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NMPW Board

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

Emily Drabanski
NMPW Vice President
(505) 827-6392

Diana Sandoval
President
Albuquerque Press Women
(505) 237-1434

D’Lynn Ford
President
Las Cruces Press Women Chapter
E-mail D'Lynn

 

The Broadsheet

New Mexico Press Women
December 2004 Vol. 27 No. 6

Convention 2005: Mark Your Calendars!

Plans are underway for the 2005 convention. We flirted briefly with the new guy in town before returning to the boy next door. We had hopes to do it up big and meet at the Tamaya, but will meet at our usual haunt, the Sheraton Uptown.

Mark April 15 and 16 on your calendar. You'll notice that this is a Friday and Saturday. The convention committee decided to change the schedule. The award banquet will be on Friday night, and workshops will be on Saturday, with the convention ending Saturday afternoon.

Recognized leader in communication coaching and consulting Susan Peterson will be the presenter for the Saturday morning workshop. She is also a former foreign correspondent for CBS who has covered political and economic events in Europe and the Middle East. She has prepared numerous executives for major national appearances on Nightline, 60 Minutes, NBC Today, Good Morning America and others. Thanks to Laurie Mellas-Ramirez for bringing Peterson here.

Possible workshops for the afternoon are Web writing by UNM's Jonathan Price, who has recently written a book on the subject. A second afternoon workshop would be on water issues and would involve a field trip arranged by the Las Cruces chapter.

Chapter News

The recently reorganized Northern Chapter will have a holiday luncheon at noon on Dec. 4 at Tiny's Restaurant in Santa Fe. Tiny's is at 1015 Pen Rd. near St. Francis Dr. and Cerillos Rd. RSVP to Sue Hofmann at bluerbbn@cybermesa.com.

Join Albuquerque Press Women for a panel discussion, "Work + Life: Employers Weigh in on the Balancing Act," on Dec. 13 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Uptown.

Panelists include: Susan Carkeek, associate vice president and director of Human Resources at UNM; B.J. Jones, director of human resources at Sandia National Laboratories; and Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. RSVP to Janet Ford by Dec. 9, at 720-7821 or presswomen@yahoo.com. The member cost is $15, nonmembers $21.

Zia Award

Listen up, you writers of children's books. That's the subject for this year's Zia Award. The new chair is Lynn Cline, of Santa Fe, who has issued a call for entries. Entries must be published between 2004 and 2005.

Each year during the annual meeting NMPW presents the Zia Award to an outstanding New Mexico author. Three categories rotate among fiction, nonfiction, and children's literature.

You can nominate an outstanding book, or authors may enter their own books. There is no entry fee. Entries must be received no later than March 31, 2005. Send the book along with the author's name, address, and phone number to: NMPW, c/o Lynn Cline, 29 Ellis Ranch Loop, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505.

Questions? Call Lynn at 505-466-6277.

In Memorium: Lee Hirst

We just observed the passing of Marie Hirst in the last newsletter and are now saddened to do the same for her husband. Doctors call it a heart attack, only because there is no medical diagnosis for a broken heart. Lee and Marie were more than a couple - they were a team. It's hard to imagine that they're gone. - SR

Lee Hirst, 82, died on Nov. 9 following a heart attack. He was the retired chairman of the board and co-founder with his late wife Marie of the Hirst Company - now Hirst Córdova Public Relations. Marie died Sept. 11.

"Lee was a considerate and gracious man," said John Córdova. "He was like a second father to me, as well as a great mentor and advocate on my behalf. He was patient, kind and generous. His friendship and wise counsel cannot be replaced."

Lee was born Jan 24, 1922 in Trenton, N.J.. He won an athletic scholarship to Indiana University where he studied journalism and trained for the Olympics in track until he was drafted.

During World War II, he was among the forces that liberated the Philippines. As a combat infantry captain and newspaper editor in the Pacific theatre, he was one of the first information officers to view the devastation in Hiroshima following the detonation of the atomic bomb.

After the war he earned his B.A in journalism but rejoined the Army during the Korean Conflict to serve as a public information officer and was stationed in Massachusetts.

He began his career in public relations as a manager of referendum campaigns for the New Jersey Taxpayer's Association. He then spent six years with Carl Byoir and Associates, then one of the nation's largest public relations firms. And he was director of public relations for the Sperry and Hutchinson Company (S&H) in New York for 14 years. That was where he met Marie.

In 1965, Lee and Marie founded their own public relations firm, the Hirst Company and 1997 Hirst served as the chairman. In 1971 the company moved along with the Hirsts to New Mexico, where they enrolled at St. John's College in Santa Fe.

Lee had more than 40 years of corporate, agency and association public relations experience before he and his wife sold their interests in the Hirst Company to John Córdova in 1997. The New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America presented Lee and Marie with its Vista Award for lifetime achievements in 2001.

Denise Tessier wrote: "The Hirst Company clearly was the gold standard in public relations as established by Lee and Marie. While they could deftly market product, they really sank their teeth into hefty issues and put out background papers that literally steered the course of policy in this, their adopted state, and beyond.

"They were generous in mentoring those interested in the communications fields and were great supporters of New Mexico Press Women and its Albuquerque chapter -- as members, newsletter sponsors and in other ways -- because they liked that it was a "news" and "issues-oriented" group.

They also generously gave time, advice and meaningful work to many of our members. "It was fascinating to be privy to their amazing relationship with each other, as both working partners and spouses. Even when Lee told a story on Marie -- such as the time she called him out of an important New York business meeting to report a kind of "miracle" sighting of swans on a pond near their home -- it was told with an almost awelike respect for her simultaneous audacity and love for nature. Their physical fitness and love for life and learning made them ageless and inspiring."

In Memorium: Bob Lawrence

We also mark the passing of Bob Lawrence, photojournalist and late chairman of UNM's Department of Journalism. Lawrence, a journalism major at UNM, was editor of the Lobo and worked for the Albuquerque Tribune, the Valencia County News-Bulletin, UPI, the Carlsbad Current-Argus and the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. He was also press secretary for Lonesome Dave Cargo. He joined UNM in 1969 and became chairman of the department in 1980.

A lot of us attended UNM while Bob Lawrence presided as department chairman.

I owe my journalism degree to Bob. In 1980 I was an adult returning student and had already edited two New Mexico newspapers and conducted corporate PR without the benefit of a degree. I wanted a degree but didn't want to sit through Journalism 101, which I figured I could teach. Bob agreed to look at my work. He and I sat down with two boxes of my newspapers and NMPW awards, while he asked questions to determine what I did and didn't know. We came up with a course list, and he allowed me to challenge about half the requirements. It was something the department had rarely done. I'm still grateful to Bob's flexibility and willingness to work with an older student/adult professional. - Sherry Robinson

People News

Cary Herz writes: "I have been working, and trying to find a new path for my work." She reports a whirlwind two and a-half day tour of ancient ruins for a New York Times assignment that included Chaco, Aztec, Mesa Verde and Hovenweep. And she's planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands over the Christmas break.

Kathy Córdova has written a book, Concha, which is the authorized biography of Concha Ortiz y Pino de Klevin. Kathy is a frequent contributor to La Herencia Magazine, which published the book. She reports that it was a great joy to interview the 94-year-old lady, whose life is entwined with a lot of New Mexico history. Kathy invites everyone to two book signings: In Albuquerque, Dec. 12 from 12 to 4 p.m. in Salon Ortega of the Hispanic Cultural Center; in Santa Fe, Dec. 19 at the Museum of International Folk Art atrium, same times.

A big welcome to new member Shani Orona, of Albuquerque.

Longtime members will remember Judy Romero-Oak. Judy has taken another path and become an ordained minister in 1997. She serves St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Socorro.

Pari Noskin Taichert was thrilled that The Clovis Incident was selected by Library Journal, which wrote that the book "has made all the regional best sellers lists and after a first printing of 1000 copies has gone to three printings."

Interestingly, Pari and Connie Gotsch have both chosen PR people to be the protagonists in their books. Connie's book, Snap Me A Future, is a suspense-thriller set in the Southwest. It's an e-book from dlsijpress.com. This is Connie's second novel. Her first, A Mouth Full of Shell, won first place for full-length fiction in the 2002 NMPW contest, and second in NFPW's contest. And Connie recently published an article at this site: http://www.banyonpublishing.com.

Pari and Sherry Robinson were both invited to participate in UNM's 2005 summer program, Voices of the Southwest, which involves a public reading broadcast over KUNM, a dinner for the authors and a classroom visit.

Quote of the day

"The greatest threat to truth today may well be from my profession." -- Carl Bernstein


New Mexico Press Women
Board of Directors

Chris Burroughs
President
W 844-0948
H 822-9852

Emily Drabanski
Vice President
827-6392

Susan Burks
Secretary
884-4812

Sandy Schauer
Treasurer
865-4932

Connie Gotsch
Communications Contest
H 326-4969
W 566-3377

Christine Romero
High School contest:

H 454-1511
W 1-800-234-7520

Lynn Cline
Zia Award

466-6277

Denise Tessier
Historian
H 281-5513
W 823-3864

Diana Sandoval
Albuquerque President
237-1434

Sherry Robinson
Newsletter Editor
343-0852

Kathy Cordova
Communicator of Achievement

770-4246

Laurie Mellas-Ramirez
Scholarship
H 271-2563
W 277-5915

D'Lyn Ford
Las Cruces President

649-9952

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

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