YOUR AWARD WINNING ALT-WEEKLY >>>

Last night at Safeco Field Region 10 of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) held its annual NW Excellence in Journalism awards banquet. Hosted by Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times and Jen Mueller of ROOT Sports - appropriate given the venue - last night's festivities were a good time for all involved, from the tasty buffet to watching the Safeco Field roof close when the raindrops started falling. After receiving over 2,500 submissions from dozens of media outlets (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana make up Region 10), last night the best of the best of 2010 were officially announced.

Along with all the winners, special congratulations go to the Weekly Volcano's Brett Cihon, who took home second place in the Alternative Weeklies Lifestyles Reporting category for his "Gia is an Escort" story.

Seriously awesome job, Brett! We're all very proud of you. Well done, sir.