• Congratulations to IJEA member school Edwardsville on winning the 2026 IHSA journalism tournament! IJEA members Huntley and Prospect finished second and third respectively! Congrats to all IHSA state finalists!
  • Congratulations to the 2026 Illinois Journalist of the Year, senior Light Dohrn of the University of Chicago Laboratory High School!
  • Journalism educators! Consider joining IJEA for 2026-27! Annual memberships for 2026-27 will be available in May. Lifetime memberships are always available. Use our online form or fillable PDF to join!
  • We are delighted to announce IJEA's partnership with Northwestern University's Medill School! We are now headquartered at Medill. Thank you, Medill, for your support of high school journalism!
Illinois Journalism Education Association, Medill School, Northwestern University, 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-2101

Illinois JEA
Illinois Journalism Education Association, Medill School, Northwestern University, 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-2101

Illinois JEA
Illinois Journalism Education Association, Medill School, Northwestern University, 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-2101

Illinois JEA

IJEA Lifetime Achievement Award

ijea lighter resized2

Honoring Those Who Dedicated
Their Careers to Scholastic Journalism

Online Nomination Form

Submission Deadline: March 15

Each year, the IJEA seeks to honor individual retired scholastic media educators for a lifetime of dedication to scholastic media education. Please note that membership in IJEA is not required for this award.

In selecting honorees, the IJEA seeks to recognize those individuals making a long-time commitment to scholastic media education but who are now retired. These can include:

• Those who are retired scholastic media educators and/or advisers of student media
• Those who are or have been strong advocates for scholastic media education

 

Annual Deadline: March 15

The award is presented at the annual All-State Journalism luncheon in June, held in Springfield in conjunction with the Illinois Press Foundation; however, it may not be presented every year.

 

How to Nominate a Candidate

You may nominate a candidate by using our online nomination form below. Please note that we no longer use PDF forms for award nominations.

 

Online Form

Click here to access the online nomination form for this award.

 

IJEA Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

2022
John Gonczy

• Longtime newspaper adviser and journalism teacher at Marist High School in Chicago
• IJEA president and board member
• Tireless proponent of IJEA’s role in promoting and enhancing Illinois scholastic journalism
• Advocate and implementer of institutional changes to ensure IJEA’s long-term stability as an organization, including recruitment of new board members, stewardship of financial investments, and collaboration with fellow scholastic journalism organizations on both the state and national levels

Dr. Sally Renaud

• Journalism Department, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston (Coles County)
• IJEA executive director for 14 years (2005-2019)
• Hosted and served as site organizer for the IHSA journalism tournament finals for more than a decade
• Coordinated the IJEA Yearbook Contest for 17 years (2005-2022)
• Advocate and implementer of institutional changes to ensure IJEA’s long-term stability as an organization, including recruitment of new board members, stewardship of financial resources, and development of strong alliances and partnerships with professional journalists and fellow scholastic journalism organizations on both the state and national levels

2021*
Stan Zoller

• Longtime adviser at Rolling Meadows High School
• Former JEA Regional Director and IJEA State Director
• Pioneer Award from the National Scholastic Press Association
• Distinguished Adviser, Dow Jones News Fund

*Stan was presented his award in person in 2022 due to COVID delays

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IJEA Lifetime Achievement Award