Eastern Missouri NSDA Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year recognition honors the work of an active or recently retired coach for their dedication, passion, and ethics. Recipients of this honor have made a substantive and positive impact not only on their students, but also on the Eastern Missouri community as a whole.
2021 Coach of the Year - Jennifer Raymond, Pattonville HS
From her first day as the head coach of the Pattonville High School Speech & Debate Team, Jennifer has been a dynamic and powerful voice in the Eastern Missouri community.
Jennifer currently serves as President of the Greater St. Louis Speech Association. She stepped into this role while the organization was struggling. Through her steady and thoughtful leadership, she reorganized the Association and revitalized its membership. By saving the organization, Jennifer provides not only an annual Fall workshop free of charge to any school, but also provides a low-cost series of tournaments, opening up access to speech & debate to a wider variety of schools. In 2020, Jennifer stepped up to plate and created a virtual workshop for coaches and students, then pivoted the organization to address a need for synchronous, online Congressional Debate tournaments. Offering this service alleviated a major concern of local tournament hosts while providing students across our region a chance to "see" each other, compete live, and better prepare for Districts and Nationals competition in Congress.
Jennifer also serves on the EastMO NSDA District Committee, recently completed a term on the Speech & Theatre Association of Missouri's Board of Governors, and volunteers as tournament staff for MSHSAA Districts.
Most striking, however, is Jennifer's work as a mental health advocate. Recognizing that students in our region are struggling with a variety of pressures and mental health challenges, Jennifer has ensured that student mental health and wellness enter the conversations whenever coaches meet. She also spearheaded a free mental health and self-care workshop with West County Psychiatric Associates for all students in our region. Jennifer is also a strong advocate for those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 - along with many other systemic problems - and champions efforts to reduce access barriers and increase services to people of color. Her work in the areas of diversity, equity, mental health, and self-care are daily reminders to all coaches of what we all need to put at the center of our programs: What does the most good for students?
Jennifer is a leader, a service-oriented person, a mental health advocate, a kind human, a giving coach, and a great friend to so many of us. This is why Eastern Missouri is proud to name Jennifer Raymond as our 2021 Coach of the Year!
Jennifer currently serves as President of the Greater St. Louis Speech Association. She stepped into this role while the organization was struggling. Through her steady and thoughtful leadership, she reorganized the Association and revitalized its membership. By saving the organization, Jennifer provides not only an annual Fall workshop free of charge to any school, but also provides a low-cost series of tournaments, opening up access to speech & debate to a wider variety of schools. In 2020, Jennifer stepped up to plate and created a virtual workshop for coaches and students, then pivoted the organization to address a need for synchronous, online Congressional Debate tournaments. Offering this service alleviated a major concern of local tournament hosts while providing students across our region a chance to "see" each other, compete live, and better prepare for Districts and Nationals competition in Congress.
Jennifer also serves on the EastMO NSDA District Committee, recently completed a term on the Speech & Theatre Association of Missouri's Board of Governors, and volunteers as tournament staff for MSHSAA Districts.
Most striking, however, is Jennifer's work as a mental health advocate. Recognizing that students in our region are struggling with a variety of pressures and mental health challenges, Jennifer has ensured that student mental health and wellness enter the conversations whenever coaches meet. She also spearheaded a free mental health and self-care workshop with West County Psychiatric Associates for all students in our region. Jennifer is also a strong advocate for those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 - along with many other systemic problems - and champions efforts to reduce access barriers and increase services to people of color. Her work in the areas of diversity, equity, mental health, and self-care are daily reminders to all coaches of what we all need to put at the center of our programs: What does the most good for students?
Jennifer is a leader, a service-oriented person, a mental health advocate, a kind human, a giving coach, and a great friend to so many of us. This is why Eastern Missouri is proud to name Jennifer Raymond as our 2021 Coach of the Year!
