This photo, “HIV/AIDS Activist,” of Joan Moore won a third place award for best portrait.

ATLANTA–The Georgia Bulletin at the annual Catholic Press Association media conference earned six awards for excellence in 2012.

The paper won a first place in sports journalism, a second place for Year of Faith coverage, three third-place awards and an honorable mention.

The work was recognized at the annual gathering of Catholic journalists from the United States and Canada, which attracted some 400 people. It was held in Denver, Colo., June 19-21.  The Georgia Bulletin, with its circulation of some 70,000, competes in the largest category, 40,000 circulation and above.

Andrew Nelson, a staff writer, wrote the first-place story “War Eagles Follow In Footsteps of Marist ‘Cadets’ ” about the 100-year anniversary of football at The Marist School.

The story, published Nov. 8, 2012, traced the start of Marist football from a small parking lot “field” in downtown Atlanta to one of the standout programs in Atlanta high school football, weaving memories of a player from the 1939 team and a school historian with insights from the school president and the long-time coach.

Judges called it, “Catholic culture through the years, reflected in one institution, told through one team. Great research, good quotes.”

The Georgia Bulletin’s ongoing series on the Year of Faith, a Marian year in the Atlanta Archdiocese, also captured the judges’ eye. A combination of articles and photos launching the Marian year on Sept. 27, 2012, was honored.

Judges said, “Giving the Year of Faith a concrete platform was brilliant by the archdiocese and the execution of dedicating the year to “Faith Personified” via the Virgin Mary was excellent execution of the project as was the bishop’s Q and A about the Holy Mother.”

Judges awarded writer Andrew Nelson and photographer Michael Alexander a second place.

The stories judged were:

Emphasis on Mary to color upcoming year

Archbishop Gregory answers questions about Mary

Mary cherished by Cubans as Virgin of Charity

Alexander’s photography also earned two third-place awards.

Michael Alexander’s “Arms Control” was honored in the best sports photo category.

Alexander was honored in best sports photo category for “Arms Control,” a photo of a Blessed Trinity High School wrestler tying up the arms of a competitor from St. Pius X High School. And his portrait titled “HIV/AIDS Activist,” of Joan Moore, a member of All Saints Church, Dunwoody, also was recognized with a third-place award.

Columnist David A. King, a professor at Kennesaw State University, took home third place for his writings on the arts. The columns included: ‘The Exorcist: Setting The Record Straight”; “Carroll’s ‘American Requiem’ A Profound Memorial”; and “Vince Lombardi: Sport and Art, Sport and Faith.”

Judges said this was an “interesting mix of columns” taking some unconventional positions.

A Georgia Bulletin multimedia presentation was recognized with an honorable mention. Alexander and graphic designer Thomas Schulte put together “Cathedral of Christ the King: A Day in the Life,” looking at the dawn-to-dusk flow of people, from schoolchildren to Bible study, daily Mass to organ practice and marriage rehearsals, taking place at the mother church of the archdiocese.

Judges said its “simple yet evocative images capture a day in the life of this church.”