The Cornhusker State has many great things you might not know about — that is until you check out today’s list, of course.

Journalism Related
1. We have some of the best students in the nation!
2. We have awesome advisers who love what they do!
3. We have supportive administrators who support what we do!
4. We have a JEA Nebraska Winter Contest to celebrate our students!
5. We have great participation in our State Journalism contest!
6. We have a great partnership with the NHSPA!
7. We have a great partnership with the NSAA!
8. We have a great partnership with the University of Nebraska College of JMC!
9. We have a great partnership with the Nebraska Broadcasters Association!
10. We have an awesome summer journalism workshop at UNL!
11. We make great camp T-shirts, great themes and great stickers!
12. We bring in great camp speakers from the national circuit like Justin Daigle,
13. and Jim Streisel,
14. and Brian Wilson,
15. and Scott Winter,
16. and Erica Brockmoller,
17. and Bruce Thorson,
18. and Matt Rasgorshek!
19. We have active members who attend national conferences and conventions!
20. We have willing advisers who happily judge the National Student Media Contests!
21. We have active members who attend our State Convention in October at UNL!
22. We had an awesome keynote speaker at our most recent convention: Matt Hansen, the editor of the Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s first statewide nonprofit news source.
23. We have dedicated advisers who serve on the NSHPA Executive Board as a service to their students and their state!
24. We have been honored to have Michelle Carr Hassler as the NHSPA Executive Director.
25. We have advisers attend the JEA Adviser Institute every summer!
26. We have a Student Journalist of the Year every year!
27. We have statewide recognition for our JOY and the runners up!
28. We have a sweet website for NHSPA (https://nhspaonline.org)
29. We have another website for JEA-Nebraska (https://omahamarian.org/nshpa)
30. We celebrated our first Cornhusker Hall of Fame member publication this past October: Millard West’s Prowler!
31. We just had 21 students earn individual recognition in the National Student Media Contests at Boston!
32. We have professional journalists who mentor and speak to our students when we ask!
33. We have university professors who mentor and speak to our students when we ask!
34. We celebrate a Distinguished Adviser every year. The 2023 DA is Joe Rohacik from Papillion-La Vista High School.
35. We celebrate a Friend of Journalism every year. The 2023 Friend is Dr. Amanda Gutierrez from Omaha Public Schools!
36. We have had two JEA Medal of Merit recipients: Bob Bair in 2005,
37. and Susan Nellson Baird in 2006!
38. We have had seven JEA Rising Stars recognized: Scott Foster in 2008,
39. and Courtney Archer in 2008,
40. and Hillary Aerts in 2008,
41. and Lori Larson in 2018,
42. and Angela Wolfe in 2019,
43. and Kelley Lange in 2022,
44. and Kirsten Gilliland in 2023!
45. We have had a JEA Broadcast Adviser of the Year Distinguished Adviser: Matt Rasgorshek!
46. We have had two national JEA Friends of Journalism from Nebraska: Jim Angele in 2013,
47. and Jessica Votipka in 2023!
48. We have had a JEA Future Administrator Scholarship Winner: Mark Hilburn, MJE.
49. We have had 16 JEA Lifetime Achievement Award Winners from Nebraska: Sherry Tonniges in 2005,
50. Kathy Stockham in 2005,
51. Gary Raaberg in 2005,
52. Sheila Pedersen in 2006,
53. Linda M. Crandell in 2010,
54. Dale Schwalm in 2011,
55. Janet Raddish in 2012,
56. Sharleen Ball in 2012,
57. Ann Quinlan in 2013,
58. Dianne Kuppig in 2013,
59. Rod Howe in 2013,
60. Diane Schutt in 2014,
61. Bob Bair in 2014,
62. Janelle Schultz in 2018,
63. Terry Pitkin in 2019,
64. Jack Denker in 2021!
65. We have active JEA Mentors and Mentees in Nebraska!
66. An Omaha Central student journalist, Jane McGill, was awarded the 2023 Student Impact Award!
67. Cornhusker Awards were granted to 15 Yearbooks in 2023!
68. Cornhusker Awards were granted to 8 Newspapers in 2023!
69. A Cornhusker Award was granted to 1 Online Newspaper in 2023 (Millard West)!
70. A Cornhusker Award was granted to 1 Broadcasting Program in 2023 (Millard West)!
71. Millard West had the first student radio station through the Nebraska Radio Project in 2023!
72. We have had JEA Partner Project schools!
73. We have a great team to keep working on New Voices!
74. We will start celebrating ALL Nebraska schools (who earn more than 2 Cornhusker Awards) in the fall of 2024!
75. We have three veteran advisers who have MJE status/certification!
76. We have eight other advisers who have CJE status/certification!
77. We have had one national board member in the JEA elite: Bob Bair!
78. We have many high school journalists who have continued their careers in local and national journalism careers!
79. We have connections with the Nebraska/National Press Women and our students do well in their contests!
80. We have member schools who celebrate and participate in Quill and Scroll!
81. We have member schools whose students get honored by the National Scholastic Press Association’s Honor Roll!
82. We have member schools whose students have won Story of the Year, Design of the Year, Broadcast of the Year, Photo of the Year contests through NSPA!
83. We have member schools whose students have been in the Top 10 of the Best of Show in numerous national conventions!
84. We have had member schools named as Pacemaker Finalists!
85. We have had member schools named as Crown Finalists!
86. We have super supportive yearbook company representatives and in-plant representatives in the state of Nebraska!
87. We have had member schools celebrated by yearbook companies in their Presidential Collections!
88. We have strong middle school programs that feed into our high schools and recently named our first Middle School Cornhusker at Bennington Middle School!
89. We have students from our programs who have become journalism advisers!

Just for fun
90. We broke a world record in September 2023 for the number of fans watching a women’s sporting event: 92,003 fans at a Nebraska Volleyball exhibition!
91. The world’s largest stamp ball is found at BoysTown in Omaha!
92. We have one of the world’s best zoos in Omaha: The Henry Doorly Zoo!
93. It has the world’s largest indoor rainforest!
94. We host the Greatest Show on Dirt: The College World Series in Omaha every June!
95. Hastings, Nebraska is the birthplace of Kool-Aid!
96. The Reuben Sandwich originated in Nebraska!
97. Linoma, Nebraska has a lighthouse, but no ocean!
98. Our version of Stonehenge is in Alliance, Nebraska: Carhenge!
99. Nebraska is the only state in the Union with a unicameral legislature!
100. Almost 91% of the state is farm/ranch land. 1 in 4 jobs in Nebraska are related to agriculture!