Yearbook hero Mike Meloney didn’t have time to do the yearbook

Treering Yearbook Heroes is a monthly feature focusing on yearbook tips and tricks.

When Mike Meloney showed up to enroll his eldest son in kindergarten, the principal gave him a hero’s welcome because he was the school's yearbook coordinator. Except Meloney didn’t know he had the job.

How did you get "voluntold" to be the yearbook chair?

My sister works for Treering, and she was helping schools in San Diego make the switch from other publishers. When she called McKinley, Kristie not only sold them on Treering but also on me. She said it would be a great way to connect with the community and engage.

I told her I didn’t have time.

Four years later, you’re still doing the book. How did you help build a yearbook culture at McKinley?

I learned to get organized early. Even without photos, you can still do a ton of work on day one of school to make the rest of the year easier: label every page on the ladder and then make a shared Google folder for each page. Get those shared folders to every teacher, event coordinator, and committee involved. Send reminders once a month to share pics.

It's really been profound to go and take the photos, lay out the book, and help with the sales. When I show up, students say, "Hey, it's the yearbook guy." 

Then, at the end of the year, when you give them out, and everyone's just googly-eyed about the year, they have this warm book in their hands. They sign it. It's just so special. And the memories that we make are—I hope—lifelong.

I have about five books left in me. My youngest is now in kindergarten.

What kinds of things do you do at the signing party?

It's all about reflection. One year, we had ice cream—as long as sugar's involved, kids are more engaged. 

It's just a special time to be together, really reflect on the year, laugh, and share stories.

Custom pages are a big deal at our school. One person puts in 100, but many folks just do the two pages for free. The more I share about it, the more people get engaged. 

At first, there's always the worry about the pages appearing in everyone's book. I tell them, “No, this is just your book that gets those pages.”

Once folks learn how easy it is to make them, they just go to town.

What do your kids think about being the ”yearbook guy?”

I have a unique connection with them and with the community. My kids are fully supportive. They're very critical at the same time. They'll come over and see the book-in-progress and say things like, “That doesn't go there” or  “I don't like it.” And if I ever have a question about something, they just answer it. 

So, in some sense, they're part of the committee.

What is something special you’re doing this year?

It’s the centennial year. The school opened in February 1925, and now, 100 years later, we're going from the Cougars to the original mascot, the Magpies. We also have an aerial drone shot of the kids lined up in the number 100.

The kids got together to research and interview some folks who were around in the school 60 years ago. They found these folks still living in the community, found old pictures, and made an exhibit. 

Next month, there will be a centennial-themed scavenger hunt and, later, a variety show called “A Hundred Years of Stars.”

It’s a special year.

Any final thoughts?

You don’t need to carve out huge amounts of time to focus on making the yearbook, especially in the spring when there is a lot of content and you just have to layout pages. Do one to five pics while your kids are lackadaisical about getting their shoes on. Every moment in the Treering app is a chance to crop, zoom, and make it nice.