For the second year in a row, WAG magazine, a luxury lifestyle publication of the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals, has been judged Best Magazine by the New York Press Association.
The award was presented during the Excellence Awards ceremony at the NYPA Spring Convention & Trade Show, April 8 and 9 at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
“To be recognized for the second year in a row by our peers and judges nationwide as the ‘Best Magazine in New York State’ validates our concept and team effort,” said Dee DelBello, publisher and creative director of WAG magazine and its parent company, Westfair Communications Inc. “Each month we enjoy the challenges and creativity needed to produce a provocative and unique publication, and we thank the judges for their approval.”
WAG editor-in-chief Georgette Gouveia added: “This award is the very emblem of teamwork. It’s the result of creativity and hard work on the part of our writers, led by editor Bob Rozycki and senior writer Mary Shustack; our production staff, led by associate creative director Dan Viteri; and our sales staff, led by associate publisher Anne Jordan-Duffy. But most of all, WAG would not be WAG without the vision and leadership of Dee DelBello, who had the genius to make this local fixture a thematic publication when she bought the monthly in November of 2010. She’s the engine that keeps us humming.”
The contest included 2,836 entries submitted by 177 newspapers throughout New York State, all competing for awards in 64 categories, as well as for Newspaper of the Year, the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence and the John J. Evans Award for Advertising Excellence. The entries were judged by members of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.
A statement from one of the judges read: “Very well put together magazine. The photos were good. The layout was nice, and advertising was also well-balanced. Great magazine.”
Dating back four decades, WAG was relaunched in February 2011. The print magazine, which also appears online in an expanded form at wagmag.com, regularly covers topics that include the arts, fashion, dining, travel and health and wellness.
Its focus, whether a celebrity interview or restaurant review, puts an emphasis on those with strong ties to its readership area. In the example singled out for the award, WAG’s November 2015 “Passion for Work” issue, the cover story was devoted to actor Ryan Reynolds, who is a resident of Westchester County. (Other recent covers have included Mariano Rivera, Joan Lunden and Rita Wilson.) The publication is rounded out by ongoing features devoted to fitness, wine, cooking, cars and pets as well as the local social and nonprofit scene.
Westfair Communications also publishes HV Biz and conducts special events throughout the year.
Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to our readers. You’re part of the WAG team, too. —For more, contact me at 914-358-0761 or ggouveia@westfairinc.com. – Georgette Gouveia
