The British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association (BCYCNA) announced the finalists for the 2024 Ma Murray Awards, and the Comox Valley Record has been named a finalist in five different categories, including the prestigious Newspaper Excellence Award.

The Newspaper Excellence submission was the Feb. 22, 2023 issue, with an aerial photo of Mount Washington at dusk on the front page, taken by local photographer Nick Thornton.

The Record last won the Newspaper Excellence Award in 2015.

There were also various individual finalists named.

Journalist Erin Haluschak was named a finalist in the Feature Photo Award (Circulation over 11k) for her front page photo named 鈥淪olemn Ceremony.鈥� The photo depicts a red dress hanging from a tree in Simms Park during the ceremony depicting the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and two-spirited people.

Olivier Laurin is a finalist in the Outdoor Recreation Writing Award for his article titled Unraveling Cumberland鈥檚 mountain biking history, which ran in the Record, as well as in Trio Magazine.

Laurin wasn鈥檛 done there though. He is also up for a shared award with Record editor Terry Farrell in the Breaking News Video Award category, for their coverage of a trailer home fire in Courtenay.

Farrell won a silver medal in the same category in 2023.

On the advertising side, multimedia marketing consultant Peter Diespecker has been named a finalist in the Ad Design Award (Circulation over 11k) for his ad 鈥淒racula鈥檚 Deals Don鈥檛 Suck.鈥�

No newspaper on Vancouver Island received more finalist nominations than the Comox Valley Record.

The winners will be announced at a gala event in Vancouver on April 20.