Arizona Highways continued its run of success in International Regional Magazine Association competition, taking home 17 awards, including two golds, at the group's annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week.

This year's awards covered magazines published in 2018; the total of 17 awards is the same number the magazine won in IRMA competition last year.

The two golds went to longtime contributor Annette McGivney, in the Nature & Environment Feature category, for In Search of Ancient Agaves (February 2018); and to Managing Editor Noah Austin, in the Historic Feature category, for A Totally Different Ballgame (March 2018).

Among those winning silver awards were contributors Tyler Williams (General Feature, A Walk in the Park, September 2018), Matt Jaffe (Travel Feature, The Ultimate Arizona Road Trip, July 2018; Profile, Barry Goldwater, December 2018), Jacques Barbey (Photo Series, A Totally Different Ballgame) and Bev Pettit (Portrait Photo, Keeping It Real, August 2018), along with Editor Robert Stieve (Head and Deck, He Can Take Care of Himself Just Fine, September 2018) and Creative Director Barbara Glynn Denney (Art Direction, Single Story, Arizona Ghost Towns, October 2018).

Leading the bronze award winners were Senior Editor Kelly Vaughn (Magazine Writer of the Year) and contributor Joel Hazelton (Magazine Photographer of the Year).

"It is a true honor to be recognized for the outstanding work our team does each and every day," Arizona Highways Publisher Kelly Mero said. "To be recognized among peer publications speaks volumes to the high standards of breathtaking photography and editorial excellence we continue to strive for and deliver on."

IRMA was founded in 1960. Its purpose is to support and promote regional magazines in the United States and elsewhere. Arizona Highways has hosted the conference four times, most recently in 2012. Next year's conference will be in Ottawa, Canada.

The full list of 2018 Arizona Highways IRMA award winners:

Gold Awards
Historic Feature: Noah Austin, A Totally Different Ballgame (March)
Nature & Environment Feature: Annette McGivney, In Search of Ancient Agaves (February)

Silver Awards
Travel Feature: Matt Jaffe, The Ultimate Arizona Road Trip (July)
General Feature: Tyler Williams, A Walk in the Park (September)
Profile: Matt Jaffe, Barry Goldwater (December)
Head and Deck: Robert Stieve, He Can Take Care of Himself Just Fine (September)
Photo Series: Jacques Barbey, A Totally Different Ballgame (March)
Portrait Photo: Bev Pettit, Keeping It Real (August)
Art Direction, Single Story: Barbara Glynn Denney, Arizona Ghost Towns (October)

Bronze Awards
Column: Robert Stieve, Editor's Letter
Magazine Writer of the Year: Kelly Vaughn
Single Photo: John Blaustein, A River So Long (May)
Portrait Series: David Zickl, First Chair (November)
Photographer of the Year: Joel Hazelton
Cover: February 2018

Awards of Merit
Art & Culture Feature: Annette McGivney, Indigenous Arizona (November)
Special Focus: Remembering Photographer Jerry D. Jacka (April)