The front pages of the South Whidbey Record are some of the best in North America, according to judges in the 2010 newspaper competition sponsored by the Suburban Newspapers of America.

The association announced the winners in its annual contest for newspapers in the United States and Canada, and the Record earned two awards in the competition for best front pages.

The Record won third place for non-daily newspapers of up to 8,000 in circulation, and also won an honorable mention in the same category.

The prestigious honors are made “in recognition of a newspaper’s best front page, one which creates a positive first impression of the newspaper and entices readers to read the inside pages,” according to the SNA.

The competition was judged by the faculty of Loyola University Chicago, School of Communication, and was based on news writing, layout, photos, design, graphics, the flag and the use of headlines. The judges reviewed multiple issues of the Record that were published between Sept. 1, 2009 and Aug. 31, 2010.

“This is quite an honor for a small community paper like the South Whidbey Record,” said Publisher Marcia Van Dyke. “It is extremely gratifying when we are recognized by our peers on a national level. Brian Kelly’s hard work and dedication to excellence makes us all proud.”

The judges reviewed more than 1,600 entries in the 2010 competition, and the Record was the only newspaper in Washington state to be honored in this year’s contest.

It is the second year in a row, and the third year in the past four, that the Record has received top honors for its front pages.

The newspaper also won SNA awards for best front pages in 2009 (first place) and in 2007 (first place). In total, the newspaper staff has earned more than 50 state and national awards over the past three years.

The Record is owned by Sound Publishing, the publisher of 56 community newspapers, business publications, magazines, classified advertising publications and Navy base newspapers.