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The 2012 KSPA election will take place the week of April 16 concluding on Sunday, April 22, at midnight.

On April 16, KSPA will send an email to members that includes a link on where to access the proper ballot and instructions on how to submit an electronic ballot.

All members may vote for their Area Representatives and the At-Large Representatives.

As of Saturday, April 14, 2012, there were no candidates for Area 5. If you are an Area 5 KSPA member and interested in running for election to the Board of Directors, please contact Elections Committee Chair Jim McCrossen at [email protected].

Below are the full biographies of the candidates. You may also click on a photo to the right to see a slideshow of the candidates. (There is no image for At-Large Candidate Debi Hughbanks.)

Area 1

Kristy Dekat

Kristy Dekat has served the last two years as the Area 3 representative on the KSPA board. During her time as a board member, she served on the vocational funding ad hoc committee that played an intrical part in securing journalism funding for Kansas advisers. Dekat has been the journalism adviser at Topeka West High School for the last eight years, where she has advised the newspaper and yearbook. Next year, she will be moving to area 1 when she becomes the adviser at Santa Fe Trail High School. Dekat has a B.A. in journalism from Wichita State, a B.S.Ed. in journalism education and English from Kansas State University, and a Masters in communications studies from Fort Hays State.

Kathy Habiger

Kathy Habiger teaches journalism and photography and advises the yearbook, newspaper and website at Mill Valley High School. She has been an Area 1 rep for the past 10 years and is past-president of Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City. She was co-local chair of the JEA/NSPA national convention in Kansas City in fall 2010. Her goals for continuing as area rep are to continue using technology to help our members communicate more effectively, to improve all contests and critiques in order to best serve our students and to keep KSPA among the strongest state press associations in the nation.

Area 2

Erica Rickard

Erica Rickard is in her seventh year of advising newspaper, yearbook and online media at Newton High School. She has degrees in print journalism, public relations and secondary education, and she is a Certified Journalism Educator. Before entering the classroom, Erica worked in media relations and sports information for college athletics and minor league baseball. Erica believes in the work of KSPA and the national journalism education associations. She has presented at the KSPA fall conference and been part of JEA’s mentoring program.

Emily Smith

Emily Smith has been the journalism adviser at Pittsburg High School for the last two years, where she advises the newspaper and yearbook. Smith has a B.S.Ed. in journalism education and English from Kansas State University, and a Masters in curriculum and instruction from Pittsburg State University.

Area 3

Jessica Bowman

Jessica Bowman has taught scholastic journalism at Canton-Galva High School for ten years, beginning with yearbook before branching out to create the school’s first student newspaper in 2006 and then taking over photography a year later. She has served on the KSPA Board of Directors for one term as the Area 3 representative. Her goals as a journalism instructor are to inspire high-quality student publications, maintain and promote the integrity of scholastic journalism, and help students to have individual successes that they can grow and build from in their futures, whatever their career paths may be.

Laura Schwinn

Laura Schwinn is currently the yearbook, newspaper and photojournalism adviser at Emporia High School. Now in her eighth year of advising, Laura and her students have faced the dramatic changes in the journalism world head-on by implementing social media and an online paper to keep our students informed.  Emporia High School has tackled the changes in state-funding by creating new AV Communications courses that will better prepare them to face the convergent world of 21st Century journalism.  Laura is a 2010 ASNE fellow from Arizona State University and presenter at yearbook camps for our yearbook company. She’s excited at the opportunity to help make Kansas high school journalism the best it can be.

Brenna Scott

Brenna Scott is currently the adviser of the newspaper staff at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, where she has been for nine years. She also teaches photography and the beginning journalism class. She is a member of JEA, KSPA, NAPP and the Auburn-Washburn NEA. She had the privilege to attend the ASNE Reynolds Institute at the University of Texas in 2010. She would appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to serve as an Area 3 representative.

Area 4

Todd Vogts

Todd Vogts is a graduate of Wichita State’s Elliott School of Communication and recently earned his master’s degree in education from Fort Hays State. Before teaching, Todd ran a weekly newspaper in Moundridge and was a columnist for The McPherson Sentinel. He’s finishing his second year as the journalism teacher at Western Plains High School in Ransom. He’s also the forensics coach and public relations director/webmaster. He started the newspaper at WPHS. The first year, his students took second at the Kansas State Fair Scholastic Press Corps competition, took the All-Kansas honors for 1A newspapers, and won 1A sweeps at state. If elected, Todd will add his passion and background in journalism and technology to produce students who are aware of the world around them.

Jane Wagner

Jane Wagner has taught publications at Russell High School for 13 years and has been a member of KSPA for that time. She has served as both a state area and at large representative. She has also presented at KSPA Fall conferences and taught at Jostens Summer Camps.Wagner received the KSPA Ad Astra award in 2011 and is recognized as an ASNE (American Society of Newspaper Editors) Fellow since 2004. Her students have competed successfully at both regional and state KSPA writing contests, and Russell’s yearbooks have earned a number of All Kansas awards from KSPA.

Area 5 (Two open slots: one write-in candidate will serve a two-year term, while the other write-in candidate will finish the second-year of a term ending in May 2013)

As of Saturday, April 14, there are no candidates for the board from Area 5, so this will be a write-in election.

At-large

Julie Barker

In her 15 years in education, Julie Barker has been at three high schools teaching English, Journalism 1, photojournalism, yearbook, newspaper and broadcast. Currently, she teaches English, Journalism 1 and yearbook at Augusta High School. In May, she will finish her master’s in instructional design and technology. This year she has worked to transition her program to the CTE Arts/AV Technology and Communications pathway. In high school Julie attended KSPA events, and it has been important for her students to have the same opportunity. KSPA-sponsored events provide Julie’s students an abundance of ideas and energy. Julie severed KSPA in the past, and she would like the opportunity to again team with board members and members across the state to continue KSPA’s work.

Debi Hughbanks

Debi Hughbanks is currently an At-Large Representative for KSPA. Her term ends in May 2012. Debi is the journalism adviser at Goessell High School.

Brendan Praeger

Brendan Praeger teaches English and journalism at Wabaunsee High School in Alma, where he advises the Charger, a weekly student newspaper published in the Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise. He spent the last three years teaching journalism at Manhattan High School, where he advised the Blue M Yearbook, the Mentor, the school’s weekly newspaper and Ment-air, the student podcast.  He graduated from Claflin High School in 2003 and attended Kansas State, where he worked as an editor for the Collegian and participated in the Student Journalism Education Association. He’s passionate about scholastic journalism and he believe the skills and values learned by producing student publications are valuable to every student, even those who do not choose careers in journalism.

Last year, KSPA elected a new President-elect and Secretary. KSPA bylaws state that the President-elect serves three consecutive two-year terms — first as President-elect, then as President, then as Past President. Jill Chittum from Blue Valley is in the middle of her two-year term as President, as are President-elect Travis Feil from Sterling, Past President Jim McCrossen from Blue Valley Northwest and Secretary Linda Drake from Chase County.