letter from the editors

Welcome everyone, and thank you for attending our end-of-year banquet! We are excited to celebrate our staff’s accomplishments, growth and commitment this year.

Returning from virtual learning, we entered the year with a staff trained on Zoom -- a barrier we knew would be difficult to overcome. However, with a renewed dedication to this work, we seized the opportunity to bond as a team again and show our new staff the good old ODYSSEY community magic.

On the pirnt end of the ODYSSEY, our two newsmagazines (and one more on the way!) have showcased the professional growth of our staff. Returning to school allowed us to bring back captivating photos, compelling interviews with CCHS and Athens community members, and to yield three magazines instead of two.

In the online realm, the Digital Staff began the year with only one member having worked on the website previously, and the majority of the team was new to the Production class. Before long, the Digital Staff was working like a well-oiled machine. In the spring semester, we managed to reach a 100+ day posting streak on the website with many promotions across social media platforms.

With commitment from new and veteran leaders alike, our group has honed professional and critical creators from the murk of black squares on Zoom. We have seen staffers and editors find their places in the program and connect as friends.

Next year, we hope our publications will continue to stabilize, grow, and innovate as we continue to recover from virtual learning. To our upcoming leaders, we trust that your motivation and excitement will guide you through another year of storytelling and connecting with each other and your community.

We would like to generously thank our Booster Club for all of the financial and personal support you have provided this year, as your contributions have allowed us to rebuild and grow.

Many members of our senior group were united through our first two years in the traditional in-person ODYSSEY, then through the tribulations of writing and leading virtually, and now leading a new staff in person as a highly skilled and committed group of professionals. We are so excited to celebrate one another’s unique and impactful ODYSSEY careers, and we hope you enjoy the time we have together today.

Audrey Enghauser and Ireland McCage, Editors-in-Chief ODYSSEY Newsmagazine and ODYSSEY Media Group