Ashburn Magazine received 12 awards, including four first-place honors, for journalistic and advertising excellence in the Virginia Press Association’s contest for work published in 2025.
The awards were presented April 11 at the VPA’s annual conference in Lynchburg. Ashburn Magazine competes in the Specialty category against such publications as the Washington Business Journal, Richmond Magazine and Virginia Business Magazine.
Ashburn Magazine’s four first-place awards consisted of one for journalism and three for advertising. The journalism award went to photographer Astri Wee in the Feature Photo category for her cover photo of John and Janessa Moss, owners of the Ashburn Sunoco. That photo appeared in the May/June 2025 edition.
Two of the three advertising first-place awards went to the team of account executive Judy Harbin and production director Nicky Marshok. One was in the category of Entertainment advertising, for an ad for Stage Coach Theatre Company, and the other was in Home and Garden advertising for Meade’s HVAC.
The other advertising first-place award went to advertising manager Connie Fields and the creative staff in the Professional Services category for an ad for Mitch Mahoney/Symphony Financial.
The magazine received seven second-place awards in journalism categories:
- Design and Presentation, the staff for the overall look of the magazine.
- Front Page or Front Cover, Chris Wadsworth, Kara Thorpe and Wee, for the overall appearance of the cover
- Feature Photo, Wee for her cover photo of “Spy Mom” Ann Butler, who was profiled in the March/April edition
- Personality or Portrait Photo, Wee for her cover photo of Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, in the January/February edition
- Food Writing, Wadsworth, for “Rise of the Robots” about robotic servers in local restaurants
- Public Affairs Writing, Karen Feldman, for “The Future is Here,” a look at the new Northern Virginia Science Center
- Best Lede, Wadsworth, for three samples of his work
And Connie Fields and the creative staff won a second place in Fashion and Personal Care advertising for an ad for Mountcastle Medical Spa.