NMPW Board

Christine Burroughs
NMPW President
(505) 844-0948
E-mail Chris

Melissa Sais
NMPW Vice President
(505) 865-6323
E-mail Melissa

Lynne Behnfield Thomas
President
Albuquerque Press Women
(505) 298-5538
E-mail Lynne

Julie Hughes
President
Las Cruces Press Women Chapter
E-mail Julie

The Broadsheet

New Mexico Press Women   March 2004   Vol. 27 No. 2

2004 State Convention
Gets Better and Better

Make an investment in your writing, your career and yourself by signing up for the 2004 Convention, May 21-23: "Write it Right: Creative Communication."

We'll feature a three-hour writing workshop by nationally known writing coach Paula LaRocque Saturday morning. LaRocque is a former assistant managing editor and writing coach at the Dallas Morning News. She's conducted writing workshops for scores of newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. For more information see her Web site Marion Street Press.

Conference kick-off is Friday, May 21, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Maxwell Museum on the University of New Mexico campus. Join us for catered hors d'oeuvres and wine.

The convention will be held at the Sheraton Uptown, across the street from Coronado Mall, beginning with our annual business meeting over breakfast Saturday morning from 7:30 to 9 a.m. LaRocque's two-part seminar will follow from 9:15 to 12:30 p.m.

After lunch is a lively panel discussing the creative process. Panelists are: Leanne Potts, Albuquerque Journal; Jim Graebner, playwright and screenwriter; and photographer Cary Herz. Moderator is writer and marketer, livewire and philosopher Gene Grant.

Then you get some time to shop or rest up before an exciting evening featuring our silent auction and no-host bar, which begins at 5:30 p.m. The annual awards banquet starts at 6:30 p.m. We're pleased to have as banquet speaker UNM Professor David Dunaway, the prize-winning author of six volumes of history and biography.

Sunday morning we return to an old favorite, presentation of the annual Zia Award followed by a talk by the award-winning author.

Conference co-conspirators Susan Walton, Pari Noskin Taichert, Laurie Mellas-Ramirez, Sherry Robinson and Tracy Ingalls have worked hard to deliver professional content and FUN at this meeting.

Early-bird registration for members is just $125 by April 15; after April 15 it's $150; at the door it's $200. For non-members the cost is $175 by April 15 or $200 after and $250 at the door. Full registration covers all events.

For the writing workshop alone, the fee is $50 for members by May 15 and $75 after. For non-members it's $75 by May 15 and $100 after.

For the awards banquet alone, the fee is $35 for members and non-members by May 15 and $50 after. Tickets will not be available at the door.

If you register and run into conflicts, refunds will be available with a $25 fee until April 30 but not after and cancellations must be submitted in writing.

A schedule and registration forms will be on their way to you soon.

NMPW News Briefs

The NMPW Web site is up, prepared by Kathleen Gens of The Great E-scape. Please, make our web sites one of your favorites.

Membership in NMPW/NFPW is up from 57 last year to 63 presently. Woohoo! We have many more members who belong only to state or local chapter.

Contest Czar Connie Gotsch was even busier this year. Entries climbed to 156 from 130 last year and entrants nearly doubled from 35 to 64. There were 41 first places, 37 seconds, 25 thirds and 22 honorable mentions.

Historian Denise Tessier wants to know if there are any 25, 35 or 45-year members out there so we can properly celebrate.

Want to be more involved in NMPW? It's now time for nominations for officers. President Chris Burroughs, vice president Melissa Sais and Treasurer Sandy Schauer have agreed to serve another term, but we still need a secretary. This should be somebody who can attend all the board meetings. Please send ideas or suggestions to Sherry Robinson at robinson@nmia.com.

Scholarship Application Deadline Approaches

The deadline for NMPW scholarship applications is April 1, and members are eligible to apply. Any of you returning to school might need a little help from your friends.

Every year NMPW presents two $500 scholarships to students majoring in journalism, broadcasting, photography, graphic art, writing, communication, public relations, or advertising. The scholarships will be awarded in May at the state convention.

The main criteria for the awards are career potential and financial need, although scholastic standing is a consideration. Applicants must send samples of their work, proof of financial need, an academic transcript, letters of recommendation, a letter of intent about their career goals, and the application form. Completed applications must be postmarked by April 1.

Interested members can contact scholarship chair Laurie Mellas-Ramirez for an application. "As a privilege of membership, NMPW members will be considered first for one of the two scholarships," Laurie says.

For more information, contact Laurie at 505-277-5915 or lmellas@unm.edu.

Give, Re-gift and Clean Out Those
Jewelry Boxes

NMPW funds these scholarships each year with its Silent Auction, held the evening of the Awards Banquet. Scholarship chair Laurie Mellas-Ramirez needs contributions of items, services, tickets and collectibles. Let her know if you have items to donate or bring them to upcoming NMPW meetings. Out-of-town members can bring items to the convention.

New this year is the Jewelry Boutique, which will also support our scholarships. Give us the jewelry you're not wearing, and we'll recycle it for a good cause. Again, bring your jewelry to meetings or to convention and let Sherry Robinson know if you have goodies to donate.

Stepping Up Student Membership

Our Northern Light, former NMPW president and current national treasurer Kathy Cordova reminds us that the national organization has a contest for affiliates to recruit student members. And on the subject of students, Kathy and High School Contest co-chairs Vanessa Baca and Christina Romero will hold a judging party on March 20. If you're up north, join them to see what young journalists are up to these days. You'll be amazed.

AWC Announces
Reverse Press Conference

The Albuquerque Professional Chapter of The Association for Women in Communications will feature the 17th annual Reverse Press Conference on Wednesday, March 10, at the Albuquerque Petroleum Club.

The subject is upcoming elections and their possible impact on New Mexico. Media panelists will be Dennis Domrzalski, reporter with New Mexico Business Weekly; Kate Nelson, Managing Editor of the Albuquerque Tribune; Augusta Meyers, owner of the PR firm Augusta Meyers & Associates and former morning news anchor at KRQE-TV/Channel 13; and Leslie Fishburn Clark, news reporter with KUNM radio, 89.9-FM.

AWC's annual Reverse Press Conference turns the tables by inviting members of the news media to answer questions about current issues of concern from the organization's members and the public.

The event begins with networking at 11:15 a.m. Lunch will be served at noon, and the panelists will answer questions from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Cost of the luncheon is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Make reservations by March 8 at 5 p.m by calling Ellen Torgrimson, 822-9400, ext 135; by emailing etorgrimson@dbstephens.com; or paying by credit card online at eventsNmore.com.

Member News

Christina Romero, who is a public information officer for the state Department of Transportation in Las Vegas recently received a national award, says her proud aunt, Kathy Cordova.

Christina won a PRIDE Award from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, which recognizes "extraordinary efforts of individuals, companies, public agencies and industry-related associations that serve to enhance the image of the U.S. transportation construction industry" and to encourage others in the transportation industry by good examples.

Christina won for her submission on reconstruction of historic Route 66, "The Fix on Route 66," in the Public-Media Relations/Education category.

The department secretary, who was already planning to be in Washington D.C. for another meeting, accepted on Christina's behalf. The department will honor Christina during an engineering conference in Las Cruces on March 24.

Christina emailed a great photo, which you don't see here because your newsletter editor is technology impaired. Apologies and congratulations to Christina.

*    *    *

The Las Cruces Convention and Visitor's Bureau recently purchased 500 books from cookbook author Sunny Conley. A Bite of History: Recipes and Tales from the Mesilla Valley commemorates Las Cruces' 150th anniversary, celebrated in 1999.

Sunny was also honored at the January Chile Knights Society Hot Luck Club, which she founded last April. "Hot Luck" is a play on the term "pot luck," except all of the dishes prepared are created with chile peppers. The January hot luck was hosted by the local sheriff, and society members crowned Sunny Queen Chile Pequin (pronounced PA-QWEEN). The crown was actually a headband bearing a silk red chile pepper. The sheriff read a proclamation " that Sunny is our one and only truly spicy Queen Chile Pequin." The group presented Sunny with a certificate of appreciation for her "dedication to New Mexico's fire and spice."

The Society has grown from 12 members to 30 and the group is hoping the city will consider building a Chile Knights Society Convention Center (ha!).

Sunny's food column, "Chile Knights", appears weekly in the Las Cruces Sun-News. (Other food columns and restaurant reviews appear regularly in Sabroso! and Ventanas, publications distributed in southern New Mexico and El Paso.)

On a more serious note, Sunny has been re-elected to the board of trustees for the National Friends of Public Television, and she was recently asked to serve as vice president of public relations for the Doña Ana Arts Council.

*    *    *

Pari Noskin Taichert has just returned from five exciting days in California. "The trip started with a book signing at Mysterious Galaxy in, yes, rainy San Diego," she says. "Then on to Monterey via Phoenix. Left Coast Crime 2004 was a hoot. One of the highest points of the convention was learning that The Clovis Incident is a March/April Book Sense 76 pick. For those who might not know what that means, here's a quote from the American Booksellers Association website: "The Book Sense 76 are the most noteworthy new and recent books, as compiled from hundreds of recommendations by independent booksellers across America."

Pari has a couple of signings in March -- one in L.A. at the Mystery Bookstore's 16th anniversary and the other in Clovis. "Talk about a study in contrasts!"

*    *    *

Linda Harris reports that her Ghost Towns Alive was reviewed in the March 2004 issue of New Mexico Magazine. "Also, in a nice surprise, my article on the Phillips Chapel was just published in American Profile, the magazine supplement to the Las Cruces Sun-News and the Albuquerque Journal, plus other papers in this region. I wrote the story two years ago and have wondered what happened to it, and it pops up during Black History Month. Clarence Fielder, who is featured in the story, said that as a result of another article I wrote at the time, the ball got rolling and the Phillips Chapel is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places."

*    *    *

If you've ever wondered why you hear so much from authors at meetings and in the newsletter, it's because writing a book is a lot like having a baby. You carry a big load for quite a while and when it's out, you're proud and excited. And then you have to feed the little thing. That's called promotion, and it can require almost as much effort as writing the book in the first place.

On that note, Sherry Robinson is relieved and happy to say that her first book, El Malpais, Mount Taylor and the Zuni Mountains will be resuscitated. UNM Press allowed the book to go out of print. "Because the book, a hiking guide and history, is really an evergreen, I figured it could stay in print indefinitely, so I started to look for another publisher," she says. "In the course of asking about sales figures, the press took another look at sales and costs and decided a second edition was in order. It didn't hurt that the press director has used the book himself."

*    *    *

So long (but not goodbye) to long-time member Cathy Robbins, who has moved to San Francisco and writes that she found a great apartment. She's making new friends, trying to get her book published and doing a lot of walking. Her email is crsanfran@comcast.net.

*    *    *

Former NFPW President Marj Carpenter, who has visited New Mexico, recently lost her daughter. If you'd like to send a note, her address is 1425 East. 6th, #105, Big Spring, TX 79720. Our thoughts go out to her.

Conference Schedule
Write it Right: Creative Communication
NMPW State Conference
May 21-23, 2004
Albuquerque, NM

Friday, May 21, 2004
4-6 p.m. NMPW Board meeting, Hodgin Hall, top floor, UNM
6-8 p.m. Registration and Reception, Maxwell Museum, UNM Main Campus
8 p.m. Dinner on your own

Saturday, May 22, 2004
7:15 a.m. - 2p.m. Registration at the Sheraton Uptown Inn, Louisiana and Menaul
7:30 a.m.. Breakfast
8-9 a.m. NMPW Annual Meeting
9:15-10:45 a.m. Paula LaRocque Seminar, part I
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Paula LaRocque Seminar, part II
12:45-1:45 p.m. Lunch
2-3:30 p.m. Creativity Panel with Gene Grant, Leanne Potts, Jim Graebner, Cary Herz
3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Free time
5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Silent Auction and No Host Bar, Sheraton Uptown Ballroom
6:30 Dinner Buffet
7 p.m. Speaker, David Dunaway, and awards presentation

Sunday, May 23, 2004
9 a.m. Breakfast, NMPW Zia Award Winner presentation and talk

Conference Hotel Information
Please make your reservations directly with the Sheraton Uptown, 2600 Louisiana Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM . Phone: (800) 252-7772 or (505) 881-0000.

New Mexico Press Women
Board of Directors
2002-2003

Let us know what you're doing!
Send your news to The Broadsheet at robinson@nmia.com.