The Pilot continued its winning ways Thursday night, as the newspaper received First Place for General Excellence in the N.C. Press Association's annual contest.

"North Carolina is one of the best states for newspapers in the country," said David Woronoff, publisher of The Pilot, "so the competition gets tougher every year. Great communities deserve great newspapers. Moore County is a great community, and your hard-working staff here at The Pilot is doing everything it can to keep up our end of the bargain.

"While these accolades are great, it's the positive words from our readers that really motivates us to serve this wonderful community even better."

Steve Bouser, editor of The Pilot, wrote today in a blog item on thepilot.com: "First the recent award from the Inland Press Foundation, calling The Pilot the best large-circulation community newspaper in America, and now this at the state level. I guess they must be right: We are the best little paper around."

The Pilot competes in Division C, which is for community newspapers with a circulation of 10,000 or more. The newspapers reviewed in the contest were from June 27 and 29.

"A beautiful paper, elegantly designed, (it helps that we're golf fans)," said the judge. "Great variety of coverage. Very strong op/ed and editorial pages. Good enterprise reporting on impact of the Open!"

The Brunswick Beacon, of Shallotte, received second place, and The Cary News took third place.

Pilot staffers also won several personal awards.

Jim Dodson, now the editor of PineStraw, earned First Place for columns in The Pilot, including one about the book "True Spirit, True Self," another about a local golfer, and the third about learning to let go of someone or something you love.

"A true storyteller's style, whose words leap off the page with colorful phrasing and wit," said the judge. "This engaging, captivating prose is a joy to read."

Bouser received Second Place in feature writing for a story about Samuel Emmanuel, the cat that became a "member" of a local church.

"Original story about a cat, the life he led and the people he touched," said the judge. "Poignant and touching."

David Sinclair, The Pilot's managing editor, received Third Place in news enterprise reporting for a series of stories about former N.C. House Speaker Richard Morgan and what had been happening in his life since leaving office.

"This reporting provided the citizenry with an inside look at the political wheeling-dealing in an accessible manner," said the judge.

Sports Editor Hunter Chase received Second Place in sports news reporting for his story "Sad Exit by Michelle Wie," written for one of The Pilot's U.S. Open tabloids, which were published each day of the tournament.

"The writer describes Michelle Wie's pain as she withdraws from the U.S. Women's Open," said the judge. "The reader can feel her pain."

Bouser said, "What matters to us most is what our own local readers think about us, but it is certainly rewarding to have these recognitions falling on our shoulders from our peers in the business. I couldn't be prouder of our staff, in all departments, for the terrific job they do in serving our readers so professionally."

Contact Faye Dasen at fdasen@thepilot.com or 693-2475.