It's always nice to be recognized in this business -- even if that's rarely one of the motivating factors behind entering this noble profession.

That's why I'm hoping you will indulge me for a moment so I can publicly embarrass some of my colleagues over their recent accomplishments.

On Tuesday, The Telegraph learned that it will be receiving eight awards when the New England Associated Press News Executives Association conducts its annual fall conference Sept. 29-30 at the Westin Hotel in Providence, R.I.

All told, those awards -- one for writing, one for photography and six for design -- will be spread among 10 current and former members of the newsroom.

The award winners are as follows:

• Sports story / 1st place: "Building an Athlete," a three-day series that was authored by sports staff members Gary Fitz, Pete LeBlanc, Tom King and Brian Miller.
• Sports feature photo / 3rd place: Bob Hammerstrom, staff photographer.
• Page 1 design / 2nd place: Andrew Toland, copy editor/page designer.
• Page 1 design / 3rd place: Marty Karlon, Sunday/Features editor.
• Local/regional section design / 2nd place: Dave Pierce, news editor.
• Business page design / 2nd place: Vanessa, Palange, business copy editor/page designer.
• Feature page design / 3rd place (tie): Deidre Ashe, Lifestyle editor, earned both third-place awards.

The Telegraph competes in Class III in this contest, which is the smallest of the three circulation categories.

The full list of award winners in all three categories is available at the Northern New England Web site of The Associated Press.