Hays High yearbook earns second consecutive All-American rating

Anniston Weber, Co-Editor-in-Chief|September 16, 2016

The+2016+yearbook+staff+%28Back+Row+L+to+R%29%3A+Taylor+DeBoer%2C+Chelsey+Augustine%2C+Savannah+Unsworth%2C+Alyssa+Owens%2C+Tiana+Lawson%2C+Sierra+Eichman%2C+Taylor+Groen-Younger%2C+Allie+Rome%2C+Morgan+Klaus+%28Middle+Row+L+to+R%29%3A+Kirsten+Prindle%2C+Abby+Balman%2C+Hannah+Thomasson+%28Front+Row+L+to+R%29%3A+Haley+George%2C+Brianna+Brin%2C+Kylie+Brown.

The 2016 yearbook staff (Back Row L to R): Taylor DeBoer, Chelsey Augustine, Savannah Unsworth, Alyssa Owens, Tiana Lawson, Sierra Eichman, Taylor Groen-Younger, Allie Rome, Morgan Klaus (Middle Row L to R): Kirsten Prindle, Abby Balman, Hannah Thomasson (Front Row L to R): Haley George, Brianna Brin, Kylie Brown.

For the second consecutive year, Hays High School’s yearbook, “The Indian Call,” earned the All-American rating from the National Scholastic Press Association.

The rating is one of the top awards a yearbook can receive at the national level, only exceeded by the Pacemaker Award, which is awarded annually to a handful of publications.,

“I’ve very excited to see that our book received an All-American rating for the second year in a row,” said Morgan Klaus, who served as assistant editor for the 2014-15 book and editor-in-chief for the 2015-16 book. “The staff put in a lot of hard work through this last year, and I’m very proud of all of their work to make this book a success.”

Yearbook adviser Bill Gasper said yearbooks are rated and awarded points in five areas:  Essentials, Coverage, Writing and Editing, Design and Photography. To earn All-American, the book must earn a mark of distinction in at least five of the areas.  The Indian Call earned the highest mark in all but the Essentials category.

It’s a great reward for all of the hard work we put in during the last year,” assistant editor Kylie Brown said. “It’s something not many people can say they’ve done, and I’m really proud of the staff for putting in the work to earn this ward for the second year in a row.

Echoing those sentiments was Taylor DeBoer, who also served as assistant editor.

“Everybody worked really hard to make this yearbook great, so it’s nice the work is recognized,” DeBoer said. “It also makes everyone keep working really hard towards the goal of receiving these awards in the future.”

Other staff members were Chelsey Augustine, Haley George, Taylor Groen-Younger, Tiana Lawson, Kirsten Prindle, Allison Rome, Brianna Brin, Sierra Eichman, Hannah Thomasson, Savannah Unsworth, Abby Balman and Alyssa Owens.

“I’ve really been blessed to have such good students during my time at Hays High,” Gasper said. “The last couple of year’s staffs have been really special. We’ve just had an excellent mix of talented designers, photographers and writers, and together, they have produced some outstanding yearbooks.”

Gasper said the next step is to send the book in for All-Kansas consideration, which will be announced later this fall. He will also send the book in Pacemaker judging, the winners of which are announced in the spring.

17aweber@usd489.com