JACKSON — The Natchez Democrat’s staff won 26 total awards, including 13 first-place awards and first in the overall advertising excellence category, Saturday at the Mississippi Press Association’s Mid-Winter Conference Better Newspaper Advertising Awards contest.

Among the first-place awards were honors for Profile 2016.

In most categories, The Democrat competes against other Mississippi newspapers with a similar circulation size — between 9,000 and 15,000 daily — including The Hattiesburg American, The Vicksburg Post, The Commercial Dispatch (Columbus), The (McComb) Enterprise-Journal and others. In other categories, The Democrat competes against either all daily newspapers in the state or against larger dailies.

First-place awards included:

– Advertising Excellence — staff

–Retail Advertisement (black and white) — Reeves Drug Store — Pascha Brown

–Financial Advertisement (black and white) — Concordia Bank & Trust — Pascha Brown

–Health Care Advertisement (black and white) — Falkenheiner Family Dentistry — Pascha Brown

–Grocery and Restaurant Advertisement (black and white) — Pearl Street Pasta — Justin Clarkston

–Institutional Advertisement (color) — City of Natchez — Justin Clarkston

–Financial Advertisement (color) — United Mississippi Bank — Nona Colombo

–Service Advertisement (color) — Crye-Leike Stedman Realtors — Rita Brooks

–Political Advertisement (color) — Tony Fields for Mayor — Nona Colombo

–Editorial Section — Profile 2016 — staff

–Series of Advertisements — The Corner Bar — Justin Clarkston

–Niche Product — Unofficial Visitors’ Guide

–Single Magazine Advertisement — Paul Green Realty — Rita Brooks

Second-place awards included:

–Retail Advertisement (black and white) — RRUS — Pascha Brown

–Institutional Advertisement (black and white) — Natchez Inc. — Justin Clarkston

–Financial Advertisement (black and white) — Concordia Bank & Trust — Pascha Brown

–Institutional Advertisement (color) — Adams County Christian School — Lauren Smith

–Service Advertisement (color) — Natchez Heating and Cooling — Justin Clarkston

–Small Space Advertisement (black and white) — The Corner Bar — Justin Clarkston

–Editorial Section (glossy) — Lift Off 2015

–Series of Advertisements — Natchez Children’s Services — Justin Clarkston

–Theme Page — Downtown Holiday Open House — Justin Clarkston

Third-place awards included:

–Financial Advertisement (black and white) — Natchez Wealth Management — Justin Clarkston

–Service Advertisement (color) — Natchez Children’s Services — Justin Clarkston

–Grocery and Restaurant  Advertisement (color) — Cotton Alley Café — Justin Clarkston

–Magazine or Periodical — Natchez the Magazine