Nevada Silver & Blue, the magazine of the University of Nevada, Reno, was granted four awards, two first-place and two third-place, in the Nevada Press Association's Best of Nevada Journalism 2011 contest. Winners were announced at the association's banquet Oct. 15 at Piper's Opera House in Virginia City.

Since the Nevada Press Association expanded its annual contest to include a Magazine Class in 2009, Nevada Silver & Blue has won awards every year, for a total of 22 awards-including eight writing awards, eight photography awards, five design awards and an honorable mention for general excellence. The annual contest is judged by a different Western state's press association each year. This year, the Utah Press Association judged entries.

"Nevada Silver & Blue has a long-standing tradition of keeping the University's alumni, friends and faculty up-to-date and in touch with the campus," said John Carothers, vice president of Development and Alumni Relations and executive editor of the magazine.

Winning first place for Best Information Graphic this year were Nevada Silver & Blue's artist Andrew Nixon and Nevada Silver & Blue's art director, Patrick McFarland, a 1997 journalism alumnus, who collaborated on the fall 2010 cover, depicting a cartoon map of campus. The judges wrote, "Absolutely stunning ... Can't imagine the time, effort and talent it took to create this."

Nevada Silver & Blue's regular columnist, K-von, a 2003 marketing alumnus and professional comedian, won first place for Best Local Column, which drew the judges' comment, "Very funny!" Visit Kvon.tv or Kvon Comedy Facebook page to check out his latest clips and gig information.

Last year, the magazine also won four awards in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Awards of Excellence 2010 contest. CASE is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

Carothers said, "We are very pleased to have been recognized by two highly regarded organizations for our efforts."

In the CASE contest, the magazine received a gold for its "Family Tree Challenge" department in the Alumni Relations Programs: Programming for Special Constituencies category, and three silvers for the magazine's fall 2010 Campus Map Illustration: two in the Excellence in Design category and one in Individual Institutional Relations and Alumni Relations Publications.

The latest issue of Nevada Silver & Blue is available to view online at Nevada Silver and Blue.