Members of the Arrow staff attended the Missouri College Media Association conference over the weekend at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Contest awards were presented on Saturday at the conference banquet. The Arrow, which is in Division I, received 16 awards.

The Arrow received five first-place awards for Feature Page, Photo Page, Video, Campus Engagement/Promotions and Best Overall Newspaper.

“The Arrow staff worked incredibly hard all year and I’m proud to say it all paid off,” Arrow editor-in-chief Breanne Bleichroth said. “We couldn’t have done it without every writer, photographer, editor and adviser we have on our team or without the university’s support.”

The newspaper also earned five second-place awards, one third place and four honorable mentions.

Matt Mormann, Arrow staff writer and MCMA secretary, announced the awards during the banquet.

The conference had a number of workshops for students to attend. Arrow marketing manager Olivia Moyers and faculty adviser Dr. Tamara Zellars Buck led two of those workshops.

Last year's conference was held at Southeast Missouri State University under the direction of then-MCMA president and Arrow editor Jay Forness.

“The MCMA awards are one of the best ways for us to see how we stack up,” Forness said. “It's great to see that the Arrow has constantly been recognized as one of the best student newspapers in the state. I know from experience that it takes a lot of people and hard work to put out a paper every week, let alone a good one, and I couldn't be prouder of the current staff."

News editor Katelyn Mary Skaggs was named the MCMA president for the 2017-2018 school year. This will be the third year in a row that a Southeast student has served as an MCMA officer.

Lindenwood University will host the 2018 MCMA conference.