Four JEA mentees (current and previous) attended the Ohio Scholastic Media Association state convention. Second row: Advisers Tracey Ward, Olentangy Liberty High School, and Maggie Cogar, Wilmington High School. Back Row: On left, mentee Julieanne McLain, R.B. Hayes High School, and on right, mentee Beth Bloom, Amelia High School. Photo by Wayne Dunn

The fourth annual Ohio Scholastic Media Association state convention was a time of great celebration for Ohio mentors Wayne and Georgia Dunn and their mentees.

Four current or former mentees and some of their staff members attended the two-day workshop which included both day-of and pre-entered contests.  Tim Harrower was the featured speaker and workshop presenter. At the evening banquet, staffs learned the outcome of their overall and individual pre-entered contests. As a group, the current and former mentees and their staffs won 14 superiors, 62 excellents, and 69 honorable mentions in the various categories. In addition, one yearbook, one newsmagazine, and one newspaper each won the All-Ohio award. Three students placed in the day-of contests.
Although good journalism isn’t all about winning awards, the awards indicate that the programs are growing and maturing, largely due to the hard work of the advisers.
In Ohio, public scrutiny and sometimes downright hostility toward teachers is rampant. It is good to attend statewide events such as this to reiterate the importance of what journalism teachers do in the classroom and with their publications.
– submitted by Georgia and Wayne Dunn

Editor’s note: Mentoring Monday is a new feature on the JEA Mentoring blog. We’d like to feature photos of short stories about the JEA mentors, their mentees and the high school journalism students. Please send your photo, caption and story to 2jdodd (at) gmail (dot) com.