Kirkland and Bothell/Kenmore Reporter regional editor Matt Phelps was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists during the 2016 SPJ Western Region awards banquet on Saturday.

Phelps won second place in the category of editorial writing for two editorials published in the Reporters. The first was titled “A tough lesson on waiting to see the doctor,” published in July 2015 in both the Kirkland and Bothell/Kenmore papers. The second editorial was titled “Kirkland has been accountable, now it is the state’s turn,” published in April 2015 in the Kirkland Reporter.

The SPJ Western Region journalism contest covers five western states: Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.