The Flor-Ala won five Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) March 16.

The paper won first place in the Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper category. Executive Editor Josh Skaggs, alongside the rest of the staff, won first place in editorial writing. Chief Photographer Kayla Sloan placed first in the photo illustration category. News/Managing Editor Alex Lindley and former Staff Writer Matt Wilson placed first in general news writing. Lindley also placed second in general column writing.

“I’m honored that the hard work our staff puts into our publication was recognized by a professional organization,” Skaggs said.

Sloan, who placed first for her photo illustration with the “Can you disconnect: Student goes on 24-hour media fast” story, said she worked for almost two hours on the illustration.

“I was running out of ideas,” she said. “I started gathering my Mac supplies, though, and realized I can’t let go of technology. So I wrapped him (Evan Sandy) up in cords and (computer) mice.”

Lindley, who placed second in general column writing, said the opinion page is a change of pace for student journalists.

“The opinions page is the only page where we, as student journalists, can express ourselves,” he said. “That’s why I like writing columns.”

The awards do a lot to show the hard work of the staff, said Student Media Adviser Rebecca Walker.

“I think, more than anything, these wins validate the amount of hard work that goes into The Flor-Ala,” she said. “The students don’t work with an end goal to be recognized through competition, but this recognition among their peers in the profession certainly shows that they’re doing the work of true journalists.”

Lindley said he feels the same way.

“I’m proud of the staff,” he said. “It’s been a collective effort all year.”

The Flor-Ala submitted entries from editors and staff writers, as well as full issues of the paper, in the medium size (4,000-7,000 students) division of six categories of the SPJ Region 3 student journalism competition earlier this year. Region 3 is comprised of schools from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.