Next year’s regional conference will be March 28-30 in Salt Lake City. As we discussed at our regional meeting, we will be doing it at the BYU Salt Lake Center, which is easily accessible from the TRAX light-rail system.

Right now, we’re working out the programming details. If you have any suggestions let me know, or email Sheryl Worsley, Utah Headliners’ president, with your suggestions.

I’ll keep you posted as the conference develops.

At our regional conference in Santa Fe, the Society of Professional Journalists presented student journalists with the Mark of Excellence awards. These represent some of the best in student journalism, and the first-place winners advance to the national competition.
Best Affiliated Web Site (Large)
Weber State University’s The Signpost

Best Affiliated Web Site (Medium)
Southern Utah University, SUUNews.com

Best All-Around Television Newscast

3rd Place: KRWG News22

2nd Place: The Met Report

1st Place: ElevenNEWS at Noon

Best Independent Online Student Publication (Large)

The Hard News Cafe, Utah State University

Breaking News Photography (Large)

3rd Place: Melanie J. Rice

2nd Place: Ryan Borthick

1st Place: Dylan Langille

Breaking News Photography (Small)

1st Place: Alicia Hurley

Breaking News Reporting (Large)

3rd Place: Crystal Myler, Sara Michael & Shawn ielding

2nd Place: Andrew Carrera

1st Place: Universe staff

Breaking News Reporting (Small)

1st Place: Jessica Keller

Editorial Cartooning (Large)

1st Place: Jorge Perez Garcia

Editorial Writing (Small)

1st Place: Katie Blaser

Feature Photography (Large)

3rd Place: Melanie J. Rice

2nd Place: Jessica Cuneo & Melanie J. Rice

1st Place: Melanie J. Rice

Feature Photography (Small)

3rd Place: Russell James

2nd Place: Will Hebert & Josh Kimmel

1st Place: Nikayla Cooper

Feature Writing (Large)

3rd Place: Austin Briggs

2nd Place: Colleen Canty

1st Place: Mackenzie Hamilton

Feature Writing (Small)

2nd Place: Cheyenne Wiley

1st Place: Matthew Rooney

General Column Writing (Large)

3rd Place: Quinn Scahill

2nd Place: Kory Wood

1st Place: Jesse Benn

General Column Writing (Small)

3rd Place: Shawn Havel

2nd Place: Susann Robbins,

1st Place: Will Hebert

General News Photography (Large)

3rd Place: Brian T. McGinn

2nd Place: Erin Burns

1st Place: Jonathan Royce

General News Reporting (Large)

3rd Place: Charles Beacham

2nd Place: Caitlin Moffitt

1st Place: Krista Roy

General News Reporting (Small)

1st Place: Jennifer Stogsdill

Best Student Magazine

3rd Place: The Claw Magazine

2nd Place: CSU – Pueblo TODAY Magazine

1st Place: Horizon Magazine

In-Depth Reporting (Large)

3rd Place: David Lake & Robin Rodgers

2nd Place: Meredith Francom & Megan Stauffer

1st Place: Kristian Ekenes, Stacie Carnley, Rebecca Lane & Kari Merrill

Non-Fiction Magazine Article

2nd and 1st Place: Jake Bullinger

Online Feature Reporting (Large)

3rd Place: Lis Stewart

2nd Place: Rhett Wilkinson

1st Place: Ryan Cunningham & April Ashland

Online In-Depth Reporting (Large)

3rd Place: Rhett Wilkinson

2nd Place: Allie Jeppson

1st Place: Kristi Ottley

Online In-Depth Reporting (Small)

2nd Place: Susann Robbins

1st Place: Susann Robbins, Katie Blaser, Aaron Boyd, & Cassie Kelley

Online News Reporting (Large)

1st Place: Steve Kent

Online News Reporting (Medium)

1st Place: Whitney Baum

Online Opinion & Commentary (Large)

1st Place: Joe Deras

Online Sports Reporting (Large)

2nd and 1st Place: Rhett Wilkinson

Online Sports Reporting (Medium)

2nd & 1st Place: Carter Williams

Photo Illustration (Large)

3rd Place: Hunter Thompson

2nd Place: Sarah Hill

1st Place: Brad Davis

Photo Illustration (Small)

3rd Place: Russell James, Tim Bahr, & Dylan Miller,

2nd Place: Will Hebert & Bruce Enever

1st Place: Tim Bahr & Dylan Miller

Radio Feature

3rd and 2nd Place:

Mackenzie Hamilton

1st Place: Ryan Cunningham

Radio In-Depth Reporting

1st Place: Hannah Leigh Myers

Radio News Reporting

2nd and 1st Place: Brianna Bodily

Radio Sports Reporting

1st Place: Justin Taylor

Sports Column Writing (Large)

3rd Place: Jake Bullinger

2nd Place: Tavin Stucki

1st Place: Nick Ohlig, Angelita Foster, & Paul J. Marcely

Sports Photography (Large)

3rd Place: Jessica Cuneo

2nd Place: Christopher Reeves

1st Place: Chad Zavala

Sports Photography (Small)

3rd Place: Russell James

2nd Place: Shawn Havel

1st Place: Shaelie Palmer

Sports Writing (Large)

3rd Place: Bubba Brown

2nd Place: Danielle Manley

1st Place: Stephen Kasica

Sports Writing (Small)

1st Place: Cheyenne Wiley

Television Feature Photography

2nd Place: Staff at Metropolitan State University of Denver, “Zombies Invade Downtown” on The Met Report

1st Place: Brenna Donnelly, Brigham Young University for “QR-Code Headstones” on ElevenNEWS/KBYU

Television Feature Reporting

3rd Place: Julianne Horsley

“Real-life Friending” on ElevenNEWS/KBYU

2nd Place: Matt Rascon

1st Place: Alexis Flake

Brigham Young University, for “Sushi Challenge” on ElevenNEWS/KBYU

Television General News Reporting

2nd Place: Kelton Wells, Utah State University “USU Eastern Enrollment”

A-TV News

1st Place: Alexis Flake

Brigham Young University

“Trampoline Park Dangers”

ElevenNEWS/KBYU

Television In-Depth Reporting

2nd Place: Katie Bieri

New Mexico State University

“A Parent’s Hard Choice”

News22

1st Place: Staff of Metropolitan State University of Denver

“The Needle Exchange: Helpful or Harmful?” The Met Report

Television Sports Photography

1st Place: Kevin Hall & Kellan Stone

Metropolitan State University of Denver, “MSU Denver Soccer Team Buries Colorado Mines,” The Met Report

Television Sports Reporting

3rd Place: Jake Edmonds

Brigham Young University, for “Mom On and Off the Court” for CoogTube/KBYU

2nd Place: Stephanie Flores New Mexico State University “Minor Threat Roller Derby” for KRWG News22

1st Place: Britanni Good, Brigham Young University

“Ultimate Thrill” on CoogTube/KBYU

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper

The Daily Utah Chronicle, University of Utah

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper (Small)

1st Place: Wingspan

Laramie County Community College

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper (Large)

2nd Place: The Universe

Brigham Young University

1st Place: The Metropolitan

Metropolitan State University of Denver

Just a reminder that our regional conference is April 12-13 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our friends in the SPJ Rio Grande Chapter are putting together a terrific program with something for journalists at all points in the profession.

The conference will be at the offices of the Santa Fe New Mexican. Click here to register.

It was great seeing so many people from Region 9 down in New Orleans. It was a rather informative conference, and our regional meeting was no exception. Here’s a recap of what we went over:

Star System: The national board of directors voted 12-8 to abolish the star ranking system for chapters. The regional directors, who make the initial recommendation on what a chapter should be ranked, found that the system had become too punitive. Right now, chapters will be deemed in good standing or not in good standing. The requirements for that are to have a minimum of three programs a year that involve the chapter membership and the journalism community, as well as reflect the society’s mission (FOI, ethics, diversity, etc.), and file an annual report on time. John Ensslin has also appointed two chapter doctors to work with struggling chapters, one of them being our own Deb Hurley.

Dues: I regret to report that the board voted to increase dues $3 a year for pros, and $1.50 for students, effective Jan. 1. The purpose of the dues increase is to raise money to further the society’s operations. Joe Skeel, the executive director, explained that membership dues are the only relatively reliable source of income the society has, and that there has not been a dues increase for 10 years. Joe also pointed out that other organizations, such as RTDNA, charge far more than our increased dues, so we are still a bargain.

So you know, I did argue for a dues decrease as a way of recognizing the struggles journalists are having in this economy, as well as possibly bringing in more revenue by making membership accessible to more people.

The delegates unsuccessfully attempted to reverse the increase on the convention floor.

Regional Conference: First, kudos to Utah Headliners for pulling off an excellent regional conference in Salt Lake City in April. At-large director Bill McCloskey, who represented the executive board at the conference, thought it was an informative program.

Now, for 2012.

The conference will be April 13-14 in Denver. So mark your calendar, and plan to have your income taxes filed before then.

This time, we’re doing something different in planning the programs. Instead of having one chapter do all the heavy lifting, we have a committee with people from each of the pro chapters that will meet and plan the conference and assist Colorado. The committee includes Cara Degette, Deputy Regional Director Holly Wolcott, Julie Ann Grimm, Tom Haraldsen, Sheryl Worsley and myself. If you have a suggestion on a program you’d like to see at regional let me know.

Volunteers: SPJ couldn’t function without volunteers. And, keeping with John’s tradition, I want to honor those folks who go above and beyond the call of duty. At New Orleans, I recognized David Brown for stepping in as an interim president in New Mexico, and Colorado Pro’s team that restarted the Auraria campus chapter. The winners receive a Sigma Delta Chi pin, from the days when SPJ was known by Greek letters.

If you know of anyone who deserves recognition, let me know.

Again, thank you for all you do, and let’s look forward to an even greater year.