Yearbook Chat with Jim

Courtney Hanks is making her mark on the yearbook world. She and the staff of the award-winning Odyssey yearbook at University High School in Orange City, Florida, have been working hard to create an incredible 2019 yearbook. Listen in as host Jim Jordan checks in with Courtney and her staff, EIC Emily Edwards, EIC Jonathan Jackson, Managing Editor Brooke Williams, Managing Editor Jordan McKendric...

Jai Tanner’s yearbook career spans 21 years and three different states – and that’s not even counting her high school yearbook experience.   She spent the first three quarters of her career in Texas and New Mexico. Her yearbook staff at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas, was no stranger to Crowns and Pacemakers.   Her move from the Southwest to the Pacific Northwest, from an urban high school...

In the Season 2 kickoff of Yearbook Chat with Jim , host Jim Jordan interviews his friend and peer Mike Taylor, CJE. Mike works as the Journalism Specialist for Walsworth, but the story of how he got there is full of fun twists and turns. Mike shares his story with Jim as well as his thoughts on the yearbooks being created now. If you want more Mike, check out his podcast, Ask Mike and follow him...

Kathy Craghead was a highly respected member of the scholastic journalism community. Her death in May left a hole that will not soon be filled. She will be remembered for her dedication to the craft, her sharp wit, and how deeply she cared for her friends and family. In tribute to this extraordinary woman, host Jim Jordan tracked down 15 of her dear friends and asked them to share their memories o...

Bruce Watterson was a pioneer in the yearbook world. From working for his high school newspaper to being the first (or one of the first) schools to create a yearbook on a personal computer, Watterson is a giant in the yearbook world. In this episode, host Jim Jordan chats with Bruce about everything from his humble beginnings in Hazen, Arkansas, to why he's so impressed with what yearbook sta...

Crystal Kazmierski's yearbooks started winning major scholastic journalism awards before she even knew they were a big deal. She advised 24 yearbooks at Arrowhead Christian Academy in Redland, California. Twenty-two of them won Pacemakers and one of them was a Pacemaker finalist. The one year they didn't place was because they didn't enter. In this episode, host Jim Jordan chats wit...

In this special bonus episode, host Jim Jordan follows up with Courtney Hanks of University High School in Orange City, Florida. Recorded just days before the first big yearbook deadline of the school year, Courtney and her editors share the challenges they’ve faced so far, their plans for the rest of the year and share some background on how they got where they are. Jim will continue to check in...

Andrew Young is the yearbook adviser at Woodland Junior High in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Despite only being in the role for a few years, he's an accomplished young adviser who leads his junior high yearbook class to create amazing, award-winning yearbooks. He believes that teaching younger students should not hinder you from producing an impressive product.  In this episode, Andrew and host Ji...

Recorded live at the JEA/NSPA Convention in Chicago, host Jim Jordan brings on guests Christy Porcelli, from H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, convention chair Brenda Field, from Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois, and Dr. Bradley Wilson, with JEA. Listen in to learn fun facts about the panelists, and hear a bit about the convention and their yearbook stories.

Alyssa Boehringer entered the yearbook advising world with a bang. Her first year as adviser at McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas, -- after taking over from the very adviser who'd taught her in high school - The Lion yearbook won a CSPA Silver Crown award. Alyssa and Jim chat about the incredible work she and her students have done, how she manages to excel with less than three years of...

Courtney Hanks earned her new nickname through her dedication to helping students understand what makes a great yearbook. This remarkable young adviser earned a Silver Crown with the second high school book she ever advised (and her third ever). Courtney and the yearbook staff at University High School in Orange City, Florida are taking giant steps to build a great yearbook program. Courtney was n...

Two days into the 2018 school year, everything changed for yearbook adviser David Graves and the students and staff of St. Thomas' Episcopal School in Houston, Texas. They left school on Thursday, but didn't return to school for more than two weeks and they weren’t back on their campus until after the first of the year. Hurricane Harvey had hit the Houston area, and their school was one...

Lori Oglesbee is a force of nature. Born and raised in Louisiana, she knew while still in high school that she wanted to teach yearbook. She recently retired from teaching. During her 34-year career, she served as a yearbook adviser in three different states. In the course of her notable career, she established her place as a "triple-threat" journalism teacher, with the ability to instru...

Leland Mallett has been doing scholastic journalism since the seventh grade, even though what he really wanted was to build a waterbed. He is now the yearbook adviser at Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas. His scholastic journalism has won many awards since it was founded in 2007, and Leland was named a 2017 JEA Distinguished Adviser. In this episode, Leland and host Jim Jordan discusses how h...

The first year as an adviser will be nerve-wracking for anyone, but if you're coming into a well-established, award-winning program it can be even more intense! Jim Jordan spoke to three first-year advisers who followed in the footsteps at legendary programs - including the young adviser who took over his program. 

In episode 5 of Yearbook Chat with Jim, Jim Jordan interviews Mike Simons, "the energizer bunny of scholastic journalism." Mike and Jim discuss their long-standing friendship, the moment Mike realized what he needed to do to make his yearbook program great, and why new(ish) yearbook advisers shouldn't be afraid to critique the yearbooks of other schools. They also discuss the freedo...

Walsworth's president, Don Walsworth, has been around yearbooks all his life. In episode four of Yearbook Chat with Jim, he and Jim Jordan discuss the company's humble beginnings in the Great Depression and the hard work that brought the company to where it is now, as one of the top five yearbook companies in North America.  Don and Jim also talk about family, college, the future of year...

In part two of Jim Jordan's interview with yearbook adviser Sarah Lerner, Jim and Sarah discuss what happened after the tragic Valentine's Day events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Sarah Lerner discusses how the events changed her staff and how they finished the book. She shares her thoughts on the importance of mental health care, mixing journalism and politics, and the nation...

In this episode of Yearbook Chat with Jim, Jim Jordan interviews Sarah Lerner, the yearbook adviser at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  The school was launched into the national spotlight after a school shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, left 17 people dead.  Sarah and her staff were tasked with creating a yearbook that honored those victims, but still showed the rest of the school and school year....

The first year as a yearbook adviser can be a challenge. In the inaugural episode of Yearbook Chat with Jim, Jim Jordan hosts three yearbook advisers who just finished their first year. These advisers discuss the challenges, successes and surprises they experienced their first year. They share what they would have done different, what they’re proud of accomplishing, and give advice to fellow advis...