Welcome back, iliad!
Above: BLUE YEAR: iliad Editorial Board members and adviser David Ragsdale pose at the top steps of the Clarke Central High School ceremonial entrance on August 13. iliad Social Media Coordinator Onyx Mills, a senior, joined the iliad Editorial Board with no prior experience and has seen the opportunities the program has provided. “It’s been an entirely new experience, but I’ve already learned so much and met so many different people,” Mills said. “I’m really excited to keep working with everyone on the Editorial Board and see the magazine come out at the end of the year.” Photo by Flannery Ragan
After the release of the iliad’s 2024 magazine “Prometheus”, the Editorial Board started the year with promotion and outreach for the publication's community engagement.
The iliad Editorial Board, which is made up of seven members whose positions help undergo the production of our annual magazine, participated in numerous Clarke Central High School welcoming events. Events including open house and freshman orientation allowed the iliad to welcome new students to Clarke Central High School and make them aware of our program’s opportunities.
In early August the iliad Editorial Board participated in the Marketing Project to obtain patrons from our spheres of influence. These donations go towards investments such as submission posters, patron mailers, business cards and publications. Since then we've received 40 donations, making up about 36% of our $4,000 goal.
“Community donations are integral to the production of our magazine. They fund the program and give the community a chance to have a direct influence on promoting the artistic community of CCHS,” iliad Business Manager Mattie Pittard said.
The iliad hosted our annual Creative Celebration on August 26 to celebrate the artists featured in our most recent magazine, “Prometheus.” The event included read-alouds, an art exhibit and two musical performances from CCHS musicians.
“I'm really happy with how the student showcase turned out this year because I think we were able to incorporate more types of art other than writing pieces,” Hendershot said. “We also had a much better turnout than last year which is awesome because the community members got to see what the iliad provides for CCHS students.”
On September 10 the iliad held our first club meeting of the year in Room 231 from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Attending students were presented with materials to create collages. The art projects the club participates in are intended to be featured images in our upcoming magazine.
“In past years the most students we've had come to club meetings was about 10,” Hendershot said. “This year we focused heavily on the promotion for our meetings so we had about 20 students attend our last meeting.”
To promote submissions to students the iliad hosted class talks in art and English classes at CCHS. Writing Director Margo McDaniel organized these talks for members of the Editorial Board to present our informational slide show, encouraging students to submit.
“Through class talks, we’ve been able to reach more creative students at Clarke Central and have had new members attend our club meetings. Class talks are really important to (for) spreading awareness about our program and fostering its growth by directly connecting us with artists at CCHS,” McDaniel said.
The ODYSSEY and iliad programs participated in our first UGA Football game concession stand volunteer work for UGA’s first home game on Sept. 7. Both teams worked behind the counter of a concession stand at the UGA football stadium slinging hot dogs, bagging popcorn and working at the registers for 8 hours to raise funds for our programs.
“ Working UGA concessions helps us work towards that goal and helps us bond together as a team.” Outreach Director Niles Flath said. “Although it gets stressful at times, we come together for the common goal of helping fund our program.”
The iliad received awards from the National Scholastic Press Association for the iliad’s 2024 magazine in September. NSPA recognized Hendershot for spread and cover design and Garland for social media promotion.
“Last year was the first time I was the Editor-in-Chief and Victoria the Social Media Coordinator,” Hendershot said. “ It was a rocky year for the both of us but our hard work went a long way and I’m really proud of that.”
Story by Olivia Hendershot
Olivia Hendershot is a senior at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the iliad literary-art magazine. Hendershot hopes to expand iliads outreach as well as make positive improvements to the program. In her free time, she likes listening to music, sketching/painting and hanging out with friends.