In December of 2011, the Lewis-Palmer Westwind yearbook was nominated as a finalist for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 2011 Crown Awards. In March of 2012 the Westwind staff received the Silver Crown award, which is the second highest honor in CSPA’s Crown Awards competition.

Westwind was also one of only two high school yearbooks in Colorado to be nominated for the prestigious award, the second winner being Ponderosa High School’s Eques.

Senior Nathalie Krainock, Editor in Chief of this year’s yearbook, was thrilled when they received the nomination. “We were all really excited when we found out about it,” Krainock said. “It was a great end to my last high school yearbook, and I hope next year’s yearbook has the opportunity to receive the same award.”

But the Westwind staff won’t stop at just a Silver Crown next year.

“Our goal is to get a Gold Crown next year. Even though our book is already published and our year is almost over, we’re still doing a lot of work for next year’s yearbook. We have days that we plan on meeting on in the summer, and we’re already starting the design for next year,” sophomore Rachael Braaten, next year’s Westwind business manager, said. “We want to make the 2013 yearbook one of Lewis-Palmer’s best yearbooks ever.”

Last year was the first time Westwind has been nominated for an honor as high as a CSPA Crown in the over 90 years that have passed since its original creation. This victory has only inspired the staff to work even harder to ensure another nomination in 2013.

“We’re only getting better,” Krainock said. “Every year the staff learns and improves, and I have high hopes that next year’s yearbook will be even better than this year’s.”