The UALR Forum staff took home 11 awards, including five first-place awards and a prestigious General Excellence Award at the annual Arkansas College Media Association conference Friday, April 17, at John Brown University in Siloam Springs.

The ACMA annually convenes to recognize the best of the state’s media output and is made up of colleges and universities throughout Arkansas.

The Forum’s head graphic designer/art director, Byron Buslig of El Dorado, won Designer of the Year in the competition’s General Excellence category while also winning first-place in newspaper advertising.

Other first-place award winners were Maggie Rogers of Stuttgart, Grant Fox of Little Rock, and Brian Gregory of Jacksonville.

Rogers, sports editor, won two top awards in the online category: one for breaking news story and the other for sports photo.

Fox, entertainment editor, received first-place for newspaper headline writing. Gregory, staff writer, won the category for election/political articles, also in the online category.

Winning second-place awards were KenDrell Collins of Osceola and Gregory. Collins, the publication’s executive editor, placed in the newspaper general column writing category while Gregory placed for online sports photo.

Third-place awards went to Paige Mason of Fresno, Calif., and Victoria Temple of Maumelle. Mason, an illustrator, won in categories for newspaper editorial cartoon and newspaper cartoon strip or single panel entertainment cartoon. Temple, a graphic designer, placed in the classified newspaper advertising category.

“I am very pleased with The Forum’s showing,” said Faculty Advisor Sonny Rhodes.

“The competition this year was extremely strong, and our students represented UALR admirably. I am very proud of them.”