The Courier recently took home four awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including the top award for a magazine or specialty publication in the associate and individual members category.

The Courier’s coverage of the aftermath of the June 17 shootings at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church led the August 2015 issue, which garnered the first-place award from the press association. The magazine’s lead story, “Charleston church massacre prompts city’s greatest Gospel witness,” was co-written by Courier editor Rudy Gray and managing editor Butch Blume.

“We are humbled and appreciative of this honor, even as we, like all South Carolinians, remain saddened by the tragedy of last summer,” said Gray. “We give God the thanks for the healing that continues to take place in our state.”

Second-place awards went to Gray for an op-ed piece, “Domestic Abuse Is Sin,” and to managing editor Butch Blume for faith reporting for the article, “From Childhood to Retirement, Connie Maxwell Has Always Been Home.”

The Courier also won a second-place award in graphic design for “By the Numbers: The Graying of America.”