Educational Theatre Association Honors Local Educator as Volunteer of the Year

	Chris Veneris, North Carolina; Scott Wilson, Ohio; Sharon Chadwick, Nevada; Zachary Schneider, Wyoming; Jennifer Morgan Beuchat, Kansas; Teri Turner, Missouri; Lindsay Shields, New York; Erick Weeks, Mississippi.

The Educational Theatre Association's (EdTA) Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes individuals who support the Association through exceptional volunteer efforts. The 2018 recipients are the 16 members of the Advocacy Leadership Network (ALN):

Anthony Cimino-Johnson, Rock Ridge High School, Ashburn, Virginia
Michael Daehn, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Helen Duranleau-Brennan, Davenport, Iowa
Shannon Horn, Pinewood Preparatory School, Goose Creek, South Carolina
Alison Johnson, Santa Fe High School, Whittier, California
Jennifer Morgan-Beuchat, Leavenworth, Kansas
Mallory Nonnemaker, Dawson County High School, Cleveland, Georgia
Zachary Schneider, Natrona County High School, Casper, Wyoming
Teri Turner, Smith-Cotton High School, Sedalia, Missouri
Zachery W. Bates, Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Westville, New Jersey
Sharon Fenwald Chadwick, Liberty High School, Las Vegas, Nevada
Tami LoSasso, Lakewood High School, Arvada, Colorado
Lindsay M. Shields, Flushing High School, Queens, New York
Christopher Veneris, South Guilford High School, Greensboro, North Carolina
Scott Wilson, East High School, Columbus Ohio
Erick J. Weeks, Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi

The Advocacy Leadership Network is a three-year pilot initiative, launched in 2017 to train and empower members of the Educational Theatre Association in grassroots advocacy efforts on behalf of theatre and other arts education.

In presenting the awards, EdTA executive director Julie Theobald said, "It's a fundamental part of our mission to influence public opinion as to the value of theatre education and there is no better way to do that than to have our teachers on the front lines in state houses and school board meetings throughout the country."

To that end the ALN has ALN members prepared an advocacy guide for the association's membership to use in developing local and state activities.

The Volunteer of the Year Award was presented during the EdTA Leadership Summit in Kansas City, Missouri, where the organization's leaders -- members of the EdTA board of directors, chapter directors and board members, and student leaders -- gathered for a three-day session of planning, briefings, and workshops focused on organizational best practices.