On Thursday, May 4, winners in the 2009 Communication Contest were announced. All first-place award entries will go on to compete at the national level in the National Federation of Press Women contest.

Winners included: Amy Murphy, Diana Haecker, Kathleen Tarr, Yereth Rosen, Arlene Lidbergh-Jasper, Kristin Tolbert, Dee Gould, Pamela Eldridge, Jessica Cochran, Steve Heimel, Johanna Eurich, Shannyn Moore, Therese Harvey, Dr. Thad Woodard, April K. Young, Sheila Balistreri, Dianne O’Connell, Laurie Wiese, Laura Kotelman, Tammy Ashley, Jordan Craddick, Tina M. Adair, Elise Patkotak, Noe Texeira, Natalie J. Harrison, Vera Starbard, Jessica Dorrington, Marie Stewman, Katie Bausler, Kalei Brooks, Sherrie Simmonds, Linda Kay Thompson, Stan Jones, Dianne Barske, Katherine M. Hocker, Mary F. Wilson, Steven C. Levi, Mariah Oxford, and Judith Fuerst Griffin.

Complete list of award winners.

Congrats to our National Contest winners!
by Elise Patkotak, APW President

Everyone is back from their summer fun and APW’s luncheon are officially back on track with all the exciting speakers Barbara Brown lines up for us every year. It’s good to see old friends, meet some new ones, and get a chance to catch up on how everyone’s summer visitors managed to disrupt their lives.

I would be remiss if I did not make sure to note how proud our whole organization is of our National Communications Contest winners. The list of their awards is found elsewhere on this site and their names are Sonya Senkowsky, Rhonda McBride, Carol Gales and Thetus Smith. Congratulations to all of them for the fine level of professionalism and excellence they bring to their work and for the great way it reflects on our organization as a whole.

Having said that, let me hasten to add that the 2006 contest is just gearing up and we are looking for volunteers to be on the committee to run our local competition. For those of you unaware of how this works, statewide first place winners automatically get sent as our entries to the National Federation of Press Women’s national competition. So it’s very important that our local contest get off the ground in a timely fashion so that we can meet national deadlines.

Volunteering on this committee is a great way to get to know our organization a little better, to network with some other professionals from APW and to just have a good time making the contest a success. Please contact me at TheParrot@aol.com if you are interested in volunteering.

Happy Halloween.

Your help is needed…for sure!
by Elise Patkotak, APW President

It’s springtime in Alaska and Alaska Press Women is gearing up for its annual student awards luncheon in May and its business luncheon in June. On top of that, we are planning some sort of awards ceremony (maybe at the June luncheon) to recognize the winners of this year’s communications contest and to announce those winners whose entries have gone on to the national competition. All in all, a busy time for this organization.

Which is why I want to extend a special invitation to each and every member of Alaska Press Women to consider whether they might not find a little extra time in their schedule to get more involved with this dynamic organization.

I know for sure that many members appreciate the opportunity presented by our monthly luncheons to meet and network with other people in their field. I know for sure that many members appreciate the chance to hear varied and dynamic speakers at these luncheons. And I know for absolute sure that all our members appreciate the opportunity to enter the annual communications contest so that the excellence of their work throughout the year can be recognized – to say nothing of the extra line it gives your resume.

But none of these things happen magically. We do not have noses that twitch and do all the work. We don’t have house fairies that sort through contest entries or find speakers or cook our dinners while we do. So we need all our members to be involved.

Right now, we are looking for people willing to run for the board positions that are open. The election will be held at the June luncheon. Many board members serve year after year because they believe in the mission of Alaska Press Women. But it would sure be nice to see some new faces at the table.

And if you don’t feel as though you have time to serve on the board and attend the monthly board meetings, then put your name in the bag for one of the many committees that need help throughout the year. These committees usually meet for a limited time to achieve a specific purpose, such as running the annual communications contest.

Any help you can give will only go towards making Alaska Press Women a better organization. So if you think you can give us a little time, send me an e-mail at TheParrot@aol.com. To ensure that I don’t accidentally dump your mail as spam, use the heading “Alaska Press Women.” I’ll keep a list of volunteers and we’ll contact you as the committees form throughout the year or I’ll pass your name on to our nominating committee if you’re interested in running for office.

Enjoy your spring. Now get out there and plant some flowers!

APW a good return on your investment
by Elise Patkotak, APW President

Taking the reins of an organization as dynamic as Alaska Press Women is a formidable challenge. APW is full of men and women who are creative, assertive, humorous and active. They expect any organization in which they are members to be the same.

The good news about APW is that it is one of a handful of professional organizations both locally and nationally that gives its members a good return on their investment.

Here in Alaska, our monthly luncheons alone are worth the price of membership. On any given month our speaker can range from a local media magnate discussing the changes in news coverage over the years to an author who is traveling around the world to interview women about their contributions to their society. Whoever the speaker is, he or she is always interesting and always has something to add to the discussion about media in Alaska and the world.

And, of course, there is no place like our luncheons for meeting and networking with people in your field who can keep you up on the latest job opportunities, trends and news inside the communications world.

APW also offers one of the only communications contests that allow you to compete on both a local and national level so that you can see how your work compares to similar work across the nation.

Today, you are reading this message in the latest re-incarnation of APW’s traditional newsletter. This is one more example of how APW strives to remain dynamic and relevant in the ever-changing world of communications. After many discussions at many board meetings, it was decided to alter our former format – that of a traditional newsletter entitled “Articulation” – to explore publishing our material via the brave new world of the Internet.

We updated our website and will use it to post the articles and information that once were found in the newsletter. I hope everyone finds this medium easy to use and helpful in finding any information about APW they may need.

As president, I am always available to answer any questions you might have about our organization and its goals. Please feel free to contact me at TheParrot@AOL.com with any comments or concerns you might have. Put the words “About APW” in the title of the e-mail so I won’t accidentally dump your message if I don’t recognize your return address.

See you at the next luncheon.