, Second Place, George Taylor: Keeping dream alive; Biden visits Emmaus; Blues and berries; Feast of St. Joseph; Taps; Dream Boyd Theater

• Feature Page Design, Second Place, George Taylor: Backpack to school; Chocolate trail; Class of 74 reunion; Life goes on rally; Musikfest safe and sound; Tucker’s toy run

• Feature Page Design, Honorable Mention, Dave Rowe, Paul Willistein: Holiday ballet; Disability and the arts; Strike up the band!; It will mean a thing; 18th Annual ABEs; The original Sgt. Pepper’s Band?

• Sports Page Design, First Place, Scott Pagel: Liberty baseball; Liberty softball; Becahi baseball;

Comes down to this; City champs; Becahi falls

• Headline Writing, First Place, Paul Willistein: Dune Part 2: Spice oddity; Fries frame: Film to tell of rebellion in time for America 250; Sweet 116: Bach Festival of Bethlehem; Whose adagio is it anyway?; The sounds of silents: ‘Nosferatu’ scary movie score; Sticky ‘Wicked’

• Headline Writing, Honorable, Mention, Ed Courrier, Nate Jastrzemski, George Taylor: Lift; Duct; Feat

• Graphic-Photo Illustration, First Place, Ed Courrier: We’re still waiting for pre-authorization

• Special Section, Second Place, Scott Pagel: 2924 fall sports season preview

• Excellence in Reporting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Honorable Mention, Tami Quigley, Dennis Glew, Jennifer Rago, Lori Patrick

Times News and Lehigh Valley press winners will be honored at the Keystone Media Awards Luncheon on Oct. 16 in Harrisburg.

Advertising awards

The Times News won 11 awards in the 2025 PNA Advertising Contest. Awards:

• First Place for the Ukrainian Homestead in the best single digital ad.

• In Ad Campaign or Series, Valley Primary Care took second place.

• Women in Business took second place in the multiple advertiser category.

• In the Special Section/Niche Publications category, the cookbook took second place.

• The NIE Newspapers in Education campaign took second place in the self promotion advertising category.

• The Hager Furniture ad took second place for new/most improved ad.

• In the best single print ad category, Apollo Farms took an honorable mention.

• Trout Farms garnered an honorable mention for a small space ad.

• “Thank You Advertisers” took an honorable mention for multiple advertiser ad.

• Cheng Law took an honorable mention in the most improved ad category.

• In the best automotive/transportation category, Schlier’s Towing and Mini Mart won honorable mention.

Winners will be honored at an awards luncheon on Sept. 25, in conjunction with PNA’s Advertising Conference, scheduled for Sept. 24-26 in State College.