My Neighborhood News Network Managing Editor Nick Ng took first place in the 2024 Excellence in Journalism Awards sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 10.

Ng’s photo of Sakha women dancing at a Yhyakh festival at Lynnwood’s Lynndale Park earned top honors in SPJ’s news photography category for small publications.

The photo was one of several that Ng took for a story about Lynnwood families from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in Russia who gathered at Lynndale Park in June 2024. The families were celebrating Yhyakh — an ancient festival heralding the arrival of summer and a new year.

“Congratulations to Nick for being honored in this prestigious competition,” said MNNN President and CEO Teresa Wippel. “Through this photo, he captured the rich diversity of our community. I am proud he is part of our organization.”