- Mahnke Award

Carl F. and Viola V. Mahnke Award

Winner for 2008

Skip Osbourn

William “Skip” Osbourn has been a very important part of ISMF for many years. He has served as a judge, even traveling to Bloomington, IN on more than one occasion to lend a hand with judging. He volunteers to help each year at ISMF, helping to make the experience special for kids from all over the nation. He serves on the steering committee and is instrumental in helping to plan the event each year.

Mr. Osbourn’s students have excelled in producing media, winning many awards at ISMF and other media festivals over the past several years. His students’ work is outstanding — a true testament to his outstanding work as a teacher. Skip clearly puts his students first, and inspires them to strive for excellence.

The funding for this award comes from an endowment given to the AECT Foundation in 1983 by Carl F. and Viola V. Mahnke of Des Moines, Iowa. Their company, Vocational Guidance Films, Inc. was active in the production and distribution of occupational films and pioneered in the production of films as a teaching tool in the early 1940s. Their intention when they established this award was to encourage “young people coming up” in their ongoing interest of visual education.