New Woodward Youth Corporation (WYC) President: Aaron Peterson

When Jerry Anderson made the difficult decision to retire as WYC President, the search was on for his replacement. Starting July 6th, Aaron Peterson became the person that has the responsibility to fill those big shoes. As a native of Madrid, Iowa, Aaron attended Coe College where he ran track and played football, earning his degree in Business Administration and Sports Management in 1994.

This first exposure to Woodward Academy was in 2005 when he agreed to be one of four initial members of the mentor program. He worked with students, offering advice on the importance of having a good work ethic, and helped them develop life skills such as budgeting. Aaron is currently the President of Lonewolf Financial, a company that he founded 11 years ago. He’s been married to his wife Jodi for 16 years, and together they have two children.

Presidential Blueprint // The Legacy of Jerry Anderson

This story was originally published in Volume 38 of the Knightly Knews that you can download here.

More than any other person, Jerry Anderson has built Woodward Academy into what it is today. He has been here from the beginning. Literally. On July 10, 1995, when Woodward Academy opened its door to its first four students, Jerry was one of the original 13 staff members. Twenty one years later, on July 5, 2016, he stepped down as President of the Woodward Youth Corporation (WYC), leaving a legacy in tact that is comparable to none.
   
When our students walk through one of the four school buildings, they can thank Jerry. Our football team competes at their renovated stadium on Friday nights thanks to Jerry. Our baseball team runs the bases at Knights Field, and our students have jobs with Knights on the Move because of Jerry. Today, Woodward Academy has 262 students on campus and is a known industry leader… thanks to Jerry.

Knightly Knews Vol. 38 is now online!

The latest edition of our award-winning publication, the Knightly Knews, is now online and you can access it by clicking here. As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. This Presidential Blueprint edition includes:

- Become a Woodward Academy Knight
- How Jerry Anderson built Woodward Academy
- Class of 2016 Commencement Ceremony
- Open House
- 7th Annual Knight's Scholarship Golf Outing
- Track and Field Season Recap
- Knight's Mind Training
- New WYC President
- Communication Awards

We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.

NSPRA Communications Awards 2016

The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) recently announced their 2016 award winners and Woodward Academy earned honors in all three categories in which we submitted. The Golden Achievement Award was given to our comprehensive communications program. Our submission was judged based on the four steps of a public relations program: 1) analysis of the need; 2) planning to meet the need; 3) execution and communication of the program; and 4) formal evaluation. Woodward Academy was one of only 90 schools / districts across the United States to receive this recognition, and one of only two in the State of Iowa. Click here to see the entire list of winners.

Publication and Electronic Media awards were also handed out that recognize individual projects in 23 different categories. This year, we submitted in two categories and earned an Award of Merit of our 2015 film We Own the Knight: A High School Basketball Documentary Film and an Award of Honorable Mention in the Special Purpose Publication category for our Why Woodward Academy? Let Us Tell You 2015 Guide.

We feel proud and honored to have been given the opportunity to tell amazing Woodward Academy stories over the past year, and that those efforts have been recognized at the state and national level. These awards mark the end of this year's campaign, and the beginning of next year's push for great content. Below is a recap of our 2016 awards season:

Iowa School Public Relations Association (ISPRA)
     Print Newsletter - Knightly Knews – Blue & Gold Award
     Photography - State Basketball – Blue & Gold Award
     Video - I Am Building video series - Blue & Gold Award
     Social Media – Facebook Page - Award of Achievement

National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)

     Comprehensive Plan - Golden Achievement Award

     Video – We Own the Knight Documentary – Award of Merit

     Special Purpose Publication – 2015 Guide – Award of Honorable Mention