SPJ DC Pro
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The Membership Appreciation Meeting of the chapter, set for Saturday, Jan. 27, at 10:15 a.m., will be a time of renewing acquaintance with your fellow chapter members, honoring the long-time memberships of some who it 5- or 10-year milestones in 2017 and getting some important chapter business taken care of.
The main item of business will be to formally vote on whether to approve proposed changes to the chapter’s Constitution and Bylaws, with revisions designed to reflect current technology, and to clarify how the chapter operates and who does what on the executive board. The proposed revisions are submitted as a final version by the chapter Executive Board, reflecting comments made during the membership comment period from mid-October to mid-November.
There is no cost to attend, and food and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. RSVPs are appreciated, and you can respond by sending an email to spjdcchapter@gmail.com. Or you can respond using the electronic invitation.
We will meet at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, located just off the Bethesda Metro stop in downtown Bethesda, Maryland. The West Room-A is on the second floor. There is free parking in several Montgomery County garages in the area, with Metropolitan Garage #49 in the same block as the B-CC RSC. This also will be the last weekend for free Saturday parking at Metro parking lots, as fees will go into effect on Feb. 1 at 36 locations.
Those wishing to attend an SPJ DC board meeting can arrive at 9 a.m. for that on that Saturday. Following the membership meeting (we have to be out of the building by noon), we plan to continue the camaraderie in an informal setting at a nearby bar or restaurant, if there is enough interest in doing so.
Bylaws questions? Email Bylaws Committee members Amy Fickling and April Bethea at spjdcchapter@gmail.com.
Annual Dateline Awards contest now open
SPJ DC Pro is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for the 2018 Dateline Awards Contest.
The contest is open to print and broadcast media outlets and freelancers throughout the D.C. metropolitan area. It’s easy to enter, with a broad range of categories and opportunities for just about every journalistic medium.
All entries must be submitted online through the BetterBNC website and are due March 2, 2018. The fee is $30 per entry, and with online payments, there is a $2 processing fee per entry added.
Winners and finalists will be honored at the chapter’s Hall of Fame and Dateline Awards dinner June 12, 2018, at the National Press Club.
If you have any questions about the competition, email Chris Slattery, Dateline Awards Contest coordinator, at spjdatelineawards@gmail.com
Want to serve on the chapter board?
SPJ DC Pro has a vacancy on its board of directors. If you are interested in being involved in chapter planning by serving along with other members of the hands-on, working board, let us know in an email to spjdcchapter@gmail.com. We’ll get in touch with you and discuss expectations and answer your questions.
You must be a member in good standing – that is, a member of national SPJ and the DC Pro chapter who is current on his or her dues – to be on the board. If you are selected for appointment from among applicants, you will serve until the next officer installation in June 2018, but may choose to run in the election in April 18 for either a two-year term or a one-year term to serve out the second year of a term that was vacated this fall, depending on which seat you are appointed to.
The board meets once a month, usually at the National Press Club, in the evening, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Between meetings, the board is active in carrying out the programming, recruiting and fellowship efforts that help define the organization’s mission. Your time commitment is largely up to you, but we do ask that you attend the board meetings regularly and volunteer for tasks that you then see through, whether on your own or by soliciting other chapter volunteers to assist you.
Getting involved is a great way to meet new people and learn or polish your organizational and networking skills. You never know when a connection will lead to your next job!
Want to serve on the Nominations Committee?
It’s never too early to think about running for an officer position or an at-large director position on the DC Pro chapter board. Elections are held in April, but the formal nomination process begins soon. Nominations Committee Chair Stephenie Overman is looking for help on the committee, which will begin working in February to identify candidates for office for the next chapter year, beginning July 1.
If you are interested in serving on the Nominations Committee, send an email expressing interest to spjdcchapter@gmail.com. Make sure you are a chapter member in good standing – that is, your national SPJ and DC Pro chapter dues are current – before applying. Your committee work will be from time of appointment through final vote tallying and notification of candidates in mid-May, with varying degrees of intensity of activity over those months. You’ll be identifying chapter members to run for office and working with the board to make sure the board’s objectives are conveyed to potential candidates, helping them decide which areas of service are best suited to their skills and interest. You’ll help gather candidate bios and encourage them in crafting their candidate statements. Then you’ll work on notifying them of the election results.
Want to run for office for 2018-2019 chapter year?
If you are interested in being considered as a candidate to run for the DC Pro chapter board for the 2018-2019 chapter year, the deadline for self-nomination is Feb. 1 – so start thinking about running now. Officer positions are president, vice president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and treasurer. Of the six at-large board seats, three are up for election each year, unless a seat has been vacated before the term ends, in which case that seat would be up for election for the year remaining in the term. The board can appoint someone to fill a vacancy between elections, but the appointee serves only until the next election. Send an email expressing interest to spjdcchapter@gmail.com, and it will be forwarded to Stephenie Overman of the Nominations Committee.
New members appointed to SDX Foundation of Washington board
At its Dec. 13 meeting, the SPJ DC Pro board approved the recommendations from the SDX Foundation of Washington to reappoint five board members and appoint two new board members. Returning for three-year terms are: Amy Fickling, Maura Judkis, Arelis Hernandez, Evelyn Hsu and Reginald Stuart. New to the board are: long-time DC Pro chapter member and veteran newspaper and AP reporter, now retired, John C. Henry; and White House reporter for the Associated Press Darlene Superville, who has covered that beat since 2009.
In memoriam
Long-time SPJ member and DC Pro Chapter member Kenneth Eskey died Nov. 29 in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was 87.
Ken was active in the National Press Club, serving as a chairman of the NPC Speakers Committee after joining on Oct. 1, 1984. According to DC Pro Chapter member Bill McCloskey, Ken also was an avid tennis player at courts near his home in Bethesda. He spent 26 years at the Scripps Howard News Service office in Washington as copy editor, reporter, editorial writer and columnist.
Even after retirement he continued to attend Press Club and DC Pro events before moving out of the DC area and closer to one of his sons. He joined SPJ March 1, 1952, and let his membership lapse in the national and DC Pro Chapter at the end of 2010.
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Simeon Booker, an SPJ DC Chapter Hall of Fame member, died Dec. 10, 2017, at the age of 99. He was a veteran reporter who received many journalism honors, with stints at the Washington Post and Jet and Ebony magazines. USA Today published an obituary highlighting his iconic coverage of the civil rights movement.
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Happy New Year!
Is your membership expiring at the end of 2017?
Don’t let your DC Pro chapter membership lapse! Be sure to renew when you get the reminder information in the mail from national SPJ. Not yet a DC Pro member but paying your national dues? In case the reminder does not prompt you to also pay the DC Pro dues, please add them to your national dues payment. National remits the dues back to the chapter AND records the information for creating the official chapter membership roster.
Use this link to find the option for renewal or joining you prefer: https://www.spj.org/join.asp
DC Pro chapter dues are $25 per year. Membership in national SPJ is required for chapter membership. National membership is $75 per year, but if you pay for three years at once, the total is $190, a savings of 17% off the yearly price. As it may not be clear how to renew the chapter membership when renewing national dues, don’t hesitate to contact Membership Director Chrystal Parvin by email: Cparvin@hq.spj.org
If you decide to print out the membership renewal form available through the link online to fill out and mail back with a check for the local dues only (in case you’ve already paid your national dues), the chapter’s mailing address is:
SPJ DC Pro Chapter
PO Box 19555
Washington, DC 20036
Not a journalist but would like to support SPJ’s missions?
Are you reading this newsletter, and thinking you’d like to support the missions and vision of SPJ, but you’re not a journalist and may not qualify for membership? Send an email to Chrystal Parvin at national SPJ headquarters (Cparvin@hq.spj.org) to find out about becoming an Associate. You won’t be a full member, but you can still add your voice.
2018 CALENDAR for UPCOMING DC SPJ Chapter EVENTS
Jan. 27 DC Pro Chapter board meeting, 9 a.m., Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Room West-A, Bethesda, Maryland. Followed by:
Jan. 27 DC Pro Chapter Membership Appreciation Meeting, 10:15 a.m., Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Room West-A, Bethesda, Maryland. (Directions and RSVP options listed in top story of this issue.)
mid-January Freelance group meeting, noon to 1 p.m., National Press Club
Contact Stephenie Overman, saoverman@gmail.com for the date.
April 6-7 Region 2 conference in Richmond, Virginia
May 10 SDX Foundation of Washington board meeting, noon, McClendon Room, National Press Club
June 12 Annual Dateline Awards/Hall of Fame Dinner at the National Press Club. Reception 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. We will honor 3 outstanding journalists who have spent at least 25 years working in Washington media. Contact HOF Nominating Chair Steve Taylor (juxta747@gmail.com) with any names you wish to submit for consideration.
June 21 informal happy hour at National Press Club with national SPJ board and SDX board members in town for the Sigma Delta Chi Awards dinner the following night at the National Press Club
June 22 national SPJ’s Sigma Delta Chi Awards dinner, 6 p.m. cocktails, 7 p.m. dinner, National Press Club
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Deadline for January 2018 Dateline Online: Jan. 12