Hello, all. It has only been a few weeks since I posted the last update, but we’ve accomplished so much that it is almost baffling. I am so proud of SPJ staff and volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the cause. Here are some of the projects we’ve been involved in over the last few weeks (you might want to pull up a chair – there is a lot of good stuff here!):

• Community elections for SPJ Digital & Freelance were launched. Details here.
• SPJ Georgia attended two separate hearings of Atlanta journalists who were arrested last week during the Ferguson protest. Charges have been dropped in both cases. Reps from SPJ Georgia plan to attend a roundtable discussion tomorrow with Atlanta PD. Thanks to SPJ Georgia for staying on top of this issue and keeping us informed!
• We sent a letter to the EPA protesting the limitations put on scientists, preventing them from speaking directly with the media:
• Alex Veeneman was named our first community coordinator to help me manage the workload. Thank you, Alex, for stepping up! Alex is the current leader of SPJ Digital, so he knows first hand the work involved in setting up a community and keeping it going.
• The Ethics and International Committees are working together to get the Code of Ethics translated into other languages.
• I had a call with national board members Patti Newberry, Sue Kopen Katcef, Brett Hall and Jordan Gass Poore last week to discuss student internships and the formation of a student-based community. Brett and Jordan agreed to lead the community and Patti & Sue agreed to serve as advisors. I need to get some input from our legal counsel since some of the internship issues we are discussing involve labor laws.
• I have selected SPJ’s EIJ15 programming committee volunteer – Athima Chansanchai (“Tima”) from the W. Washington Pro chapter. Tima was a diversity fellow this year and has helped with programming for the AAJA national convention several years ago. She will oversee the programming subcommittee that includes Paul Fletcher, Lynn Walsh and Patti Newberry.
• Amy Tardif of RTDNA scheduled a pre-planning EIJ15 programming conference call for early January to discuss EIJ14 successes, areas for improvement and goals for EIJ15. Scott Leadingham, director of education, is scheduling his first EIJ15 planning call before the holidays.
• We updated our statement speaking against Ohio legislation HB663, the secret executions bill, which went before the Ohio Senate Tuesday and today. Past president Kevin Smith attended on SPJ’s behalf.
• SPJ Freelance Chair Michael Fitzgerald and I spoke regarding the Freelance Community to discuss the election process.
• SPJ hosted a Digital Tools webinar taught by Kim Bui.
• SPJ has made an agreement to provide services to another journalism organization and has put a call out to hire a part-time communications person to help with that work.
• SDX did a big fundraising push this week, including a mailing and an email campaign. SPJ members are encouraged to set up monthly donations or make a one-time donation to help fund SDX’s efforts. Donate here.
• New member benefits are forthcoming. Linda Hall has been working hard to develop new relationships and acquire new benefits for our members. SPJ HQ will announce those new benefits soon, so stay tuned!
• We are trying to finalize all of the spring conferences. Some dates and locations are still tentative. The info. that is known can be found here.
• Joe hired a replacement for the part-time membership retention coordinator. We are eager to welcome him aboard!
• Tara Puckey was promoted to membership strategist to help further SPJ’s long-term mission and to address our changing membership needs. Linda Hall will continue to provide our members with the great service she always has. Congrats to Tara for this well-deserved promotion!
• FOIA chair Dave Cuillier issued a statement urging the U.S. Senate to pass the FOIA Improvement Act. SPJ tweeted this tonight. Senator Jay Rockefeller has put a hold on the bill.
• Butler Cain, J Ed committee chair, held a meeting with his committee yesterday to discuss providing resources, guidance and a list of experts to help support high school journalists and educators.
• Robyn Sekula, membership chair, is accepting nominations for the December Volunteer of the Month (deadline is tomorrow) and finalizing the committee’s strategic plan for the year.
• Carlos Restrepo and the International Journalism Community are also finalizing their goals for the year and selecting their assignments and projects. We have an enthusiastic bunch here – I am excited to see them move forward!
• Sarah Bauer, contest advisory group coordinator and co-chair of the Awards & Honors committee, is in the process of matching up SPJ contest swap partners across the country. This is a thankless task, but an important one. Thanks to Sarah for taking the lead!

Thanks to everyone within SPJ and SDX – staff, leaders and volunteers – who have contributed in some way to our success and mission. It truly takes a village, and we’ve got some big goals to tackle this year. I appreciate your enthusiasm and support.

As always, if I left something out, it was unintentional. My head is spinning with all of the activity, but if I omitted something, let me know, and I’ll update this post.

Til next time,

Dana Neuts
SPJ President

Now in full swing since the summer, our SPJ Digital and Freelance Communities are ready to hold elections for community officers and leaders. Here’s how the elections will work:

1. Nominations for community leaders are open Dec. 1 – 31, 2014. Nominees must be SPJ members and members of the Freelance or Digital Community to be considered, but you can join at any time. To join SPJ, click here. To join the Freelance Community, click here. To join the Digital Community, click here. {Note: To join the communities, you need to be logged into your SPJ account.}

2. Nominations are free form, so be creative with your nomination. Tell us why you are passionate about SPJ and your favorite community. Show us your personality and tell us why you are the perfect fit for a leadership role. To nominate yourself for the Freelance Community, click here. To nominate yourself for the Digital Community, click here.

3. Each nominations page has a list of the open positions and the responsibilities that go along with them. If you have questions about the Freelance positions, contact Michael Fitzgerald, acting chair. If you have questions about the Digital positions, contact Alex Veeneman, acting chair.

4. Complete the required fields on the nominations form, upload any supporting files (e.g., videos, photos, documents) and click Upload Files.

5. After Dec. 31, we will confirm the membership status of the nominees and open the voting process by Jan. 7, 2015.

6. Members of each community will receive a voting link and will have two weeks to vote. Only community members are eligible to vote.

7. Results will be announced the week of Jan. 19.

8. Elected officers/leaders will begin their terms Feb. 1 and the term will extend through Sept. 20, the last day of EIJ15.

9. Future terms will be one year, and election cycles will run from convention to convention.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact me or our new community coordinator Alex Veeneman. If you have questions about your membership status in SPJ or the communities, contact Linda Hall.

These community roles are important to the success of the communities, and we need enthusiastic, proactive volunteers to lead the charge. If you are interested in nominating yourself or another SPJ member for a leadership role in one of our SPJ communities, submit your nomination by Dec. 31. Thank you!