NEWS - Best in show: VPA honors <I>Hook</I> advertising

<P>"Specialty," "niche," "alternative"– even just "weekly"– all words that describe non-daily papers like the <I>Hook</I>. Now add "best in show" and "top-award winner."
<P>Just two months after winning 15 journalism awards from the Virginia Press Association, the <I>Hook</I> has hauled in another 15 from the VPA, this time for advertising.
<P>In the latest contest, the <I>Hook</I>'s art director, Chris Conklin, was named "best in show" in the paper's category for an ad he designed for Charlottesville Sanitary Supply.
<P>The awards were presented April 30 at a gala banquet in the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel. In addition to Conklin's superlative, there were multiple victories for assistant art director Dana Campbell, as well as for photographer Jen Fariello.
<P>Local businesses named in the statewide contest include Rockhopper beer, Charlottesville Dermatology, West Main hair design, Southern Select Produce, Meriweather Mowing Service, and Charlottesville Skin & Laser.
<P>The Hook's 15 awards totalled more than any other paper in its category, including Richmond powerhouse <I>Style Weekly</I> and Tidewater's <I>PortFolio</I>.
<P>There were two other local winners, <I>The Daily Progress</I> which brought home 14 awards, and the <I>C-ville Weekly</I> with one.
<P><B><img src="/images/issues/2005/0418/news-VPAads.jpg"> </B><B><I>Hook</B></I><B> art director Chris Conklin joins Hawes Spencer and Dana Campbell celebrating the Hook's 15 prizes.<BR> </B>PHOTO BY GLENN BANGLEY
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