To mark its centennial year in 2025, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association will honor individuals who have profoundly contributed to and have had a sustained impact on scholastic journalism education. The Centennial Awards honor individuals in five categories: Innovation, Impact, Lifetime Achievement in Scholastic Journalism, CSPA Alumni Achievement Award, and CSPA Service. CSPA wishes to thank its Centennial advisory board and Centennial Awards committee for their hard work and dedication to this momentous task.
All awardees are invited to attend a special luncheon on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the CSPA 101st Annual Spring Convention and Centennial celebration, where they will be honored for their service.
IMPACT
This award will recognize an individual who has made a measurable impact on students, school, community, industry, and/or colleagues through their dedication to their work and those they serve.
WINNERS
Ann Akers
Known as a generous expert who has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things yearbook and journalism, Ann Akers has been an adviser, a yearbook representative, associate director of NSPA, and finally an education specialist for Varsity Yearbook. She has encouraged advisers and representatives to understand that a sound knowledge of journalism is a necessary prerequisite for success for their students and for the books themselves. Her informative sessions at national conventions are not to be missed.
Jane Blystone
From her years as a high school publications adviser to serving as the PSPA (Pennsylvania School Press Association) president multiple times and as convention chair for NSPA/JEA, Jane Blystone is one of scholastic journalism’s biggest cheerleaders. When she moved to teaching at the college level, she prepared future teachers, many of whom went on to be involved in scholastic journalism. For CSPA, she has judged the Crown Awards, spoken at the conventions, taught at the summer workshop, and done publication critiques.
Rick Brooks
Helping college and high school students transform their yearbook visions into reality has been Rick Brooks’s mission for decades. His talent as a graphic designer is amazing, but he also serves on the board of PSPA and judges for them. He is a regular speaker at all press association conventions including CSPA. His presentations are always fresh, with an emphasis on up-to-date content. Brooks also provided invaluable feedback when the CSPA scorebooks were updated. A friend to all involved in scholastic and college journalism, Brooks is someone whom staffs and advisers can always depend on.
Bobby Hawthorne
An award-winning author, Bobby Hawthorne has made an impact in countless journalism classes, as his book Radical Write holds pride of place as a textbook for reporting and writing. He is a popular instructor at journalism workshops and seminars nationwide. Hawthorne is both informative and witty. He is also the author of Longhorn Football and Home Field, both published by the University of Texas Press.
Cheryl Pell
As director of the Michigan Press Association and professor at Michigan State University, Cheryl Pell guided, taught, and inspired numerous future journalists and educators. For CSPA, Pell taught at the summer workshops, presented sessions at the conventions, judged the Crown Awards, and did publication critiques. Anytime help was needed, Pell was there.
Student Press Law Center (SPLC)
Founded in 1974, the Student Press Law Center is an independent, nonpartisan organization that works to promote, support, and defend the First Amendment and press freedom rights of high school and college journalists and their advisers. SPLC also has a professional staff who run its legal hotline, design and implement programs, develop educational materials, and conduct training throughout the United States. From 2023-2024, SPLC answered more than 940 hotline calls from 47 states, educated more than 4,500 students and advisers in 22 states, and conducted 140 in-person events, and has been a staunch advocate of New Voices legislation. In its more than 50 years of service to student journalism, SPLC has provided direct legal support and has helped the student press navigate censorship of major news events, including the Columbine High School shooting, Sept. 11, LGBTQ issues, and the Israel-Hamas war.
Mike Taylor
An institution in the journalism world, Mike Taylor inspired students and advisers for many years, beginning with his time as a classroom adviser at Crystal River Middle School and Lecanto High School in Florida. He moved on to Balfour and then Walsworth, where he brought his excitement and energy to staffs around the country, helping to create award-winning yearbooks, lifelong yerds, and a legacy of friends. He was one of the best cheerleaders that scholastic journalism could have.