Saturday. The last day of sessions. I’ll be honest, it was very hard getting up this morning. Lila, I may miss the plane tomorrow because it is very possible that I will sleep through my alarm.
Successful Yearbook Leadership: Ann Thorne, Griffon Yearbook, Missouri Western State University
This session reinforced many things that I have been trying to implement this year as well as things that we have learned in the other conference sessions. Many other yearbook staffs have retreats to bond and get to know each other, becoming more of a team/family rather than a bunch of staff members. Another thing I really want to work on is a staff manual. This way, all staff members will have everyone’s contact information, answers to questions from other students, answers to their own questions and job descriptions among other things. I think this would really help staff members be more comfortable and enthusiastic when working on pages and stories.
Playing with the Big Boys: Marcia Meskiel-Macy, IBIS Core Staff
I am going home with a 2010 IBIS Yearbook from the University of Miami! I am so excited! This yearbook has won a Pacemaker award for the past five years. The way the IBIS staff runs their yearbook clearly works and can easily be adjusted to benefit our staff as well. When we get back to our staff, new policies will be implemented. I’ve been talking about major changes to the book and there will be some (major and minor) changes to the way we run the Summit Yearbook. For example, everyone will be required to hit Reply All on every email. This way, I will know that they have seen the email and everyone will be informed on whether or not an event is being covered or if a story is ready to be edited. Simply a “Got it.” reply will be required to keep everyone accountable for what needs to be done. We also got some great tips on possible resources on campus for recruiting staff members or finding stories.
Confessions of a Yearbook Adviser: Content and Business: Adrianne Mukiria, Roger Williams University
The last two sessions were very intimate with representatives from only three schools. This allowed for a great flow of conversation without people having to scream over others in order to be heard. Kira, Cassie and I left with ideas for interesting stories to include and incentives to offer for students to get their portrait taken or buy their book. We have definitely been on the right track with our raffle ideas. Hopefully we can get these new ideas underway and working to help improve awareness and interest on campus. I think we’re all excited to make these changes and see how they work!
