Overland Park, Kansas 3-28-22– The staff of the Southside High School yearbook in Fort Smith, Arkansas gained national attention when their 2021 yearbook was featured in volume 9 of the Possibilities book from Walsworth Yearbooks.

The 352-page bi-annual publication showcases the company’s top yearbooks, highlighting exceptional examples of theme, coverage, photography, design and more. Each book that makes it inside the book is hand-selected by a panel of yearbook experts who review thousands of yearbooks. It’s an honor that only a small percentage of Walsworth schools achieve.

“Our Possibilities schools represent some of the best journalistic books from across the country,” Walsworth President Don Walsworth said. “This book serves as both an inspiration and teaching tool for thousands of yearbook staffs, so we looked for the most innovative and inspiring examples from the yearbooks we print. I am continually amazed by the talent I see demonstrated by these students. We are honored to work with such brilliant storytellers.”

The yearbook is a yearlong journey that extends far beyond the normal classroom hours. Southerner yearbook staff attended virtual training events, editor’s Elite Weekend, and webinars to further their yearbook education. In addition, they compete at Ozark Media Arts Festival where they won Photo Program of the Year, the Arkansas Scholastic Press competition convention in April and ASU Creative Media competition in April and are members of JEA, ASPA, NSPA and Quill and Scroll.

“It’s a really big deal to make it into the Possibilities book,” Walsworth Journalism Specialist and former award-winning yearbook adviser Mike Taylor, CJE, said. “These kids have worked so hard. I don’t think anyone realizes the amount of work and just how long it takes to produce a yearbook, especially in a year like this, unless they’ve been on a yearbook staff. These staff members might enter the classroom as students, but they leave as journalists who demonstrate professional-level skills that will serve them in future careers.”

Possibilities will make its way to classrooms all over the country as well as state and national conventions, where it will be used as an educational resource to show the latest trends in the world of yearbook and journalism.

“This has been an outstanding year for Southside’s yearbook staff. Photographers took home the Photo Program of the Year, editor Ellie Bunnell was recently named JEA Journalist of the Year for Arkansas and four staff members made finals in the ASU Creative Arts contest for later in April. I’m so proud of their hard work and devotion to capturing the historical events on campus. The 2021 book was amazing… and the 2022 book will be the biggest and best Southside has ever seen,” yearbook adviser Susan Colyer said. This is Colyer’s 31st year advising the yearbook.

It’s not too late to buy a copy of this year’s yearbook for your child. A limited number of 2022 yearbooks are available online at yearbookforever.com. As the yearbook staff finishes this year’s book, they will celebrate a job well done and then quickly turn around to begin work on the 2023 book.

About Walsworth
Walsworth is among the top-three yearbook printers and is the only family-owned printer of yearbooks. Started in 1937 by Don Walsworth, current leadership is under the second and third generations: Don O. Walsworth, CEO, and his son, Don Walsworth, president. The company operates from administrative offices and book printing and binding facilities in Marceline, Missouri; a prepress facility in Brookfield, Missouri; a sales and marketing office in Overland Park, Kansas; and magazine and catalog printing facilities in Saint Joseph, Michigan; Ripon, Wisconsin; and Fulton, Missouri. Additionally, Walsworth owns the Donning Company Publishers, a specialty book publisher.