The Lake Travis View won awards for columns, sports, sports photography, news writing, feature photography, general excellence during the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association (TGCPA) Better Newspapers Contest.

 The awards were announced during the 71st annual TGCPA convention held May 14-16 in Copperas Cove.
“It is always an honor for the newspaper to be recognized by our peers,” said Lake Travis View Editor Charles McClure. “But for me, it was especially gratifying to see our sports editor, Max Thompson, our sports photographer Bob Cooper and our reporter, Eleni Himaras, win awards. They are hard-working professionals and I am enormously proud of them.”
The TGCPA is the largest regional newspaper association in the U.S.
The View won first place in its division for overall sports coverage, sports photography and column writing (written by McClure). The newspaper took home second place for news writing for its coverage of the shooting last December at the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse by Himaras. TGCPA awarded the newspaper third place in general excellence (based on the newspaper’s efforts in all journalistic disciplines, including advertising), as well as an honorable mention in feature photography. The View entered two photographs, one of Zack Hennig performing “With A Little Help From My Friends” during the 2008 Lake Travis High School commencement ceremony taken by Thompson, and another by McClure of musician Rusty Wier that accompanied an article about his battle against cancer.
According to the association’s Web site, the TGCPA “was established in 1938 to promote the welfare of, encourage ethical practices in, and protect the interests of the newspaper publishing industry in the Gulf Coast Region of Texas; to encourage and promote higher standards of journalism; to take an active interest in the welfare of the State and Nation, encourage proper development of natural resources of Texas, and to cooperate with other organizations and agencies that may have like objectives. The primary purpose of Texas Gulf Coast Press Association is ‘educational.’”