Community,

As most already know, The Neotribune has announced they will close as of June 4th.

I want to take a moment to thank Mr. South and his staff. Their coverage of our student activities and other events has been a vital part of our school. Whether we had a parade, a game, or a concert, the Italy Community knew they could find pictures and stories on The Neo.

Kelly Lewis has been a great “go-to” person when a member of the school needed something posted. Countless times our staff has needed information posted quickly. Kelly always made it happen. Kelly also took it upon herself to help with special projects. One school year, the staff wanted to publically recognize members of a graduating class. Kelly went above and beyond to ensure that we had a platform to report information and then made sure it was correct. The result was a fantastic, public recognition of students’ achievements. Kelly knows the importance of a well written article. Often, she would find errors in articles and make sure we had a chance to correct them. I am positive this very letter was previewed meticulously by Kelly prior to it being posted. Thank you, Kelly Lewis, for being a part of our school through your work with The Neo. You are a great example of leadership in our community.

Many of my favorite pictures of my own children came from the wonderful contribution of Barry Byers. His love for sports and the school was evident by the many hours he would spend at our games to gather a story for The Neo. I have been fortunate enough to stand next to him while he worked to get those stories. He would take pictures and then quickly speak the result of a play into his recorder to make sure his written story conveyed the drama of the field. Many will remember the scary moment when Barry was hit by a foul ball while trying to get the best shot of a student/athlete’s at-bat in a baseball game. Those of us close to the dugout saw first-hand how Barry worked like a Gladiator for The Neo… tough and resilient. Barry’s work extended beyond just serving The Neo. We all knew that we could go to him for pictures to prepare for a graduation, a pep rally or a t-shirt design. The Neo never charged the school for those pictures. Earlier today, I ran into Barry. He jokingly told me he was living his life vicariously through his son. Because of the work of The Neo and Barry Byers, we all got to live vicariously through the lives our students.

Thank you to Mr. South for giving us the conduit to share information. Your dedication to improving Italy is appreciated.

Lee Joffre
Proud Superintendent of a Great School District