From the Louisville Pro SPJ Chapter:

Each year, the Louisville Pro SPJ Chapter gathers to honor the best work in journalism in Louisville. This year, we’ve set our annual awards dinner for June 21 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Sawyer Hayes Community Center at Tom Sawyer Park. We’ll be giving out awards to students and professionals alike in a variety of categories that include print, online and broadcast.

You can enjoy a full buffet meal with us as part of your ticket price.

Cash bar will be available.

Questions? Call Robyn Davis Sekula at (502) 608-6125 or e-mail her at robyn@robynds.com.

Buy tickets online here:

http://spjlou2012.eventbrite.com/

If you’d rather pay by check, please send your check to:

Kathy Francis
Doe Anderson
620 West Main St.
Louisville, KY 40202

You can find information on past award winners here: http://www.spjlouisville.com/awards/

If you’re purchasing tickets, please note that individuals, not organizations, are members of SPJ. So if you’re buying on behalf of a group, you will need to ask for membership numbers from those in your group who are SPJ members. If you’d like to join, great! You can do that online at www.spj.org.

SPJ DePaul won three awards at the Eighth Annual Leadership and Involvement Celebration May 30 on the Lincoln Park Campus.

SPJ DePaul was a finalist in four categories — more than any other student organization. The three winning entries:

Executive Board of the Year (Lauren Camplin, Meredith Gonsalves, Tabitha Hurley, Katie Karpowicz, Ewa Lyczewska and Ali Trumbull)

Outstanding Loop Campus Program of the Year (Freedom of Information Panel Discussion)

Faculty Adviser of the Year (Mike Reilley)

SPJ DePaul also was a finalist for Organization of the Year, an award it won in 2011.

The competition is sponsored and judged by DePaul’s Student Leadership Institute and the Office of Student Involvement. There are more than 300 registered student organizations at DePaul.

SPJ Regions 4 and 5 are accepting nominations for the Dick Goehler First Amendment Defender Award. The Dick Goehler First Amendment Defender Award was established by Regions 4 and 5 of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2011 to honor the work and memory of Cincinnati attorney Dick Goehler of Frost, Brown, Todd in defending the First Amendment rights of journalists and citizens in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere. Nominees should be working journalists, educators or attorneys working primarily in the field of media law and First Amendment issues. Nominees should reside or work in Regions 4 and 5 of SPJ. Region 4 covers Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. Region 5 covers Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.  The award will be presented at the Region 4 Conference in Lansing, Michigan (March 23 and 24) or the Region 5 Conference in Indianapolis (April 13 and 14). The site will be determined by the region in which the winner lives and/or works, or where he/she can attend the conference to accept the award. Entries are due Feb. 27, 2012. The application is available at http://www.spjlouisville.com/. Send completed award applications and questions about this to Robyn Davis Sekula, award coordinator, at robyn@robynds.com or call her at (502) 608-6125.

Region 5 chapters and leaders received numerous awards at the Excellence in Journalism 2011 Conference in New Orleans.

Al Cross, former Region 5 Director and SPJ national president in 2001-2002, received the Wells Key, the Society’s highest honor.

Tara Puckey, founding president of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis SPJ chapter who also served two years as a student representative on the national board, received the Julie Galvan Outstanding Graduate in Journalism Award. The award is based on character, service to the community, scholarship, proficiency in practical journalism and contributions to the student’s SPJ chapter.

The Chicago Headline Club was named the national large chapter of the year and the DePaul University chapter was named the national student chapter of the year.

The Chicago Headline Club also took home three Circle of Excellence awards in the FOI, diversity and professional development categories.

Region 5 four-year universities won first place in three categories of the national Mark of Excellence contest:

Best Affiliated Website–wkuherald.com, Herald Staff, College Heights Herald, Western Kentucky University

Best Independent Online Student Publication–North by Northwestern, North by Northwestern Staff, Northwestern University

Online News Reporting–“CampusCrime.net,” CampusCrime.net Staff, CampusCrime.net, University of Illinois

One more distinction for Region 5: Three of the 12 student staff members selected for The Working Press, the conference’s daily newspaper, attend universities in Region 5. The are Mary Barczak, Eastern Kentucky University; Corinne Chin, Northwestern University; and Olivia Ingle, Butler University.

Congratulations to all!

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Congratulations to Mike Reilley, a member of the Chicago Headline Club and adviser to the DePaul University Chapter, who was named the first natuional SPJ Volunteer of the Month. SPJ President John Ensslin awarded the honor to Reilley for his work with the Digital Media Committee as well as his role as adviser to the student chapter at DePaul University.

“Volunteers are the backbone of our Society, and Mike is an excellent example of someone who has put his full talents to use in the service of SPJ,” Ensslin said.

Here’s what I wrote when I nominated Mike for this new award:

“He did a phenomenal job in creating and advising the DePaul University chapter of SPJ, which was named national Campus Chapter of the Year for 2010-11 in only its second year of existence.

“Second, as creator of The Journalists’ Toolbox and through #SPJChat (@spjchat) on Twitter, he has enhanced professional development for both professional and student members of SPJ.”

If you know of an SPJ volunteer worthy of being nominated for this honor, email John Ensslin at jensslin@spj.org with the name of your nominee and why that person should be considered.