Behind the Headlines

I ran into a situation this morning where I should have known better.

My daughter is listed in a scholarship announcement in today’s print edition of The Monroe Evening News. The editors who were working on the page asked me to double-check, on deadline, how her parents’ names were listed.

The question didn’t sink at first. Then I realized what the concern was. There were only two parents listed after her name (mom and stepdad). In previous newspaper announcements, we have also listed dad and stepmom, even though they live out of state. And my co-workers remembered that.

So I scribbled down their names and hometown so that information could be added to today’s article.

My daughter and I had filled out so many scholarship and award applications over the past year that I don’t remember who was listed on what paperwork. We didn’t list family names the same way on every application, because eligibility for various programs depends on parents’ employment, income, residency or memberships – and you want to play up those connections when appropriate.

But family names are also important for the announcements that run on Community Page and Classroom Page. And if parents are listed incorrectly or not at all, that’s not a good situation.

Here’s what happens … when you or your child is filling out an application for an award or scholarship, that application also provides the biographical information that the awards committee relies on when sending its announcement to the newspaper.

You will not, in most cases, be provided with a separate press release form.

As a result, you will want to list the appropriate people with complete spellings and hometowns on the initial application paperwork. If the form is confusing or has limited space for details, it’s perfectly fair to attach a note that says “If she should earn this award, please announce her parents as …”