Valedictorians or top graduating seniors from 120 high schools in Iowa, and southwest Wisconsin were honored by KWWL Television and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) on Sunday, May 3. The students took part in KWWL’s 25th annual “Best of the Class” celebration. Chelsea Ecklund from Union High School was honored as a member of the 2009 Best of the Class. Best of the Class students were videotaped for a series of public service announcements which will air from May 11 through June on KWWL, Iowa’s News Channel. They also had the opportunity to be photographed with KWWL news anchors Ron Steele and Tara Thomas, Meteorologist Jeff Kennedy, and Sports Director Rick Coleman. In its 25 years of recognizing academic excellence, KWWL’s Best of the Class has honored more than 3,000 top graduating seniors. Best of the Class is a joint public service/community relations effort that encourages academic excellence among high school student by honoring students who serve as role models in their communities.