Times/News publisher Jerry Robinson has been awarded a First Place for humor writing in the annual Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest.

Robinson, 87, writes a regular column that appears in both this paper and our sister paper, the West Seattle Herald/White Center News. He began his newspaper career in 1947 and a year later, won his first award, also a First Place, for a sports story.

Over time, Robinson has written thousands of columns, often about local people. While building the 7-flag newspaper group that became Robinson Newspapers over the last 60-plus years, he still found time to write columns and three books.

The annual Better Newspaper Contest recognizes excellence among more than 100 newspapers in communities across the state.