Perhaps more than any other recipient, Connie Fulkerson exemplified everything the Carl Towley Award stands for. She served JEA for 33 years as administrative assistant, bookstore manager, advertising manager Publications Committee chair, board secretary, proofreader and historian.

She was only a half-time administrative assistant when JEA came to Kansas State University in 1988, but she handled the day-to-day operations of transitioning the organization to the university and Kedzie Hall when Dave Adams, executive secretary, was on sabbatical. For more than three decades she served JEA and, like Carl Towley, she loved the job.

Like Carl Towley, she reached out to those with questions and corresponded with those who needed encouragement. Like Carl Towley she was the constant to the organization. Seven presidents and six executive secretary/directors came and went, but Connie was there as a unifying influence for JEA. Like Carl Towley she worked efficiently behind the scenes to keep JEA functioning. Like Carl Towley she was appreciated by all who knew her or knew of her good work. Like Carl Towley she was loved.

She received the Carl Towley award in 2020 and retired a few months later. The following are excerpts from the “Connie” book presented to her at her retirement.

• “Connie has served JEA with tremendous dedication to the organization. In many respects she is an unsung hero.” — Ken Siver, president 1987-1993
• “Her institutional knowledge is vast — but it’s only surpassed by her ability to research anything she can’t recall. She is the best thing that could ever happen to a JEA president.” — Candace Bowen, president 1993-1997
• “I can’t imagine JEA without Connie. As president of JEA, I knew there was never anything to worry about with Connie around.” —H.L. Hall, president 1998-2003
• “She made us all better people because of our interactions with her.” — Ann Visser, president 2003-2007
• “She served members, board members and staffs with her authentic concern for them and JEA’s mission.” — Carol Lange
• “I have gotten to know Connie and have loved seeing her at every convention. What I appreciate most is all she has done behind the scenes before the convention even starts.” — Kathy Daly
• “JEA is a bedrock institution for advisers around the country, and Connie’s work to keep it focused on teachers and students has been and inspiration.” — Eric Thomas, Kansas Scholastic Press Association executive director
• “Connie is hard working, professional and always kind,” — Julie Dodd
• “No one has a greater historical perspective of JEA and no one is a kinder soul than Connie Fulkerson.” — Val Kibler, president 2023
• “I am grateful for her commitment and inspired by her willingness to go above and beyond, again and again. She is a treasure, ad she is someone I admire and respect beyond words.” — Sarah Nichols, president 2017-2023
• “Connie is flexible, a team player and modest about what she has accomplished,” — Pam Boller, office manager
• “Connie is the absolute best. Enough said. Well, she is EP!C!, too.” — Mark Newton, president 2011-2017
• “You (Connie) have been the voice behind JEA and the unsung hero of the magazine. Your ability to get people to rethink thing without saying “no” or “that’s stupid” has made the organization better and made all of us better people.” — Bradley Wilson, C:JET editor
• “She is the soul and often the brains of JEA.” — Jack Kennedy, president 2007-2011
• “Connie gave us a true north with her understanding of the history of JEA and with her bottomless knowledge and her high expectations.” — Casey Nichols
• “Making it happen is your (Connie’s) legacy. The bookstore, membership directory, early days of the Write-offs, NewsWire, C:JET all carried your mark, as does every member who ever needed your help. As do I.” — Linda Puntney, executive director 1989-2010