From staff reports

Advertising personnel of The Vicksburg Post have picked up two first places and four second place awards in annual competition sponsored by the Mississippi Press Association.

Account representative Janet Rantisi and ad designer David Girard won the first place for a series of ads for GymSouth Inc. Judges said the ads “give a broad perspective of the values provided by enrolling students into the gym. Great client generator.”

Girard also won a first place for his political campaign ad for mayoral candidate Laurence Leyens, with the judge noting the ad was “slick and professional” and didn’t rely on the “usual stars and stripes.”

The theme page for Paws Rescue won a second place for ad designer Quin Geary. An ad for George Carr Motor Company, “Some See Red,” won a second place for Girard  in the auto advertising category. The Vicksburg Post’s entire ad staff shared a second place for its Community Guide special section. Girard and account representative Sheila Mantz shared a second place in best retail ad for a “Glamour By The Inch” ad they prepared for Art & Soul.

The awards were presented in Jackson at the midwinter meeting of the MPA, a trade association for the state’s paid circulation daily and weekly newspapers.

Jimmy Clark, general manager of The Vicksburg Post, is vice president of the association.