Big thanks to our RAEA Monthly Mentor Dr. Dan DeFoor for sharing this information about the HFS (Helen Fleming Stone) Scholarship. This is such a timely article as he shares the story of one of our beloved GAEA founders. May her story inspire us all as we prepare for our annual GAEA Conference next month!

Imagine yourself as an aspiring art teacher in the 1960’s, whose passion and dedication persuade a

hesitant but supportive high school principal to approve a visual arts program, one that would grow to become a model for others across Georgia. So began the saga of Helen Stone and the Dr. Helen Fleming Stone National Art Honor Society (NAHS) Scholarship.

Helen not only founded one of Georgia’s first NAHS chapters but also launched the first state NAHS

convention in the United States, a model which, now emulated by state art education associations

across the nation, has grown and thrives today through the tireless efforts of the dedicated GAEA

Secondary Division leaders and volunteers who followed her.

The HFS Scholarship was born rather late in Helen’s 49-year teaching career, when she saw the need to support outstanding NAHS students pursuing art at the college level. With limited resources, she began funding the scholarship by selling her handmade pottery at GAEA events. Combined with wise investments, her efforts grew the fund to over $60,000 by her passing in 2007. To honor her memory, GAEA hosts the annual HFS Silent Auction at the Fall Conference. By 2024, the fund surpassed $100,000, enabling the annual award to be paid from the account’s accrued interest while increasing the scholarship from $1,000 to $1,200.

In addition to her generosity, Helen’s unwavering commitment to the high standards she established has always been the foundation of the scholarship program. The scholarship account is owned and administered by the Stone family, while GAEA manages the judging of the scholarship competition at the NAHS state convention.

Why, then, must the student recipient attend the GAEA Fall Conference to receive the scholarship check?

Helen firmly believed that exceptional student artists have the potential to become exceptional art educators. She viewed the Fall Conference as a valuable opportunity for scholarship recipients to engage with and be inspired by Georgia’s finest art teachers, perhaps even envisioning themselves in those roles one day.

So with that in mind, may I ask a small favor? If you plan to attend the silent auction and award ceremony at this year’s GAEA Fall Conference, please take a moment to congratulate our scholarship winner. Share your passion for art education because you may be planting the seed that helps grow a future colleague.

Retired Educators Chair - Debi West