By Jake Panos
On Oct. 27, Mount Vernon journalism students went to the University of Iowa for the IHSPA Fall Conference where they listened to speakers, learned about writing and publishing, and entered contests to try to win awards.
Around 800 students from across the state attended sessions where speakers talked about a variety of topics centering around journalism, including sports writing, video journalism, building a web following, iPhone photography, leadership, and team building.
At the end of the day, an awards ceremony was held. Winners were announced for on-the-spot contests and for the Fall Yearbook Contest. Three students from Mount Vernon competed in on-the-spot writing and photography contests with other students attending the conference. Senior Rachel Bell placed third in on-the-spot writing, covering the keynote speeches.
Many cheers came from the Mount Vernon section when it was announced that the yearbook had won Class A Yearbook of the Year. The award is given to the school who wins the most individual awards. Mount Vernon has won this award 6 times in the past 12 yearsSixteen Mount Vernon students won awards, and they won 31 awards total, which are listed below. Mount Vernon swept two categories in the competition: division spread design and student life out-of-school story writing. To see a full list of winners from all schools, visit the IHSPA website: IHSPA YEARBOOK RESULTS.
| Cover | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Cover | Bailey Priborsky |
| Design / January to June events | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Prom | Laura Adrian, Breanna Jones |
| Design / January to June events | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Graduation | Bailey Priborsky |
| Design / Mugs | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Seniors | Jessika Brokel, Grace Pelley |
| Design / Opening-closing or division spread | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Student life division | Alyssa Maddocks |
| Design / Opening-closing or division spread | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | sports division | Alyssa Maddocks |
| Design / Opening-closing or division spread | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Endsheets | Bailey Priborsky, Ethan Wenz |
| Design / Opening-closing or division spread | Honorable Mention | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | People Division | Sydney Hauser |
| Design / summer to December events | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Homecoming Spread | Bailey Priborsky |
| Design / summer to December events | Honorable Mention | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Football Spread | Maggie Rechkemmer, Jessie Brokel |
| Infograph /Mod | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Most memorable part of the season | Alyssa Maddocks |
| Reader services | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | table of contents (endsheets), title page, index, colophon | Bailey Priborsky, Maggie Rechkemmer |
| Theme | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Theme coverage | Bailey Priborsky, Rachel Bell, Maggie Rechkemmer, Alyssa Maddocks |
| Total Package | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Presidential Campaign | Alyssa Maddocks |
| Total Package | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Wrestling | Maggie Rechkemmer, Jessika Brokel |
| Total Package | Honorable Mention | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Volleyball | Kelsey Shady, Grace Pelley |
| Feature photo / student life-school related | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Displaying Their Talents | Sydney Hauser |
| Feature photo / student life-school related | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Beaming Beauties | Emma Klinkhammer |
| Feature photo with caption / student life- out-of-school related | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Undecided Stance | Ethan Wenz |
| Feature photo with caption / student life- out-of-school related | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | On Top of the World | Taylor Sherman |
| Photo Illustration | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “What was the key to your team’s success?” | Hailey Hepker |
| Sports Feature Photo/caption | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | State Runner-Up | Bailey Priborsky |
| Sports Feature Photo/caption | Honorable Mention | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Headed to State | Alyssa Maddocks |
| Personality Profile | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Ya Gotta Have Art” | Haley Hepker |
| Personality Profile | Honorable Mention | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Setting the Beat of the Service” | Ethan Wenz |
| Sports Story | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Making History” | Sydney Hauser |
| Sports Story | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Smiling Through It All” | Kelsey Shady |
| Story / student life out-of-school related | 1st Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Students Meet Presidential Candidates” | Rachel Bell |
| Story / student life out-of-school related | 2nd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Tracing Trends in Fashion and Technology” | Ethan Wenz, Abby Davidson |
| Story / student life out-of-school related | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | “Our Summer Adventures” | Alyssa Maddocks |
| Story / student life-school related | 3rd Place | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Performing at All-State | Rachel Bell |
| Story / student life-school related | Honorable Mention | Mount Vernon HS | The Centaur | Picture Perfect Prom | Mickey Hines, Breanna Jones |
