Manchester, NH – Sean Young of Conway is this year’s Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications’ First Amendment Award honoree. He will be recognized at the School’s signature event on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
The annual event honors New Hampshire individuals or groups that have advanced or exercised their First Amendment rights in some special or extraordinary way. Young was nominated for his pursuit of First Amendment rights in a lawsuit filed over a student-painted mural on Leavitt’s Bakery that had been deemed an unapproved commercial sign. A judge ruled the town violated the First Amendment rights of Young, who owns the bakery in Conway.
Melanie Plenda, director of the Granite State News Collaborative, is receiving the School’s Quill & Ink Award. This award, which is not given every year, is reserved to honor those who have made significant contributions to the education of Granite Staters about the First Amendment.
The First Amendment Award Event is from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the NH Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester. The program will feature keynote speaker Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor under President Joe Biden, himself a past Loeb School speaker. Sullivan was director of policy under President Barack Obama before serving then-Vice President Biden in a national security role. A graduate of Yale Law, he is on the faculty of Harvard’s Kennedy School and resides in Concord with his wife, U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander.
This event is open to the public, but space is limited. Tickets are $75 and must be purchased in advance.
Each year, a distinguished group of judges review the First Amendment nominees submitted by the public to choose the recipient. This year’s judges are 2024 First Amendment Award winner Harrison Thorp, editor at “The Rochester Voice;” retired NH Supreme Court Justice Richard Galway; Attorney Gregory Sullivan of Malloy & Sullivan, LPC, member of the Loeb School Board of Trustees; and NHPR Senior Reporter Annmarie Timmins.
Event sponsors are: Keynote Speaker Sponsor The Brodsky Prize for Excellence in Student Journalism; and First Amendment Award Honoree Sponsor Eversource. Friends of the Nackey S. Loeb School Sponsors are: The Elliot, The McQuaid Family, Spectrum Marketing, St. Anselm College’s NH Institute of Politics, and the Union Leader Corporation. Five Freedoms Sponsors are the Anagnost Companies, Business & Industry Association, Charles Douglas III, Curbstone Financial Management, NH Beverage Association, Pamela Diamantis and Morey Goodman, Northeast Delta Dental, Sheehan Phinney, and Wieczorek Insurance.
Sponsorships are still available.
The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, Inc. is a nonprofit with a mission to promote and defend the First Amendment and fosters interest, integrity and excellence in journalism and other forms of communication by educating students of various backgrounds and providing them with the tools and knowledge to improve their skills. Learn more about the School and register for Fall classes at loebschool.org.