News-Sun’s Lackey named Photographer of the Year for fourth time

Dayton Daily News photographer Gorby first, third in Spot News category.
Sean Kidd gives his grandmother, Kim Martin, a kiss goodbye as he gets dropped off for the first day of school at Lagonda Elementary in August 2021. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey

Sean Kidd gives his grandmother, Kim Martin, a kiss goodbye as he gets dropped off for the first day of school at Lagonda Elementary in August 2021. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Springfield News-Sun photographer Bill Lackey earned the Ohio News Photographers Association’s small market division Photographer of the Year award as a result of weekend judging.

This marks the fourth time Lackey has won the Photographer of the Year award. It recognizes his overall body of work, including images from news, sports and features.

The contest featured entries from 39 photographers from across Ohio who submitted more than 520 entries in the 71st annual news photography contest.

The second floor of the Springfield COhatch is filled with gold, silver and black balloons as the family of Jamon Miller inflates dozens of balloons for a party Monday celebrating Miller's graduation from Shawnee High School. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

icon to expand image

Credit: Bill Lackey

Lackey placed second in the General News award category with a photo titled Kiss that showed a young student kissing his grandmother on the cheek on the first day of school.

He also was second in the Pictorial category with an entry titled Balloons that showed a room filled as a family inflated balloons for a graduation celebration.

News-Sun Editor Ismail Turay Jr. said: “Bill works tirelessly daily to hone his craft, and he always find ways to capture the most important moments in Clark and Champaign counties for our readers. He is one of the best in the business, and we are fortunate to have him on staff.”

Former Springfield-News Sun photographer Marshall Gorby finished first and third in the Spot News category. Gorby won for his image from a deadly SWAT standoff in Dayton and finished third for an image from an incident north of Springfield in which a man climbed up a tower at an electrical substation before eventually being talked down.

Judges for the still photo competition were Kathy Kieliszewski, the senior news director for visuals at the Detroit Free Press; Tim Nwachukwu, a staff sports photographer for Getty Images based in Philadelphia; and Angela Wilhelm, a staff photojournalist at the Asheville Citizen Times in North Carolina.

Noah Trick, 10, relaxes with one of his family's dairy calves Tuesday at the Clark County Fair. The images was one of several News-Sun photographer Bill Lackey entered on his way to winning the ONPA's Photographer of the Year award. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

icon to expand image

Credit: Bill Lackey