Agromeck, Windhover to receive top national award

N.C. State’s student yearbook, the Agromeck, and its literary and arts magazine, Windhover, will be recognized with a Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association this coming spring.

“This award indicates that your publication ranks among the best in student journalism,” said Edmund Sullivan, executive director of CSPA.

A total of 1,882 newspaper, magazines and yearbooks published during the 2006-2007 academic year were eligible in the 2008 Crown Awards program.

In March 2008, 32 magazines, 47 newspapers and 50 yearbooks will receive either a Gold or Silver Crown Award. This will be the first time the Windhover literary and arts magazine has received a national CSPA award. The 2004 Agromeck yearbook received N.C. State’s first national Crown award for any publication. The fall 2005 and spring 2006 Techniciannewspapers both received Silver Crown awards.

Twelve college magazines were nominated for Crown awards, none other than theWindhover in North Carolina. Lauren Gould was the editor of the 2007 edition. Other staff members included designers Libbi Levi, Paul Venuto, Joshua Smith and Becca Mayfield; Literary Editor Minori Sanchiz, Music Editor Joel Mikkelsen, readers Alison Harmon and Victoria Renz. The book was printed by Theo Davis Printing of Raleigh.

• American River Review, American River College, Sacramento, CA;
• Baily’s Beads, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford, PA;
• Blue Moon, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA;
• Collage: A Journal for Creative Expression, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN;
• Dollars & Sense, Baruch College, New York, NY;
• Flux Magazine, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR;
• Grub Street, Towson University, Towson, MD;
• Hair Trigger 29, Columbia College, Chicago, IL;
• The Bridge, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA;
• The Huron River Review, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, MI;
• The Lens Magazine, Carleton College, Northfield, MN;
• Windhover, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

“The Windhover consistently ranks as one of the top publications in the nation,” said adviser Bradley Wilson. “The 2007 edition was spectacular not only in terms of its design, but in terms of its content. And how good it was became evident when they disappeared so fast during distribution. It’s an awesome magazine from cover to cover.”

Ten college yearbooks were nominated for Crown awards, again, none other than theAgromeck in North Carolina. Brandon Wright was the editor of the 2007 edition. Other senior staff members included Managing Editor Mary Beth Hamrick, Design Editor Mark Fenimore, Photo Editor William Alligood, Sports Editor John Cooper Elias, Greeks/Organizations Editor Melissa Patzwaldt, Marketing Manager Jamie Rochelle, Assistant Marketing Manager Jon Clemmons. The book was printed by Taylor Publishing of Dallas, represented by Dave Ehinger.

• Aggieland, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX;
• Agromeck, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC;
• Arbutus, Indiana University at Bloomington, Bloomington, IN;
• Ibis, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL;
• Illio, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL;
• Royal Purple, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS;
• Selah, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA;
• Sooner/Crimson Tradition, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK;
• Talisman, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY;
• The Razorback, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR.

The Crown Awards are considered at Columbia by panels of invited judges, working in small groups to review each publication. During Crown consideration, publications are judged on their excellence as shown by their design, photography, concept, coverage and writing. Crown Awards summarize overall excellence in the entire publication and function as a “top-down” view of general excellence.

“While sales of the yearbook continue to decline, we have begun to consistently produce one of the best books in the nation,” said Wilson, also adviser to the yearbook. “I hope the students, faculty and staff will realize the value of this historical record and keep it alive. The yearbook is one of the first resources historians turn to when trying to get a reflection of the year.”