The Beachcomber won 19 awards, including first place for general excellence in its circulation group, at the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association (WNPA) annual gathering in Wenatchee Friday.

The newspaper won awards for news reporting, feature writing and photography, as well as awards for several ads it designed and special sections it published between 2009 to 2010.

The awards are part of the WNPA’s 2010 Better Newspaper Contest.

Daralyn Anderson, the newspaper’s publisher, said she was thrilled by The Beachcomber’s strong showing. The general excellence award, one of the most coveted issued by the newspaper association, was especially noteworthy, she said.

“It’s a reflection of the paper’s overall quality — its news stories, editorial pages, photography and ad designs,” she said. “So it’s an award that honors the talents of the entire staff.”

Among the awards was first place to Leslie Brown, the paper’s editor, in news writing, environmental reporting and eduction reporting. Reporter Susan Riemer took third place in news writing and second place in feature writing; and Amelia Heagerty, who no longer works at The Beachcomber, took second place in news writing.

Sy Bean, a Vashon High School graduate who interned for The Beachcomber until he graduated in June, won first place for general news photography for his picture of seniors graduating in 2009.

Nance Scott, Matthew Olds and Anderson also won several awards for ads they designed, including first and third place for most original idea and most effective use of a small space ad.

The paper also took first and second place for non-tourism special sections — first for its home and garden section and second for a section on the Vashon Park District and the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust.