HSJ Online Highlights 2015-2021

2015
After a series of meetings and consulting with local attorney Jeff Washburn, we chose a digital newspaper named HSJ Online. Bud Herron, team member with much newspaper expertise and many connections, recommended David McChesney's company in Kokomo, 1up!, to provide our website.

John Clark, someone with much journalism and tech expertise and who had helped Larry Simpson, was willing to be our Content Coordinator while also being the newsman at a local radio station, a win-win.

Stephanie Shoaf, former “Hope Star-Journal” employee, was willing to be our Business Coordinator.

Tim Andrews presented a $10,000 matching HSJ grant to the community, and we quickly matched it.

2016
Ad sponsorships, at a very reasonable rate, started playing more of a role in our budget with Rhett Whittington, talented local artist, willing to be our graphic designer.

Rhett also created our Clock Logo based on the clock on the town square.

2017
A Kelley School Business Class, under the leadership of Hauser graduate and former FRHC Endowment student member, Haley Webster, partnered with the HSJ Team to form a marketing packet and Hauser intern packets. The Hauser writers have added greatly to HSJ since.

2018
Our website was eventually updated during the year to allow more pictures and videos.

We had our first fundraiser at WILLow LeaVes which brought in over $4,000.

2019
We incorporated a mobile app.

An electronic donation option was added. Two individuals are now donating monthly.

Terri Young, former “Hope Star-Journal” employee and HSJ team member, volunteered to do a very creative Community Calendar each month.

Howard Zachariah, a HSJ team member and Cummins employee, established a link for other employees to contribute to HSJ through United Way, and several are doing so.

A mum fundraiser through Duck Creek Gardens generated around $160.

We had our second fundraiser at WILLow LeaVes which brought in over $5,500.

2020
Jessica Brown was added to our advisory team and writing team with the freedom to post town happenings immediately. The change has been a tremendous positive.

John Clark's radio position changed requiring a double shift; thus, he requested fewer hours for HSJ. We agreed while expecting more content from our freelance writers, in particular Jenn Willhite.

Due to the coronavirus, we extended all ad sponsorships three months, and all six sponsors renewed.

Another mum fundraiser through Duck Creek Gardens brought in around $395.

The coronavirus put on hold our yearly fundrasier, but several people still made it a point to contribute!

From 2019 through 2020, our stats increased greatly with Total Visits to our site climbing from 63,167 to 100,818 and Facebook Likes from 1,484 to 1,586. We have posted close to 4,000 articles since 2015.

2021
With a HCFR Endowment Grant and expertise of Hauser graduate Daniel Anderson, a video was produced sharing our Google stat significant improvements from 2019-2020.

With the leadership of Todd Grimes, avid runner and freelance writer for HSJ, and partnership with the Hope Town Council, FRHC Schools, Hope Police Department, and town businesses, we had our first HSJ Hope Run/Walk with 47 participants. (Several sponsors made it even more profitable.)

A community member expressed a desire to build upon our HSJ General Budget and volunteered to provide a Corn Dog Stand at Heritage Days, a hit for many hungry people and HSJ.

In partnering with Duck Creek Gardens again, we sold a record number of beautiful mums, 264.

WILLow LeaVes contacted us wishing to give beverage proceeds sold at their new coffee spot to not-for profit organizations, and we were first to be a part of this generosity.

We had our best yearly HSJ Online Concert Benefit, and our Contributor List expanded to 86.

The HSJ Foundation was established through Scott Mings of Raymond James, a Hauser graduate and our Financial Consultant since 2015, with $23,000 in the fund ending 2021.
All organizations go through transition periods. “HSJ Online” is going through one now, and we could not ask for this time to be any smoother.

John Clark, our Content Coordinator, since December 2014, felt a need to allow someone else in the position. John said, “I have greatly enjoyed being a part of the organization as it came to life and matured. But unfortunately, the time and energy that I have available has fallen far behind what the site and community of Hope needs.”

All of us are thrilled that Jennifer Willhite, our Features Writer since 2015, agreed to take the position of Content Coordinator while continuing to write articles.

Under John's extraordinary leadership and with a team devoted to continuing a long tradition of providing local news, much has been accomplished. (2015-2021 highlights are included to view.)

J. David McChesney, managing partner of our website provider, 1 up!, has stressed the following about “HSJ Online” when meeting with our team, “It is one of the best small-town media source stories, and we always share the story of its success with our prospective clients.” (We are gradually switching to ePublishing but are very pleased that David will still be very involved providing his technical skills and personal advice.)

Michael Dean, former CEO of Heritage Of Hope which thankfully “HSJ Online” is within their umbrella as a not-for-profit organization, expressed: “John is a true media professional. Without his expertise and effort, we would have had a very different and more difficult journey. He not only brought his own talents to us, but those of his colleagues like Jennifer Willhite. I am happy that Jenn will be carrying on with his and our mission.”

As David Miller, writer for “HSJ Online,” stated, “John worked with Larry Simpson, former Owner/Editor/Publisher of our newspaper who died unexpectedly, and came on board with a rich journalism background while knowing the Hope community, all keys in continuing a media source for the area.”

Bud Herron, an individual with a long journalism background and who was instrumental in important decisions and formational work related to “HSJ Online” said, “John has been a great asset since the very beginning. My best wishes to him in every way. Jenn is a great replacement.”

Undoubtedly, Jennifer Willhite is a great replacement! Her resume is incredible. She has the following degrees from Indiana University: Bachelor of Arts, Journalism; Bachelor of Arts, English; and, Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Literature. She has had multiple journalism experiences and has worked on multiple publications; she is familiar with several computer programs, all applicable to being our Content Coordinator. Most importantly, Jenn has great passion for “HSJ Online” and the Hope community. She has cheerfully covered a variety of subjects over the years while incorporating different interviewing methods.

Jenn shared these thoughts about her new and additional “HSJ Online” role, “I am both humbled and grateful for the confidence, guidance, and support of John Clark, everyone on the team, and all those who have assisted in making this transition so seamless. Over the years, I've had the honor of calling Mr. Clark mentor, colleague, and friend while building relationships in the Hope community and sharing its many, many wonderful stories. I'm excited to serve the Hope community while leading with dedication, passion, and hope as we continue to share our stories and remind everyone how and why this gem of a community is such a Surprising Little Town.”

Our team looks forward to the growth of “HSJ Online” under the very capable guidance of Jennifer Willhite, our new Content Coordinator.

Please continue to read “HSJ Online” at hsjonline.org while informing others of the website. Physical articles within binders can be found at the Hope Library and WILLow LeaVes. If wishing to make a donation as we carry on, then it is just a matter of contacting Stephanie Shoaf, our Business Coordinator, at 812-374-6524 or Post Office Box 21. You should feel free to contact any of our team members! In the meantime, we can't possibly thank the community enough for the wonderful support!

David Webster &
Jessica Brown, Michael Dean, Brock Harris, Bud Herron, Don Hewitt, Terri Young, Howard Zachariah, Jenn Willhite, Stephanie Shoaf