Mary Kay Downes, MJE, is the 2025 Carl Towley Award recipient. She will be honored at the Fall JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville. This award is presented to a JEA member whose work is unusually beneficial and of superior value to the national JEA and to scholastic journalism.
“In a lot of ways, Mary Kay really is the queen when it comes to the yearbook world,” said Association of Texas Photography Instructors Executive Director Mark Murray. “She has been quietly – okay, not so quietly – offering her advice to us for so many years that sometimes I think we take her for granted. But there is a reason that her staffs loved her through all those Crown and Pacemaker honors. And there is a reason that we all love her, too. We know she cares about us and about our lives and she, together with her John Deere snowblower husband, Linus, who accompanies her just about everywhere, is one of the best people I know.”
Downes retired from Chantilly High School in Virginia in 2021 after more than 30 years advising the award-winning Odyssey yearbook. However, she is busier than ever in her support of scholastic journalism. To name just a few ways she is still involved, Downes: serves as JEA’s Virginia State Director and as a member of the H.L. Hall Yearbook Adviser of the Year judging committee; presents at every NHSJC; runs the critique room at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association conventions; leads the awards committee and serves as treasurer for the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers; and critiques and judges for JEA, NSPA, CSPA and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association.
“Mary Kay has served as a ‘matchmaker’ for so many advisers and press associations,” Virginia adviser Meghan Percival, MJE, said. “Does your state group need people to critique? MKD will help you find qualified folks, and of course, offer to do some herself. Looking to teach journalism in a new state? Mary Kay knows someone who knows someone—expect an email or phone call shortly. MKD is truly a connector in the scholastic journalism world.”
Downes makes an extra special effort for her local community. JEA President and Virginia adviser Valerie Kibler, MJE, said Downes has always been a “powerhouse” in the educational world of Fairfax County.
“When she senses an injustice, she comes to the rescue like a super hero,” Kibler said. “Her weapon? Common sense and a moral compass that she uses to help guide so many others down the right path. She tackles problems calmly and just doesn’t quit until wrongs have been righted. Even since she retired a few years ago, she stays involved and meets regularly with the superintendent to keep them grounded in the goings on within the school system.”
“She’s a stellar teacher, a perfect adviser, a darn good person and like so many others, I’m proud to call her a friend,” Kibler said. “It’s now time for us to return the favor. This woman has given of herself to help others for more years than most journalism advisers have been alive. Her hard work demands recognition.”
Louisa Avery, MJE, JEA Awards Committee chair