Category: #Family

What is SCSPA? They are letters on a couple of my dad’s memorabilia from his high school days. You may wonder what they actually stand for as did I when I first saw them. Let me tell you, they stand for South Carolina Scholastic Press Association. I never knew my dad was apart of the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association. He never talked about his time growing up in South Carolina. The only part of South Carolina he shared was when he brought our family on vacation to visit his parents and his brother and sister. We visited Great Falls, South Carolina, where his parents lived, approximately every three to five years.

However, I am not discussing our vacations in this post. I am discussing the SCSPA and his small role in it.

The South Carolina Scholastic Press Association promotes responsible scholastic journalism in South Carolina. We educate, evaluate and empower students and advisers who work with middle and high school literary magazine, newspaper, and yearbook programs in the state.

What I only learned recently is that my dad was a part of the Great Falls Hi-Times newspaper staff. He served as the school newspaper’s business manager. I found this interesting, my dad never talked about his school days. I thought it was cool to discover his involvement in this aspect of his high school.

The school newspaper business manager oversees the operations of all business-related operations of the Hi-Times, but will primarily be responsible for the promotion and tracking of advertising sales.

A few of my dad’s responsibilities were:

• to obtain ad sales possibly by phone as well as in person.

• Keeping and organizing record of all ad sales

• Prepare a final sales report for each issue and makes sure the ad designer gets a copy

• Serve as a member of the editorial board

A bit of History of SCSPA

“It all began as the journalist begins- with people, an idea, an empty page. Today, after more than half a century, the idea expands toward fulfillment as the pages are filled with a history. It is a story of people working toward excellence- people tending toward an ideal that promises to shine far, far into the future. It is a story of youth yearning toward an expression of truth. It is the story of the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association.”

SCSPA’s 50th Anniversary Booklet: The First 50 Years

The SCSPA holds annual fall and spring conferences which currently draws more than 600 participants. Not sure how many participants there were in 1947, only that my dad was one of those participants for the spring conference.

Students as well as their advisers from schools all over the state attend the annual SCSPA conference. It honors outstanding students and advisors during the spring conference. It recognizes contributions to scholastic journalism through awards and scholarships.

My dad’s attendance would have been an honor and recognition for his participation in his school’s Hi-Times newspaper. Through his memorabilia I am learning more and more about my dad and what his life was like before I came into existence.

Throwback Thursday

Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters

God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.