JEA names 2011 fall award winners

Kansas City, Mo. (Oct. 14, 2011) – The Journalism Education Association (JEA) announced the winners of its annual fall individual awards. The recipients of JEA’s fall awards will be honored at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis, Nov. 17-20.

Steve O’Donoghue, the director of the California Scholastic Journalism Initiative (CSJI) in Sacramento, Calif., won the Carl Towley Award – considered the JEA’s highest honor, given each year to the organization’s member whose work has been of superior value to the JEA. O’Donoghue, who won the Dow Jones News Fund National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year in 1990 while at Fremont High School in Oakland, now directs the non-profit CSJI to restore and improve student journalism programs in California public schools.

Jeffry Henderson, the principal at Bloomington High School North in Bloomington, Ind., was chosen the Administrator of the Year, given each year to school administrators who have shown a dedication to scholastic journalism education.

Jan Kohls, the executive director of the Kettle Moraine Press Association in Whitewater, Wis., was awarded the JEA’s Medal of Merit, bestowed each year to those who have made significant contributions to scholastic journalism.

Three retired advisers were given Lifetime Achievement Awards, including:

• Marian Adams, Lewiston High School, Lewiston, Idaho (to be awarded posthumously)
• Linda Mercer, Halifax County (Va.) High School
• Dale Schwalm, Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School, Bellevue, Neb.

Eight individuals were chosen to receive the Friend of Scholastic Journalism award, given to any professional journalist, media outlet or individual who has made a significant contribution to scholastic journalism. The winners include:

• Barbara Martinez, former reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Hoboken, N.J.
• Amy DeVault, Elliott School of Communication, Wichita (Kan.) State University
• Derius Mammen, former representative for Jostens Publishing, Salina, Kan.
• Teresa Scribner, visual journalist, The Seattle Times
• George Wilson, publisher, Harrison (Ill.) Daily Register
• Lydia Ramos, public information officer, Los Angeles Unified School District
• Russell LaCour, The Tulsa (Okla.) World and director, NABJ-Tulsa Urban Journalism Workshop
• Allison Frick and Robert Charette, WUSA-TV and dc.highschoolsports.net, Washington, D.C.