20+ Years of Excellence
In 1992, Mrs. Laferriere took over the role of yearbook advisor from legendary faculty member Sid Clark, and, now, in her 21st year as advisor (and 42nd year as faculty member), Mrs. L continues to make sure that each year at Avon is artfully represented in the pages of the Winged Beaver. In her work as advisor, Mrs. L rises year after year to “the challenge to make the difference between an ordinary book and one with character.” Of course, while Mrs. L provides the guidance, her staff of editors and contributors do their large part to come up with the theme for the book and ultimately execute the vision. The theme “We are” marks the 2012 edition of the Winged Beaver.
Over the years, some of Avon’s top visual artists have been the editor-in-chief of the Winged Beaver, and the pattern continued in 2012 with Sam Feibel taking the lead. Mrs. L remarks, “His talents as an artist, a writer, and photographer made the book a treasure. It is engaging from its cover to its closing pages.” Being talented certainly helps, but being dedicated to the job is another key qualification for being editor-in-chief, and Sam worked diligently during the year (and even gave a week of his March break along with fellow senior Matt Detora) to ensure that deadlines were met and the Winged Beaver would arrive in time for graduation weekend. And, while an objective of the yearbook might be to preserve memories of a year at the Farm for posterity, the Winged Beaver is not simply a collection of photos and captions—it is art. The Winged Beaver consistently wins top awards for artistic merit from two organizations, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the American Scholastic Press Association, and the 2012 Winged Beaver is sure to keep with that winning tradition. Says Mrs. L, “We have been Gold Medalists and First Place winners with our book for over twenty years. I am confident that the 2012 book will garner a few top awards.” We will have to wait until October to find out about the awards, but until then we all have the book and what it stands for to enjoy. Spend some time with it.
