DEKALB—The Observer won six awards for journalism excellence at the Northern Illinois Newspaper fall banquet and award presentation, Oct. 23.

Editor Penny Wiegert says the honor is impressive, especially since “we are a Catholic publication competing with papers with much bigger staffs, bigger budgets and wider scope of editorial choice. So these awards indicate that our work stands the test of the secular world.”

Two first place awards recognized feature writing.

Amanda Hudson, news editor, was honored for the best feature story for “Rescued from Loss.” Observer correspondent Pat Szpekowski was honored for the best personality profile for “Quietly Faithful, Nazi Camp Survivor Remembers.”

Wiegert collected both second place awards, one as best columnist for her monthly “From the Editor” column. “Excellent trio of columns—well written with something fresh to say in each one,” wrote the judge.

She was also honored in the spot news category for “Sandwich Parish Fights Second Fire in Four Years.”

Both third place awards went to the entire staff.

The annual “Ashes to Ashes” Lent guide received the Owen Phelps Religion Award. Phelps, retired diocesan director of communications and former Observer editor, was president of NINA.

The other award was in the special sections category for the issue “Rest in Peace Bishop Arthur J. O’Neill.”

NINA is an organization that includes both weekly and daily newspapers in northern Illinois.

The contest  was insituted by the journalism department (now part of the communications department) at Northern Illinois University.