SMITHTOWN - In a memorable evening honoring one of News 12 Long Island’s most recognizable figures, the news network also captured more than 30 individual honors at the annual Press Club of Long Island Awards.

News 12 Long Island morning anchor Carol Silva accepted the Press Club’s highest honor as she was inducted to the Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame. Earlier Thursday, during the News 12 Long Island morning show, Silva announced her retirement. She will remain at the anchor desk, where she has been for the past 33 years, at the end of 2019.

When asked what’s next for Silva, she turned to her husband and simply said, “Honey, I’m coming home.”

During the award ceremony at the Watermill in Smithtown, News 12 took first place honors in multiple categories, including videos in art, business, entertainment, food and beverage, health, lifestyle and sports news.

Meteorologist Rich Hoffman won first place for Best Use of Social Media by an Individual. Brian Endres won first place for best videographer. The sports team also took top honors for videos in several categories, such as arts, lifestyle feature and health.

The News 12 digital team won first place for Best Use of Social Media by an Organization, and the broadcast team won first place for Best TV Broadcast News Program.

Among the winning stories of note are:
First Place – Arts – Video – Master of Puppets: Jamie Stuart, Dave Dodds, Gregory Stevens
First Place – Business – Video – Solar Panel Investigation: Tom Maier, Doug Cunningham, Brian Jingeleski, Gregory Stevens, Marc Racenstein
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Part 2
First Place – Entertainment Video – Northport Leg Lamp Lighting: Greg Cannella
First Place – Food and Beverage Video – Dishin’ Long Island with Stone Grissom: Stone Grissom, Andrew Singh, Brian Jingeleski
First Place – Health – Video – Buddy’s Battle: Kevin Maher, Asha Johnson, Anthony Sande
First Place - Lifestyle Feature – Video – Goat Yoga: Kevin Maher, Dave Dodds
First Place – Sports News – Video - Game On: The eSports Craze: Kevin Maher, Jamie Stuart, Staff

Joining Silva in the Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame this year were Pat Milton, a senior producer for 60 Minutes on CBS, and Newsday Pulitzer Prize-Winning photographer, J. Conrad Williams.

 Below is the list of News 12 winners.

 Click here for a full list of 2019 PCLI Award winners.