DAYSPA Wins Prestigious Award

Art director Danielle “Dannie” Caseñas and executive editor Rhonda J. Wilson take top honor at the Maggies.

DAYSPA recently won a top magazine publishing honor at the 58th Annual Maggie Awards.

The publication received a “Best Regularly Featured Department, Section or Column/Trade” Maggie for its DAYSPA Investigates series. “Up in Flames” by Andrea Renskoff (June 2008), “Shattered Expectations” by Rhonda J. Wilson (September 2008) and “Rubbed the Wrong Way” by Jenny Hontz (November 2008) can be viewed here. It’s the first time in the magazine’s history that a series of articles has been recognized for editorial excellence.

The DAYSPA Investigates column covers commonplace to controversial topics that affect the lives of everyday business owners in extraordinary ways. “Up in Flames” assessed the risk of laundry-room fire hazards in a day spa setting; “Shattered Expectations” revealed clients with unrealistic expectations who go overboard with spa treatments; and “Rubbed the Wrong Way” exposed the rise in sexual assault and misconduct claims in the massage room.

“When I informed my former associate publisher/editorial director Linda W. Lewis that I wanted to develop a series of in-depth, investigative pieces, she told me I was being overly ambitious and that I’d lose my mind in the process,” says Rhonda J. Wilson, DAYSPA executive editor. “She was right on both counts, but this award makes it all worthwhile.”

DAYSPA’s sister publication, Nailpro (www.nailpro.com), also won a Maggie for “Best Color Editorial Layout.”

The Maggies, known as the Oscars of the magazine industry, were awarded by the Western Publications Association (WPA, www.wpa-online.org) last April. The WPA honors excellence in editorial, design and promotions in consumer and trade magazines, as well as electronic media. This year’s competition received entries from more than 400 publications.