For the fourth time in eight years, the Mount Desert Islander of Bar Harbor has won first place in the General Excellence category for smaller weeklies in the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

Winners for 2011 in a variety of news and advertising divisions were announced Feb. 11 at the regional association’s annual convention in Boston. Maine Press Association members won more than 60 awards in the contest, including 25 first-place awards. Those first-place winners were:

Staff, The Ellsworth American, Business Page or Section, Weekly Class 2
Jacqueline Weaver, The Ellsworth American, Spot News Photo, Weekly Class 2
Staff, The Ellsworth American, Living Page or Section, Weekly Class 2
Staff, The Ellsworth American, Local Election Coverage, Weekly Class
Staff, The Ellsworth American, Sports Page or Section, Weekly Class
Hugh Bowden, The Ellsworth American, Personality Photo, Weekly Class 2
Chris Crockett, The Ellsworth American, Website Design, Weekly Class
The Ellsworth American, Ad Rate Card/Rating Strategy, Weekly Class
The Ellsworth American, Advertising Sales Media Kit, Weekly Class
The Ellsworth American, Advertising Sales Presentation, Weekly Class
The Ellsworth American, Advertising Supplement/Special Section, Weekly Class 2
The Ellsworth American, Audience Building Promotion, Weekly Class
The Ellsworth American, Automotive Display Ad, Weekly Class
The Ellsworth American, Newspaper-Sponsored Event Promotion, Weekly Class

Michelle Snowden, Mount Desert Islander, Illustration, Weekly Class 1
Staff, Mount Desert Islander, Front Page, Weekly Class 1
Mount Desert Islander, Best Idea for Generating Ad Revenue, Weekly Class
Mount Desert Islander, Local Ad in Color, Weekly Class 1
Mount Desert Islander, Real Estate Display Ad, Weekly Class 1
Mount Desert Islander, General Excellence, Weekly Class 1

Boothbay Register, Advertising Supplement/Special Section, Weekly Class 1
Boothbay Register, Themed, Banner or Sponsored Ad Page, Weekly Class
Boothbay Register, Advertising General Excellence, Weekly Class 1

Laura Snyder Smith, The York Weekly, Living Page or Section, Weekly Class 1

A.M. Sheehan and Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, Advertiser-Democrat, Special Award, Weekly Class 1

To see complete results from the NENPA contest, go to: http://www.nenpa.com/