In the last few years, McIntosh’s yearbook staff has showcased their skills in creating a yearbook that represents diversity among the student population, with storytelling inclusive of students’ ideas and feelings and also highlights their use of bold color, graphic design, photography and writing.
And they’ve done all of that so well that for the third year in a row, the staff has earned a place in Jostens LookBook for each of those past three years. The Lookbook provides national recognition for “the important role well-crafted yearbooks play in helping schools chronicle the experiences, stories, and achievements most relevant to students and that academic year.”
Senior River Boyle serves this year as the Editor-in-Chief, and she has been on staff for four years, and in that time the Legend has been featured three times in a row for their overall theme and design.
Boyle has spent days in school and out of school working diligently on the yearbook making sure it turns out as well as she would like it to.
“My school life is based around yearbook. I spend about two hours a day doing yearbook outside of school,” Boyle said.
And that effort and attention to detail has earned the staff a multitude of awards and recognition.
“I know the work we put in. I know what hard work we do,” Boyle said.
In addition, “The Legend” has won a multitude of awards that show they are excelling in their craft above other schools not only in their county but rather in their state. Some of those awards that prove this include General Excellence (2021) and General Excellence (2025) but are not limited to just these two.
According to Boyle the yearbook staff spends hours of their days in and out of school, working to make sure the yearbook looks just the way they want it to.
“Me and the other editors and staff will get together outside of school, making sure the book is good,” she said.
Some of the student population of McIntosh are unaware of the awards the yearbook staff earns.
To some of the school population their yearbook comes out at a certain part of the year but behind the scenes the staff works long and hard hours stressing and creating to pump out their artwork.
“I think the yearbook staff has done cool stuff in their book, and they are so inclusive of people in the school. I know this because a friend of mine is working in the yearbook staff,” junior Lola Garcia said.
Not only does the Legend staff produce books worthy of multiple awards but they also produce opportunities for people who are looking at a career in fields like journalism, photography and more. One of those people is Camilla O’Connell who graduated from McIntosh in 2025 and is now enrolled in UGA using her experience and skills gained from working for the Legend as their photo editor to utilize the opportunities she has been given.
“The Legend has given me a lot of knowledge going into some of my AP classes but also going into things like internships. I was able to say how I’ve already won awards for the work I’ve done,” O’Connell said.
The McIntosh yearbook costs around $130,000 to produce 950 copies, and every year the yearbook is in high demand to the point they sell out of copies every year. There are limited copies left for sale of the 2026 yearbook. Students can bring $125 to room 115 before the end of the school year as long as there are copies left.
