The Daily Advance won 10 press awards, including second place for General Excellence, during the 2012 North Carolina Press Association News Editorial and Photojournalism Contest award ceremony in Chapel Hill on Thursday.

Area non-daily newspapers Chowan Herald and The Perquimans Weekly also picked up awards at the ceremony held at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Daily Advance competed among the state’s daily newspapers with circulations under 12,500 during the annual press contest.

Staff photographer Brett Clark won two individual awards, including first place for Sports Feature Photography and third place for Feature Photography.

Other individual winners include Albemarle Life Editor Robert Kelly-Goss, who took third place for Serious Columns, and Sports Editor Chic Riebel and Sports Writer Owen Hassell, who took third place for Sports Coverage.

In addition to the overall general excellence award, The Daily Advance took second place for General Excellence for Websites (dailyadvance.com).

On the website entry, judges commented, “Good social interaction tools, easy to understand navigation and design. It seems like an active site with a lot of news flowing through.”

Other awards won by the newspaper include second place for Editorial Page and Best Community Coverage, on which judges commented, “The Daily Advance embraces community journalism through the use of strong headlines, powerful photos and excellent story choices. This newspaper clearly establishes itself as a must-read for local residents by providing a wide scope of relevant stories and information.”

The newspaper won third place awards for Special Section (2012 Coast Guard edition) and Best Niche Publication (Upstyle Magazine). Commenting on the special section entry, judges said, “You can surely see the importance and the contributions of the Coast Guard in this community. Interesting stories, some simple, clean design, supportive ads.”

In the non-daily division, the Chowan Herald picked up five awards. Editor Ritchie Starnes won four individual awards including a first place and second place for Education Reporting, second place for Feature Writing; and a third place for News Coverage, which he shared with Staff Writer Becky Bunch. The Herald also took second place for Sports Coverage, an entry shared by Daily Advance Sports Editor Chic Riebel and Chowan Herald staff.

The Perquimans Weekly won three awards. Former reporter Cathy Wilson, who left the paper in December, won first place for Feature Writing, and two third place awards, for Arts and Entertainment Reporting and for General News Photography.