The Yearbook World of Scott Geesey
from Jostens Yearbooks of central/northern Pennsylvania
ARCHIVE - DECEMBER 18, 2016
SCOTT'S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS WISH LIST: What Makes the List This Year?
Hello! And here we are at Christmas break! YAY! Looks like most folks start their break on the 23rd but carry it through January 2 since that is a federal holiday (with New Year's Day on a Sunday.) Here's a wish for a happy and restful holiday with your family. It's a lot more snowy compared to last year at this time.
My family has an extra reason to celebrate: my youngest daughter Morgan is now engaged to her fiance Jordan. The pair have been dating for two years and Jordan popped the question on the 16th. Now I have another reason to sell more yearbooks - LOL!
There are always some people who plan to do some yearbook work over the break, no problem. I'll be checking email and messages every day so don't be shy, let me know if you have questions or need assistance.
How about some wishes for our new year 2017...
This is my annual tradition, taking the week and a half over the holiday break to share some wishes of mine for the coming year. No, they're not all about yearbook. How many do you share?
A RESTFUL CHRISTMAS WITH FAMILY: It's been another busy December, and I don't mean Christmas shopping. I'm looking forward to some downtime with family - and once again my special homemade Chex mix with my own blend of spices. YUM! Here are the same good wishes to you and your family.
GOOD HEALTH: I was rather stunned recently when two friends of mine, both younger than I, suffered health emergencies in the same week. One had a heart attack, the other a stroke. Thankfully both friends are recovering, but it makes you think - don't neglect your health, the best Christmas gift of all.
And remember those struggling or less fortunate. Just last week my Jostens family lost a fellow yearbook representative in Ellen Wing from Maine, who lost her long fight against cancer. Ellen was a great lady and will be greatly missed. My condolences to her husband Dale, family and friends.
MORE PEACE ON EARTH?: I add this one every year but again put a question mark behind it. The terrible events happening in Syria and Iraq right now are horrifying. Will 2017 be any different? I fear not.
MORE YEARBOOK STORYTELLING: We can never get enough of this, more and more stories told about more and more students on your yearbook pages, via your ReplayIt app, via social media outlets and any other ways. In your yearbook duties most every story begins with images, LOTS of them, plenty to choose from. EVERYONE wants to have their story told and remembered. It's not too late to get started...
PLENTY OF FACIAL RECOGNITION: For those Jostens schools using YearTech Online to create their book and who have sent in their portrait CD or provided your online download link, you've probably already noticed the cool facial recognition feature. Let's get the full use of this feature to make your Coverage Report and Index easier and more thorough than ever. The tool gets better every year and this fall I've seen it kick into gear as soon as portraits are loaded.
SELL MORE YEARBOOKS: They're out there - people who want to buy your yearbook but still haven't gotten your message or your sales information. January is a big month for every school's sales effort. Let's work together to not only make a great yearbook but get your message out to EVERYONE right after the holidays. Advisers, be on the lookout for promotional ideas from me soon in your email box. And the key word is FUN - let's have a good time with cool ideas to sell more copies of your book.
SELL MORE YEARBOOK ADS: And THESE are out there as well. The economy in our neighborhood still isn't cooking but it isn't cold either. Don't automatically assume ads won't sell, they WILL. Let's go out and get them to give your effort some added revenue. Need some help? Just let me know. And the ReplayIt.com business ad widget has the potential to be a real game changer - folks can see your yearbook ads every time they check out your ReplayIt site, offering businesses some real value that could bring them some real $$.
FEEL THE LOVE: If you've never checked out our cool website yearbooklove.com, now it's time. It's filled with lots of fantastic ideas, exercises and links, sheets to download and use, educational tips with tie-ins to Common Core and 21st Century Skills standards, and much more. Take some time over the break to visit this fantastic site and see how you can use it with your staff and yearbook effort.
WATCH OUR YBA VIDEOS: If you haven't checked out the Digital Classroom on your YBA site please take some time over the break to examine it, especially the Starters for Success curriculum series, the Story Starters and the growing list of online videos. All are brief but all are instructional. For advisers definitely view the special videos with experience and wisdom from fellow advisers from across the country on a series of topics. Excellently produced, very educational. For our Total Storytelling effort the Digital Classroom and YearbookLove.com are two of the best resources out there. If you have a weak area of your effort right now, we have the resources to help you address it.
GREAT NEW IDEAS FOR THE 2017 SCHOOL YEAR: And they are coming, stay tuned. I'm honored to be part of a group helping to develop new tools and initiatives and we are working frantically to do some pretty cool things for next year. Other yearbook companies make claims, Jostens delivers results.
BETTER SCHOOL JOURNALISM: I keep hearing about the Common Core standards and how they are affecting education in the future. Now we have the Keystone tests in Pennsylvania, what will they accomplish? Will the new Every Student Succeeds Act really make a difference or just add new complexity that we really don't need?
This I know - a well run journalism effort teaches valuable skills that help a student in ANY class. Yearbook, newspaper, broadcast - all should have a role in helping your students prepare for the future, research, tell stories, write and speak better, solve problems, and so much more. I have 35 years of journalism experience in all fields and I'd LOVE to help your school improve its student journalism efforts. Please drop me a line and let's meet on this sometime soon.
LET'S HELP YOUR FRESHMAN STUDENTS AS WELL: This year I've enjoyed leading and assisting high schools with our special Commitment to Graduate assembly from our Jostens Renaissance Education effort. We show freshmen why it's important to stay in school through their high school years and get their diploma, capped by the cool and fun class signing of a graduation gown to be displayed in the school for all to see.
I've given information to administrators at many high and junior high schools this fall - if YOUR school would be interested in such an assembly please let me know, let's talk about it and it's not too late to do one THIS year!
SNOW FOR COOPER: And he got some! My big guy has enjoyed running around in the recent snowfalls. For my advisers I hope you enjoyed my annual Christmas card this year. Yes, Cooper was skunked recently and he still has a slight aroma to prove it. Running in snow doesn't help, but it's fun to watch him having fun.
A ROSE BOWL WIN FOR PENN STATE: Here in Nittany Lion Land we've veen delirious over the success of the PSU football team this year. Yes, they SHOULD be in the College Football Playoff but a spot in the Rose Bowl is nearly as good. Here's hoping for a big win over USC on January 2.
In the meantime, I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2017. See you next year!!