April may be known for the showers that bring May flowers, but in the newspaper business it's awards season and the NewsLeader was showered with industry accolades.

Graphic artist Matt Blair received four Ma Murray community newspaper awards, including a pair of golds, a silver and a bronze, for his work on various ad campaigns and a promotional campaign to introduce members of the NewsLeader staff to our readers. The Ma Murray awards recognize the best editorial and advertising work from community newspapers in British Columbia and the Yukon.

Editor Chris Bryan was awarded first place for his opinion writing by the Suburban Newspapers of America, an industry organization that represents more than 2,000 local newspapers across North America.

Reporter Wanda Chow was awarded a third place for investigative reporting by the SNA for a story she did exposing the questionable business practices of a Burnaby esthetics school.

Photographer/reporter Mario Bartel's story about some of the pitfalls student athletes face when pursuing athletic scholarships in the United States was awarded a second place in sports writing by the SNA, and his profile of New Westminster music studio, Bully's, won a third place for arts and entertainment writing.