2024 NFPW Conference (Part 1)

Last Thursday night after work (20 June), I headed to the St. Louis Artists' Guild for the Welcome Reception of this year's National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) Conference. Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC), an affiliate of NFPW, served as the Conference's host. I joined with other MPC members ijmllnn

 welcoming registrants to this event, which had a buffet dinner and wine tasting. Afterward, I helped my colleagues in cleaning up and taking some surplus food and drink home.

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The Conference got well underway the next morning at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac. The day started with a welcome breakfast. First time Conference attendees (including myself) stood up and introduced themselves. We each received a small gift (in my case, a pair of Rome socks). All attendees received a sheet of paper to seek fellow attendees who answered some items on that sheet, such as a current MFPW officer, someone who is retired from work, and a past Communicator of Achievement. The exercise was to help us get to know other attendees well. I completed my sheet the next morning and turned it in for entry in a raffle prize drawing the next day.

Theis was followed by the Keynote Session: "History in the Headlines." Speakers at this session were Lynne Jackson, great-great granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott and president and founder of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation and Dr. Jody Sowell, president of the Missouri Historical Society and a former assistant professor of journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. Jackson talked of how she helped preserve the memory of her famous ancestors. Sowell presented a talk about St. Louis historical items not generally well known to most people. Both were very interesting speakers.

Before the next program, I went into the room where the Silent Auction took place. I surveyed the items up for bid and started placing bids on items that particularly interested me. Proceeds from this auction will go to the NFPW Education Fund. Already, I was really liking the Conference and the people there.

The lunch program was "AI: Partner or Pestilence?" This panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it affects the news business had three speakers. Mary Ann L. Wymore, partner at UB Greensfelder law firm, adjunct professor of media law at Saint Louis University, and former journalism professor at the University of California-Los Angels. Also participating were Aisha Sultan, family and social change columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and John Stamm, CEO and founder of Hello Citizen, a St. Louis-based firm that enables uses to harness AI in following local government. This was quite a thought-provoking discussion.

I then attended two workshops in the afternoon. First, freelance photographer Rosalind Guy presented "Effective Storytelling through Photography," She talked about how she got into photography 45 years ago and her love of covering positive items in the community.

Then, I took in Anne Shaw Heinrich's presentation "Thriving in Nonprofit PR, Professionally and Personally." She spoke on her long experience working for both organizations and freelance along with balancing work with her family life. It was a very nice talk and I chatted with Heinrich afterward.  She said she would put me in touch with an educational public relations group in Metro St. Louis to help me in my job search.

The late afternoon saw me going through Author's Alley, where several attendees had their books for sale. I bought two books during this time: "Delivering Greatness: How I Found Success...and You Can, Too! by Tom V. Quinn from Connecticut, a personal motivational work; and "Touch," a young adult novel by MPC member Eileen P. Duggan. Both authors autographed their works for me.

I went to the hotel bar for a drink and conversation with MPC's co-presidents, Janice Denham and Deborah Reinhardt, who were major driving forces behind staging this Conference. Then, we headed back to the meeting area for the Communicator of Achievement Banquet. This included a nice dinner and introduction of the five finalists for this lifetime achievement award. The winner was then announced.

This was quite a start to this Conference with more to come the next day. I will tell about that in my next post.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louis Artists' Guild: St. Louis Artists' Guild (stlouisartistsguild.org)

National Federation of Press Women: Home (nfpw.org)

Missouri Professional Communicators: Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)

Hilton St. Louis Frontenac: Hilton St. Louis Frontenac Hotel near Creve Coeur, MO

Dred Scott Heritage Foundation: Dred Scott Lives | The Official Site of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation

Missouri Historical Society: Missouri Historical Society | Find Yourself Here. (mohistory.org)

UB Greensfelder: UB Greensfelder — Attorneys at Law (ubglaw.com)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Breaking News | Read St. Louis, MO and Missouri breaking news. Get latest news, events and information on Missouri sports, weather, entertainment and lifestyles. (stltoday.com)

Hello Citizen: Hello Citizen - Home - Hello Citizen

Rosalind Guy: (8) Rosalind Guy | LinkedIn

Anne Shaw Heinrich: (8) Anne (Shaw) Heinrich | LinkedIn

Tom V. Quinn: Tom V. Quinn (tomvquinn.com)

Eileen P. Duggan: Versatiliosity | A cafeterious selection of nonfiction, fiction, essays and feature articles (wordpress.com)

Attending the MPC Meeting and Volunteering at the Hot Chocolate Run

Yesterday morning (2 December), I drove to the St. Louis Artists Guild in Clayton for the Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) meeting. It featured a panel discussion with the owners of three St. Louis Independent bookstores: EyeSeeMe African American Children's Bookstore, Betty's Books, and The Novel Neighbor. These owners discussed bookstore trends and their favorites for the holiday season, and fielded questions from the audience. Before and after the program, all three bookstore owners had display tables with merchandise for sale. I did a bit of shopping from one of those stores after the meeting.

After a bit of holiday shopping, I came home and relaxed. Last night, I watched the MLS Conference Finals that were streamed on Apple TV+ to my computer. It will be Columbus Crew hosting Los Angeles Football Club for the MLS Cup this Saturday.

After rising early this morning, I drove to Forest Park to serve as a volunteer at this year's Hot Chocolate Run, a trio of road races through and around the park. These races were: 5 km (3.1 miles), 10 km (6.2 miles), and 15 km (9.3 miles). This was one of several Hot Chocolate Runs held throughout the country during late 2023 and early 2024. Proceeds from these runs benefit Special Olympics.

I arrived at the volunteer check in just before 6:00 am, received a Hot Chocolate Run hoodie to wear over my outfit, and reported to the Course Marshals group. We had about 12 volunteers for this role. We were each loaned a Course Marshal vest and a signal flag to use during our shift.

We were taken by van to our stations on the course. I chose one at the corner of Government Drive and Washington Drive near the entrance to the Saint Louis Zoo. This was approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the start. I was on station about 6:45 am--45 minutes before the run began.

Once the runners approached my position, I waived my flag upward and then directed them towards the turn past the Zoo. Doing so, I also offered encouragement to the runners. A few of them thanked me for volunteering, and I replied that it was my pleasure. 

Some runners participated as groups running together and wore outfits for their respective groups. This included several members of STL Santos, the Hispanic soccer supporter group. I especially offered them my encouragement, which they appreciated.

About 55 minutes after the run began, the race official vehicles came up behind the last of the runners. The driver informed me that there were no more runners coming here and that my shift was over. They asked if I wanted a ride back to the race center, but I told them I would walk. It wasn't that far for me and I could use the exercise.

After about an 11-minute walk, I reached the race center. This area of Forest Park, just north of the Muny, had the volunteer check in, gear check, merchandise store, and the reward tent for the participants. After completing the run and receiving a medal for doing so, each participant went to a tent to receive a cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate fondue. The latter included a banana, mini pretzels, a Rice Crispies Bar, and Pirouline rolled wafers to dip into the chocolate. After all the runners got their fondue and drink, the volunteers received theirs. It was quite a nice reward for my efforts.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

St. Louis Artists' Guild: St. Louis Artists' Guild (stlouisartistsguild.org)

Missouri Professional Communicators: Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)

EyeSeeMe African American Children's Bookstore: EyeSeeMe

Betty's Books: Betty's Books | Graphic Books for All | Webster Groves, MO (bettysbooksstl.com)

The Novel Neighbor: The Novel Neighbor

Forest Park: Forest Park (stlouis-mo.gov)

Hot Chocolate Run: Homepage - Hot Chocolate Run (hotchocolate15k.com)

Special Olympics: Special Olympics

STL Santos: Inicio | Home | STL Santos

Receiving 2023 Honors from MPC

Saturday morning (13 May), I drove to Julie's house in Florissant to pick her up to take us to Mike Duffy's Pub and Grill in Kirkwood. We were there to attend the Missouri Professional Communicaitons (MPC) gathering for presentation of the 2023 Communications Contest awards for work MPC members performed in 2022. 

There were eight of us there--Julie was the only guest--and we had soft drinks and appetizers as we socialized early in the program. Then, MPC co-president Janice Denham announced the contest results. Most of the members present, plus two who could not make it, received awards for their work.

When my name came up, Denham said that I had really taken to heart the judges' comments from my submissions in previous years. I had won three First Place awards and one Second Place for my four 2022 submissions. One of my Firsts was for editing The Arch Scaler News, member newsletter of the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS). The judges cited the consistency with styling job titles, phone numbers, dates, and times, as well as the close-up photos and the clean and clear layout. This entry was in Editing for Print or Online Publications; newsletter/other publication--nonprofit, government or educational.

The next First Place award was for running IPMS/Gateway's Facebook page, in the category of Web and Social Media: Social Media Presence; nonprofit, government or educational. The judges liked the good use of photos and the clear and informative writing.

The final First Place winner was for my press release announcing IPMS/Gateway's 2022 Invitational contest. This was entered under Information for the Media: News or Feature Release; single release. The judges mentioned that it received two very prominent placements and that it was clear and basic.

Additionally, this blog earned Second Place under Web and Social Media: Blog, personal. I submitted the post Grand Day in South St. Louis from last August. The judges liked the basic blog post, but wished I could pump up the writing.

My three First Place winners are eligible for awards from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) at its National Communication Contest. (MPC is a state affiliate of NFPW.) Those awards will be announced at the conclusion of NFPW's Communications Conference late in June in Cincinnati. They asked me this past week for my photo, which I sent them, as at least one of my entries may be a winner. That would be nice. (By the way, St. Louis hosts next year's NPFW Communications Conference.)

Denham then had a lucky number type drawing for a cloth book bag from the St. Louis Artists' Guild, and I had the lucky number. A nice added gift for the day. 

After the gathering broke up, I asked Julie to take my picture with the First Place awards, and she did.

I was most proud of my efforts, as you might expect, and very happy to receive these awards and the judges' comments, which I plan to take to heart in my work this year. Also, I was happy for my MPC colleagues with the honors they received for their work. Julie enjoyed the gathering and chatted with Denham and the other attendees.

After this gathering, I drove Julie back to her house, as she had an appointment that afternoon. We kissed and hugged, promising to see each other again soon.

On my way home, I stopped by Oberweis Dairy in Oakville for an ice cream cone, as a celebration for my awards, then drove to Schnucks in Oakville to shop for Mother's Day. I got a box of six cupcakes, a greeting card, and a gift card for Bob Evans Restaurants. After paying for my purchases, I waited inside as it was pouring rain. After the rain lightened up, I walked to my car and drove home.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Mike Duffy's Bar and Grill, Kirkwood:  Kirkwood | Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill (mikeduffys.com)

Missouri Professional Communicators: Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)

IPMS/Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

National Federation of Press Women: Home (nfpw.org)

St. Louis Artists' Guild: St. Louis Artists' Guild (stlouisartistsguild.org)

Oberweis Dairy: Oberweis Dairy

Schnucks: Home | Schnucks

Bob Evans: Bob Evans | Breakfast Near Me Delivery | Breakfast Restaurants

Picture This: Her Self with MPC at SLAG

I drove yesterday morning (7 August) to the St. Louis Artists' Guild (SLAG) in Clayton. For the first time in about 1.5 years, I would be attending an in-person meeting of Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC). This meeting was also streamed on Zoom, for those MPC members not wanting to attend in person.

This meeting's program was titled Picture This: Her Self, and was held in conjunction with the exhibition Her Self, currently at SLAG until 28 August. Photographer Marian Brickner and journalist Susan Fadem discussed their exhibit, which explored the imagery and ideas surrounding women and aging in contemporary society. Brickner, an internationally renowned photographer of insects and animals, took portraits of 57 women, ranging in age from 63 to 105. Fadem, an award-winning writer, interviewed the subjects and distilled their words into the comments that accompany the photographs.

Janice Denham, co-president of MPC, moderated the program. She opened the meeting with brief comments, then let Brickner and Fadem tell how this project came about and how it was carried forward. Denham monitored the Zoom chat and took down their questions to ask the guests later in the program. (In the photo, from left: Denham, Brickner, Fadem.)

In addition to this gallery display, Brickner's photographs and Fadem's words are combined in a book, Her Self, which was for sale at the meeting. It will also be on sale on Amazon starting this Tuesday, 10 August.

After the program concluded, I talked separately with Brickner and Fadem to thank them for coming today and for their project. I also chatted with several MPC members in attendance before leaving the SLAG. It was so good to be back with an in-person meeting with them and look forward to more in the coming months.

Later.

Weblinks of entities mentioned in this post:

St. Louis Artists' Guild: St. Louis Artists' Guild (stlouisartistsguild.org)

Missouri Professional Communicators: Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)

Zoom: Zoom Blog

Her Story Book on Amazon: Amazon.com : 9798620773381

Leap Day with MPC and St. Louligans

Yesterday morning (29 February) found me driving to the St. Louis Artists' Guild (https://www.stlouisartistsguild.org/) for the February meeting of Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) (https://www.facebook.com/MissouriProfessionalCommunicators/). Lawyer and community activist Denise Lieberman was the featured speaker. A long-time voting rights activist, she coordinates the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, a group of organizations, and is also director of the Power & Democracy Program for Advancement Project, a Washington, DC-based civil rights and racial justice organization.

Lieberman spoke on how the media can help or hinder voter equality, and on voter suppression efforts in recent years. She also talked about how she and other attorneys are working at for protect voting rights at this year's primary and general elections. It was quite a fascinating program, highly relative with the Missouri presidential preference primary coming up next week, the main primary election in August, and the general election in November.

After coming home to change clothes and eat lunch, I went early that afternoon to World Wide Technology Soccer Park for Saint Louis FC's (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) final 2020 preseason match. They were hosting Forward Madison FC (https://www.forwardmadisonfc.com/) of USL League 1 (https://www.uslsoccer.com/usl-league-one), which is one level below USL Championship (https://www.uslsoccer.com/usl-championship).

Before the match, I joined others from the St. Louligans (https://stlouligans.com/) in a joint tailgate with The Flock (https://fwdflock.com/), a supporter group backing Forward Madison. We chatted with each other, drank beer, and participated in a raffle whose proceeds went to the Disabled Athlete Sports Association (https://www.dasasports.org/).

We then walked into West Community Stadium for the match. Forward Madison took an early lead with a 6th minute goal. Saint Louis had a penalty kick just before halftime; however, Madison's goalkeeper stopped the shot. Saint Louis scored twice late in the match--a penalty kick in the 80th minute and another tally at the death--to run out 2-1 winners.

After the match, the St. Louligans and The Flock returned to the parking lot to drink and socialize a bit more before leaving. I got some cans of beer that The Flock brought down with them--beers I have yet to try.

Saint Louis FC opens the regular season at home this Saturday night (7 March) with a 7:00 pm match against The Miami FC. Before that, the St. Louligans will be at 2nd Shift Brewing (http://www.2ndshiftbrewing.com/?age-verified=f79a9b4611) in south St. Louis for a season kickoff event. Should be fun!

Later.

Saint Louis FC Opens 2019 With a Win

Last Saturday morning (9 March), after attending this month's Missouri Professional Communicators (https://www.facebook.com/MissouriProfessionalCommunicators/) at the St. Louis Artists' Guild (https://www.stlouisartistsguild.org/) in Clayton, I braved the rain to reach World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) in Fenton. Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) was opening the new season against Indy Eleven (https://www.indyeleven.com/).

I made it to the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate in the parking lot. There was a great crowd there, despite the rain, including some Indy Eleven supporters from the Brickyard Battalion (http://brickyardbattalion.com/). The beer was flowing and there was plenty of food--biscuits and gravy, link sausages, scrambled eggs, and doughnuts. Everyone was in good spirits. Saint Louis FC Chief Executive Officer Jim Kavanaugh and Carolyn Kindle Betz from #MLS4THELOU (https://mls4thelou.com/) both came to speak to the crowd.

After all that, we marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. The rain let up and the sun appeared early in the match. After a scoreless first half, Indy Eleven had an opportunity to score with a penalty kick. Saint Louis' Jake Fenlason made the save, though. On the ensuring corner kick, Indy scored in the 61st minute. Phanuel Kavita equalized for the home side eight minutes later, then Russell Cicerone won it in the 77th minute for Saint Louis. This was the first opening match win for Saint Louis FC in its history.

After the match, the Saint Louis FC players came to our section to accept our congratulations on the win, and they sang to us in celebration. We St. Louligans were in such good spirits during the match, and certainly walked out happy after the win. We headed back to the parking lot to help tear down our tailgate camp.

Glad to get this win under our belts. Saint Louis FC is away to Nashville SC this Saturday night. The St. Louligans will have their first away watch party at Llywelyn's Pub in Webster Groves (https://llywelynspub.com/webster-groves). Looking forward to it.

Later.