This is a series of articles to recognize and honor Guild members who have devoted the many hours that make the Guild run smoothly as well as to make the various Guild activities so successful. In turn, these hours make Hancher Auditorium the wonderful institution it is, known around the state and beyond as a prime promoter of the arts, bringing both entertainment and education to thousands of people each year.
These members have worked hard in many ways, often receiving little or no recognition other than the annual STAR awards for a special activity that year. We want you to know who they are and what they have done. We would also welcome any nominations you may have to honor such members.
Dick Johns
You open your mailbox and there, amid bills, requests for additional donations and a myriad of other pieces of junk mail, is something to smile about: the latest issue of the SPOTLIGHT, Hancher Guild's newsletter. What a relief! Here is something to enjoy reading. You will find out what has been going on in the Guild during the previous few months, letters from the auditorium's directors, Judy Hurtig and Chuck Swanson, and the Guild's co-presidents , George and Barbara Grilley. Here, too, will be reports from some of the committee chairs describing their activities, comments and announcements of things to come both on stage and off. You sigh happily, knowing that the Guild is in good hands and operating well in many areas.
But has it occurred to you how all this information is processed and
distributed? Well, thanks to our second Guild Unsung Hero, the
SPOTLIGHT arrives at your house,
ready to be read and enjoyed. He was a very effective Guild president a few
years ago. Although you see him frequently selling beautiful
items in the showcase,
he provides an even more special service as editor of the SPOTLIGHT. Because
of this position he reluctantly agreed to accept the Unsung Hero honor and
to be interviewed for it. I am talking about Dick Johns, of course.
Growing up in Highland, Indiana, Dick's interest in journalism began
when he was editor of his high school's newspaper. He got his
B.A. degree in journalism
from Ball State Teachers College (now University) in 1961. He received a
Wall Street Journal fellowship at the prestigious School of Journalism
at the University
of Missouri, followed by his M.A. back at Ball State in 1965.
Dick came to Iowa City in 1968 to direct the Iowa High School Press
Association and was Assistant Director of the Quill and Scroll
Society headquartered
here. This is the international honorary society for high school journalists.
In
1972 he became its Executive Director ( a position he still holds) and
an adjunct professor
in the University of Iowa's School of Journalism, teaching 3 courses every
year. He has received many top national awards in his chosen field of journalism.
When Dick became Guild president in 2003, and because the previous
SPOTLIGHT editor had resigned, he took over the job but decided
to make it a learning
experience for journalism students. He developed an internship program
and found 2 third-year
students interested in becoming the first interns to work on the SPOTLIGHT.
This is a one-year internship without pay but interest has grown to such
a degree
that Dick is overwhelmed each year with applicants for it. And no wonder!
Dick has made the program into a first-class educational opportunity,
giving the
interns a lot of experience in editing and lay-out with Dick supervising
but never interfering.
A bonus for the interns is that they become Guild members, sit in on
board meetings, and learn first-hand how an active volunteer
group operates.
Dick collects the
stories and articles for the SPOTLIGHT and gives them to the interns
for editing and lay-out. Then Julie Scott checks for any factual
or other errors
before
sending everything to the University Printing Service. Mailing to Guild
members is done
from the Hancher office. And Dick is behind the scenes at all times.
In addition to being Guild president and SPOTLIGHT editor, Dick has
served Hancher and the Guild in many ways during his more than
20 years of membership.
He has
served on the board several times, and has been coordinator of volunteers
for the Showcase. He counts his work on the hugely successful CINDERELLA
BALL,
the year he was Guild president, as his most memorable contribution
to Hancher. He
was so pleased that countless members of the Guild as well as community
members helped to make it such a great family event, the first of many
that have
followed.
Outside of Hancher his volunteer activities have been many, including
serving on the Elderly Services Board at the Senior Center for over
5 years, president
of the Thursday Noon Rotary Club, member of its scholarship committee,
editor of its newsletter, and he coordinated the publication of the
first pictorial
directory.
Dick and his wife Nancy have raised their 2 daughters in Iowa City.
They are both married and live in the area. Nancy, daughter Lisa
and her husband
Mitchell
Overton are Guild members and have devoted many hours to staffing
the Showcase.
So, when you see Dick, tell him how much you have appreciated all
the time and skills he has given to help make Hancher the wonderful
community
asset
that it
is. Indeed, he is an Unsung Hero.
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