History of the Quill

Created by Tammy Omar
Used for the spring and fall 1980 covers

life of the community; in 1985 the contest gained a “Junior Division” for grades 1-8. Both were discontinued in 2006, with the Quill becoming an annual publication and the “Junior Division” being replaced by an annual K-8 fine arts day, held in the fall until 2011.

For 45 years, whether annual or bi-annual, this magazine has been a staple of our creative history and imagination. The Quill has grown and changed, with the addition of color photography in 2003, digital art in 2010, and the altering of the art categories to reflect Crowder’s academic departments, 2D and 3D art, in 2013; with the Quill’s growth, its ability to give back to the community has expanded, with $500 scholarships being added as a prize to the high school gold winners for all eight categories each year.

Latonia Bailey has worked alongside the Quill for decades. Her journey with the Crowder Quill began with a Quill gold award she won as a high school student in 1987. By spring 1989, she had joined the staff as a poetry judge, and in 1994 she took the lead as the faculty adviser. Since then, she has been instrumental in every step of the magazine’s creation, leading students in the judging, promoting, and designing. Faculty and students alike have chosen her for honorary publication within its pages. Without her, the Quill would not be the same.

The Quill’s logo also has its own history. The original logo was created by Tammy Omar for the 1980 spring and fall editions. From 1981 to 1987, Mark Hollandsworth’s striking and elegant logo graced the cover and defined the magazine’s early years. Starting in 1988, the tradition shifted; each year’s cover became the canvas for a new creator, chosen from the art of that year’s entries or from staff members. Still, Hollandsworth’s original Quill continued to make appearances across the Crowder Quill’s social media, within its logo, and its pages, honoring the memory of those who shaped the magazine’s early history.

Timeline of events

The Crowder Quill magazine and contest was proposed and founded by Crowder College English faculty Dan Richard in 1980. With 45 years since its inception, the Quill strives to consistently move forward in producing quality content.

Initially, the Crowder Quill contest was open to students of Crowder College as well as high school students and community members. Nearly all entries were published, but winners received a “Gold Quill” certificate award and designation in the publication. The contest was expanded to include a “Junior Division,” grades 1-8, starting in 1985.
The magazine was published bi-annually until 2006 when it was changed to a yearly contest cycle. At that time, the Junior Division was also removed. In its place was an annual K-8 fine arts day, held in the fall of each year until 2011.

The ornate feather logo was created by Mark Hollandsworth and solely graced the cover of each publication from 1981-1989. The logo is still used as a symbol of the contest and publication today, present on all publicity materials and in the magazine itself.

Color was increasingly added to the cover and contents, prompting the addition of separate color categories for art and photography in spring 2003. Digital Art was added in 2010 to reflect the new art of extensively altered photographs, particularly using photo-manipulation software such as Photoshop, as well as computer-generated art. In 2013, the art categories were modified to reflect the academic departments at Crowder: 2D Art and 3D Art. Also, $500 scholarships were added to the prize for each high school gold winners for all eight categories. Each year, the contest receives around 1,000 entries.

Beginning in 2023 and the pivot of the journalism program to Digital Marketing to meet the demands of a growing career field, the Crowder Quill again underwent modifications. The course changed from “Magazine Production” to “Applied Graphic Design and Digital Media Campaigns.” Magazines and certificates are mailed in May with additional digital content available on social media.

Dan Richard served as adviser until his retirement in spring 1988. David Sherlock took over the magazine in fall 1988 to spring 1990 in addition to his duties as adviser for the Crowder Sentry and director of the theatre department. Nina Gibson’s turn was from fall 1990 to spring 1992, and Suzanne Woolever from fall 1992 to spring 1994.

Latonia Bailey has served as adviser since fall 1994. Bailey won a Quill gold award in 1987 as a high school student and then joined the student staff as poetry editor in spring 1989. As adviser, her works in nearly every category have been chosen for honorary publication through the years by faculty and students.

Most recently, another change has occurred with contest categories and the magazine production course. As the course that produces the Quill transitions into the Career and Creative Writing certificate at Crowder beginning fall 2026, it will discontinue 2D and 3D Art categories in order to focus on literary and digital visual arts, creating more space for writing while encouraging artists to participate through digital formats. Artists working in traditional 2D and 3D media are encouraged to participate in the Digital Art category by adapting their work into digital formats and expanding their creative skillsets. For more details, see the article “Contest Opens with Altered Categories.”

Begun in 1980, the Quill is published each spring; the contest deadline is Feb. 1 each year, and divisions are high school, Crowder, and the community. Beginning with the 2026-27 contest cycle, which is now open, the categories for the Quill are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, color photography, B&W photography, and digital art, which is computer-generated or digitally altered art as well as extensively altered photography for special effects.

This transition ensures the continued publication of the Crowder Quill. Relocating the course to a new program has allowed the magazine to continue its 45-year tradition of encouraging and celebrating creativity within the college and surrounding community.

Award-winning Publication

Awards from the American Scholastic Press Association, College Point, New York:
2013-present Best Community College Literary-Art Magazine
2010-present First Place with Special Merit
2009 First Place
1993-2008 Did not compete
1992 First Place
1988-1991 First Place with Special Merit
1988 Outstanding Service for the Community
1987 Second Place

In 2017, The Crowder Quill was given the highest possible honor by the College Media Association: The Pinnacle for 1st Place for two-year literary magazines.

Original Quill Staff

Cheryl Ball
Patti Bowman
James Paul Dickey
Sally Geeding
Sandy Jordan
LeeAnn Sontheimer
Wesley Watkins
Dan Richard, Adviser

For a memoir written in 2025 by Sandy Jordan, original Quill staff member who was chosen for the dedication for the 45h anniversary edition, see this link.

Sandy has written additional memoirs through the years, which will be added here.

Dedications to the Quill

Past Recipients

Each year, the Quill recognizes outstanding service, contributions, and dedication to the Crowder Quill.

2014 – The first Quill dedication was for James B. Tatum, who helped found the college in 1963 and served on the Board of Trustees for more than 50 years, distinguishing himself as the longest-serving board president of a community college anywhere.

2015 – As Print Shop supervisor, Jon Finley printed more than 50 editions of the publication from the time he was hired in fall 1987 until 2015.

2016 – Dr. Kent Farnsworth, former president of Crowder College, was a great support to the Quill. Now a successful published author, Farnsworth serves as a model for aspiring authors, artists and photographers.

2017 – Dan Richard founded the Quill in 1980 to create an outlet for aspiring authors and artists and continued to advise the publication until 1988 when he retired. His legacy lives on.

2018 – Dennis and Charlene Bergen, retired art instructors from McDonald County High School, have been strong supporters of The Crowder Quill, helping many students through the years to enter the contests. They both were published in the Quill many times, demonstrating an example to their students.

2019 – All area high school and homeschool instructors who encourage their students to enter the contest were recognized. They inspire and influence their students in many positive, remarkable ways and foster an environment in which students gain confidence to pursue publication and awards with their creative works.

2020 – Produced during the beginning of a global pandemic, this edition was dedicated to all those affected by Covid-19. All campus activities were suspended during the last half of the spring 2020 semester, including hosting the Quill ceremony, which would have commemorated the 40th anniversary of the publication.

2021 – Nina Beaver, retiring chair of the Communications Division, has been a great support to the magazine and contest. Employed at Crowder since 1992 first as instructor of English and literature, Beaver encouraged many students to enter the contest.

2022 – Due to low enrollment in the course, there was not a 2022 edition.

2023 – James Paul (J.P.) Dickey, original member of the Crowder Quill staff in 1980, retired as a Crowder employee after 23 years. Dickey served in various roles, including theatre instructor, director, division chair, and director of Admissions. Dickey helped support the Quill throughout the years, including as keynote speaker for the Quill awards ceremony.

2024 – Emma LaRose, administrative assistant for the Communications Division and student at Crowder College, provided invaluable contributions to the production of the Crowder Quill. Emma went above and beyond, reaching out to a wider area of schools to invite them to participate in the contest, devised a more efficient process for creating award certificates, and spent countless hours sorting entries into the appropriate contest divisions, typing, and other duties.

2025 – Suzanne Prior, a May 2025 Crowder retiree, was a valuable supporter of the Crowder Quill during her tenure at Crowder as English/Literature Instructor. She encouraged her students to submit their creative works to the Quill and shared submissions with her classes. She also assisted with the on-site children’s Fine Arts Day that the Quill hosted from 2006-2011 in conjunction with the print publication.

2026 – See the link for this year’s dedication to Cassandra Jordan, original Quill staff member, noted above.