Akers Media, publisher of Lake & Sumter Style Magazine, earned 45 total awards Saturday night at the Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards Ceremony, held in West Palm Beach, marking one of the most successful showings in the company’s history.

Among the top honors, Akers Media received the Lucy Morgan Award for In-Depth Reporting, one of the most prestigious awards presented by the Florida Press Club. The award recognizes outstanding investigative and enterprise journalism and is considered a significant achievement within Florida’s media industry.

The Akers Media staff also earned two first-place team awards, winning top honors for its Extraordinary People feature and Growing Pains feature.

In digital journalism, Style Magazine’s Daily News website received a second-place award, recognizing excellence in online news coverage.

Several individual staff members were also recognized across multiple categories.

Executive Editor Cindy Peterson earned multiple awards, placing in feature writing, headline writing, minority news, business news, food writing and website news.

Creative Director Michael Gaulin placed in both feature layout and cover layout categories, while Shawnee Coppola swept multiple awards across layout design categories.

Chief Photographer Nicole Hamel dominated the photography categories with multiple wins in feature photography, portrait photography and sports photography.

Managing Editor Roxanne Brown won multiple awards in education news, headline writing, health writing, religion news and features.

Writer Gina Horan earned recognition in food writing and light features, while Kyle Coppola, a former sports writer for Style Magazine, collected multiple awards in sports features and sports columns.

The Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards celebrate outstanding journalism across print, digital and visual platforms throughout the state. Congratulations to all the winners!