Awards and Honors

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Students who are part of the FHN Media have earned hundreds of individual honors at the local, state and national levels. In addition to earning individual awards for their work, students can earn a Publications Letter (similar in look to the athletic letters given out at school) and students are also eligible to be inducted into Quill and Scroll, the International Honor Society for High School Journalists.

Highlighting the individual awards are the following:

Missouri High School Journalist of the Year
2011 – Kelsey Bell
2006 – Danielle Karstens
2003 – Kalen Ponche
1996 – Nora Radley
1992 – Audrey Reed

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards
2009 – Ryan Firle
2008 – DJ Shewmaker

Al Neuharth Free Spirit Award
2009 – Nathan Bryant

Ryan White Excellence in Journalism Award
First Place Double Truck Category – 2008, 2009, 2010

Missouri High School Journalism Administrator of the Year
2007 – Dr. Darlene Jones, principal
1991 – Dr. Larry Humphries, principal

As staffs, the FHN Media have a strong track-record as well. Among their honors:

National Scholastic Press Association
All-American
North Star – 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Excalibur – 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010

Pacemaker Award
FHNtoday.com – 2009, 2011

Pacemaker Finalists
North Star – 1998, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Excalibur – 2007, 2008
FHNtoday.com  – 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Digital Yearbook – 2010

JEA/NSPA National Convention Best of Show Placings [bold years designate First Place Best of Show honors at the convention]
North Star (newsmagazines) – Fall 2004, Fall 2005, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
Excalibur (275-324 pages) – Fall 2006, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
FHNtoday.com (small schools) – Fall 2008, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
FHNtodayTV (broadcast) – Fall 2004, Fall 206, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009,

Quill and Scroll
Gallup Award
North Star – 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Journalism Education Association
First Amendment Press Freedom Award
Francis Howell North High School – 2010, 2011

Cornerstone Award
Francis Howell North High School – 2011

Missouri Interscholastic Press Association
All-Missouri North Star – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
Excalibur – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
FHNtoday.com – 2008, 2010, 2011

Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Gold Crown Award Winner North Star – 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011
Gold Crown Award Winner FHNtoday.com – 2012

Aaron Manfull has been the head media adviser at Francis Howell North High School since 2001. Here are a few things about him:

• He was named the Dow Jones News Fund Journalism Teacher of the Year in 2011. He was the 53rd recipient of this honor and only the 5th adviser ever from Missouri.
• He directs the MediaNowSTL.com digital media summer journalism workshop at Lindenwood University.
• He is the Journalism Education Digital Media Committee Chair, heading the website JEADigitalMedia.org.
• He was inducted into the Francis Howell School District Howell of Fame in 2011.
• The National Scholastic Press Association named him a Pioneer Award winner in 2010
• The Poynter Institute named him one of “35 Influential People in Social Media.”
• The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Named him a Distinguished Adviser in 2009.
• He was the 2006 Teacher of the Year at Francis Howell North High School.
• He earned his MJE (Master Journalism Educator) through the Journalism Education Association.
• He is a National Board certified teacher.
• The Journalism Education Association named him a Special Recognition Adviser in 2005 in their Yearbook Adviser of the Year program.