Recently a small puffy envelop arrived from SPJ headquarters. What could it be? An earring I lost at a convention? Valentine’s Day chocolate? It was something even better: a pin commemorating my 10 years of membership in the Society of Professional Journalists.

As many journalists can relate, dedicating oneself to anything career-wise can be a challenge in these times of churn in our profession. Layoffs, buyouts, closures, and just plain burnout… Not to mention our natural tendency to seek new opportunities, decide to take a break to go back to school, go it alone as a freelancer or entrepreneur or opt for more family life than work life. It all adds up to a tall order to stick with one job or one company for ten years.

Speaking for myself (having experienced many of the above-referenced vagaries of journalism life) I was more pleased than I would have imagined to get that 10-year pin!

Evolution and opportunity

The pin reminds me of my evolution in SPJ. It represents the support and opportunities that have come my way through the organization–not to mention the friends I’ve made along the way.

Membership has helped me in practical ways: training, resources, networking, mentoring, conferences (regional and national). The fact of being an active member who actually knows other active members as well as organization leaders and staff has opened doors in my career. I’ve judged MOE and SDX awards, organized a spring regional conference (and attended several), made a point to attend the national convention as often as possible, chatted on SPJ Blog Talk Radio, and more.

Over the past ten years, I’ve seen SPJ evolve into a broad based journalism organization that welcomes journalists from media platforms beyond newspapers and academe. Thanks to the efforts of Sally Lehrman (now an SDX Foundation board member) and her organizational descendents, the organization is reaching out to members from diverse background like never before.

This year’s national convention exemplifies both changes: For the third time, SPJ and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) are teaming up for Excellence in Journalism 2013 in Anaheim. This year the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is joining in, too!

Ten for ten (years)

That 10-year pin got me thinking: Who else has been a member for 10 years? Linda Hall, our membership director at HQ, was kind enough to send me a few names. (Andy Schotz sent me a message on Facebook to let me know he also got his ten-year pin. Thanks, Andy)!

Joel Jay Campbell > associate professor, Brigham Young University

Carol Cole-Froe > independent journalist and  and adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma

David Joachim > weekend Washington editor. The New York Times; adjunct professor, George Washington University

Gerard T. Koeppel > journalist and author, Bond of Union, Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire (2009)

Beth Konrad > professor, Loyola University Chicago

Dominick Miserandino > owner, TheCelebrityCafe.com

Gayle Reaves-King > editor, Fort Worth Weekly

Andrew Schotz > assistant managing editor at The Gazette (Gaithersburg, Md.)

John Siegenthaler > founder, The First Amendment Center

Scott A. Thiesen > web producer, KSTP.com

Going the distance

Of course there are members who’ve stuck with SPJ far longer than ten years. I salute you! After posting a note about my pin in the SPJ Linkedin Group, I heard from a few other folks:

Elizabeth Kelly shared that she’s been a member for 18 years!

Eileen Sisk reported receiving her 35-year pin. Nice!

Jacqueline Jordan said: “Just got my 20-year pin. Not bad for a freelancer, huh? We revived our local pro chapter last year (San Antonio, Region 8) and will hold our first conference in several years in May!”

My SPJ Timeline:

2002. Joined SPJ as campus chapter adviser at Florida A&M University.

2005. Became a member of the first class of Diversity Leadership Fellows. Began blogging for “Who’s News: Diversity Everyday,” Who’s News: Diversity Everyday,” the SPJ Diversity Committee blog

2006. Ran for Campus Adviser At-Large. Lost.

2008. Ran for Region 7 Director (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska). Won!

2011. Asked by SPJ President John Ensslin to serve as national Membership Committee chair

2012. Asked by SPJ President Sonny Albarado to stay on as national Membership Committee chair

Ready to join or rejoin SPJ? Drop me a line with your questions: me@hollyedgell.com and find more information at SPJ.org.

> It’s $75 dollars for a full year of professional membership, $37.50 for student membership 

> We offer newsroom membership options.

> We offer collegiate institutional memberships

I learned a new phrase at the SPJ Region 7 Spring Conference in Ames, Iowa over the weekend:

“SPJ is more than just a bill and a Quill.“

Amen to that!

• MORE: Find a regional conference near you

As the Society of Professional Journalists continues to evolve, it may be challenging for members and prospective members to keep track of all the new benefits and resources. At the Region 7 gathering I found myself sharing lots of examples of why I am a member and why others should consider joining.

So, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites, with nod to the folks at HQ who helped pull together this list. Consider this blog post a tool for helping prospective members to get a fuller picture of why membership has its benefits.

Note: I sent this out to Regional Directors earlier this month, but I thought I share it more broadly as well.

As the spring conferences blossom across the country, I encourage you to use the opportunity to spread the SPJ message to attendees who are not already members.

Your SPJ conference coordinator from HQ will have the membership brochures on hand for the spring conferences, and there are ways to build on that.

1. Email me for talking points developed by HQ to help: me@hollyedgell.com
2. Wherever appropriate, focusing on your great local chapter services, events, and resources is encouraged!
3. These are things RDs can do and/or deputize chapter leaders & members to help out.

Here’s a menu you can consider choosing from! I’d also love to hear ideas from you, so please share.

Remarks at Friday night reception/social event

• As you welcome attendees, say a few remarks about membership benefits. “It’s an investment in yourself and your career.”
• Have a list of people who joined when they registered for the conference and welcome by name
• Have literature (e.g. postcards or flyers) on hand that show your meeting calendar and/or social events coming up; website info; chapter contacts
• Consider doing a raffle/door prize for one year of free local dues to the pro chapters in your region

Opening business session

• Include a few key points about membership in your presentation.
• Use specific examples of value for the membership dollar: training online; ethics, legal and FOI support/resources; Quill; discounted services; national conference as well as local chapter activities/benefits
• Invite attendees to find you at the conference if they have questions
• Have literature (e.g. postcards or flyers) on hand that show your meeting calendar and/or social events coming up; website info; chapter contacts

Breakout sessions

• Have membership literature in each room
• Pre-arrange with panel/session moderators to welcome attendees and do a brief plug for memberships at the beginning or end of the breakout
• Invite attendees to find you at the conference if they have questions

Mark of Excellence lunch

• Include a few key points about membership in your presentation OR considering tapping a student chapter leader to do so.
• Be sure to explain the deal students get on membership after they graduate
• Point to specific examples of value for the membership dollar: training online; ethics, legal and FOI support/resources; Quill; discounted services; national conference

Closing business session

• Remind people where they can find membership info: national and local chapter
• Invite attendees to contact you after the conference if they have questions
• Have literature (e.g. postcards or flyers) on hand that show your meeting calendar and/or social events coming up; website info; chapter contacts

After the spring conference

• Use the list of attendees to reach out via email, phone or postcard to thank attendees for coming; include language about how/why to join SPJ

After spring conferences, I invite RDs to do a guest posts for the The SPJ Garden Center about feedback and questions from attendees about your membership messaging.

Happy spring conferencing!