June 18 – 20, 2024 Embassy Suites, Kissimmee, Florida

Cost

Registration: $350 per person, student or adviser. Price increases to $375 after June 1.
Includes workshop registration, materials, all special events and all food.

Hotel: $400 per room. (maximum 6 students per room). Includes two nights. Additional nights are $200.

Payment must be received before June 1 otherwise additional charges will apply. This is because we have to guarantee our number of rooms with the hotel by June 1.

Hotel: Advisers: $200 per room for two nights (we will pair you with another adviser) which includes two nights lodging. Or, for single occupancy: $400 for two nights’ lodging.

Click here to register

Guest Speaker – Jill Chumley

I caught the yearbook bug in the eighth grade when
I was on the yearbook staff at the Oil Companies
School in Tripoli, Libya. I went on to help create three
more of my high school yearbooks. In college at
SFASU I majored in communications and planned a
big advertising career after graduation. Well, you know
what they say about the best laid plans. I fell in love
with a local boy my senior year, and decided to stay
in Nacogdoches and become a teacher. I taught for
29 years in Lufkin and Tomball Independent School
Districts. The best years were the ones when I was
advising middle school and high school yearbooks.
After 29 years in education, it was time to for a change;
time to grow; time to build something new. I joined
Balfour in October of 2022 as a yearbook sales
representative, and I am so excited to be here.
I was digging through a box of supplies Balfour sent,
and I found one document that read ‘Nothing else
comes close’. That’s how I feel about yearbooks. When
the school year is over, it’s what you treasure most. In
2018, I took my 78 year old mother to her 60th high
school reunion. It was held at a classmate’s home in
rural East Texas, and the attendees brought two things.
Yearbooks and a pot luck dish. I still get choked up
when I think about how they treasured those books. I
heard all about everyone in their class that afternoon.
It’s an honor to help you create a yearbook your
community will treasure for years to come.

Cover Artists

Appointments will be made during registration with the cover artist. Time is limited to 45 minutes per school; please have your idea and concepts ready prior to your appointment time. A rough sketch is fine, or a rough printout of what you are considering is helpful. The more you can show the artist about your cover concept, the better.

Schedule

Tuesday, June 18

Registration 8:30 10 a.m. Kissimmee Suites, Orlando,

Seminar begins promptly at 10:15 a.m. You won’t want to miss the fun opening session video!

10:15 – 10:45 – Opening Session – Dress up theme is school spirit. Prizes will be awarded to one staff each day for their participation spirit day. If you’ve never heard of the Golden Yearbook, you will.

11 – Noon – meet with Focus Groups. This is the category you have registered your students under, depending on skill level. Focus groups are: Leadership/Section Editors, New Staffers, Photographers, New Advisers, Experienced Advisers.

Noon – 12:45 p.m. – Lunch

1-2 p.m. General Session

2 p.m. – Group Photo

2:15 p.m. Cookie Break!

2:30 – 4 p.m. Group Work Session 1 – Meet in Magnolia Ballroom with your staff to begin work on project binder.

4 – 5:30 p.m. Hotel Check in (if you have not already done so)

5:45 – 6:45 Dinner

7 – 8 p.m. General Session

8:15 – 9:15 – The world-famous book grab. You have to experience it to believe it. Hundreds of books, all up for grabs for you and your staff to take home to add to your collection.

9:30 p.m. – Adviser Reception

11 p.m. – Curfew. Even Yerds have their limits!

Wednesday, June 19

6:30 – 8 a.m. – Cooked-to-order breakfast, Embassy Suites breakfast restaurant

8:15 – 9:15 a.m. – General Session, Jill Chumley, Keynote Speaker

9:30 a.m. 10:15 a.m. – Breakout Session 1

10:30 – 11:15 a.m. – Breakout Session 2

11:30 – 12:30 – Adviser & Chaperone Lunch

11:30 – 12:30 – Student Lunch

12:45 -1:20 p.m. – General Session, Jill Chumley, Keynote Speaker

1:30 – 2:15 p.m. – Breakout Session 3

2:30 p.m. – Cookie Break!

2:45 – 5 p.m. Group Work Session 2 – Meet in Magnolia Ballroom with your staff to begin work on project binder.

5 – 5:45 p.m. – Dinner

6 – 6:30 p.m. – General Session, Jill Chumley, Keynote Speaker

6:30 – 8 p.m. – Final work session, projects due at 8 p.m. sharp, Magnolia Ballroom. Allow time for printing!   

8 – 10 p.m. – Super Scavenger Hunt! Pick up your list in Magnolia Ballroom. Win great prizes!

Thursday, June 20

6:30 – 8 a.m. – Cooked-to-order breakfast, Embassy Suites breakfast restaurant

8:45 – 9:15 a.m. – General Session (students only), Jill Chumley, Keynote Speaker

9:30 – 10:15 a.m. – Closing show and awards — Give a super cheer when you see your school or students!

Supply List for Students/School

• A copy of your 2024 yearbook
• Warm clothes — the hotel is notoriously cold!
• A credit card for incidentals
• Camera or phone with camera for scavenger hunt
• Theme ideas and cover concepts — the more visuals you have for the artist, the better
• The hotel is surrounded by several shops and stores, you might want to include some spending money for shopping.
• Art Supplies (Glue sticks, scissors, markers)
• Old magazines
• Laptop computers (and although we provide printers, they do get backed up, so you might consider bringing a printer for last-minute items)
• Comfortable shoes and clothes for hanging out with your staff and spreading out on the floor with your super friends
• Bookbag
• Snacks for late night work sessions