The President’s Message: NMPW Board Meeting and Setting a Direction

By Regina M Griego

Hello, members of the New Mexico Press Women (NMPW). I chaired my first board meeting on June 29, 2024. We engaged in filling necessary board positions, reports from the treasurer, the historian, the vice-president, and our chapter representatives. We are financially healthy and all is well with our NMPW organization. We also have strong participation and regularly scheduled regional meetings held by the Albuquerque Press Women’s (APW) and Northern New Mexico Press Women’s (NNMPW) chapters.

The board approved a revision of our Procedure Manual. Loretta Hall led the effort and had several modifications she knew needed to be made. I looked at it through the eyes of a newcomer and suggested several changes coming from my background in Requirements Engineering. After reviewing changes with those most affected by them, we asked for input from the board and ultimately the board approved the new Procedures Manual with minor changes suggested at the board meeting. You can find the Procedures Manual on the website “About” page.

At a more strategic level, we approved three initiatives:

• changing the way the Broadsheet is produced and distributed,
• standing up a Tech Committee whose goal is to decide on the portfolio of tools and applications we use and their role in the operations, communications and marketing of NMPW, and
• moving ahead with developing a bid process to upgrade our website.

These actions align with my vision for NMPW moving forward. We need to enhance our visibility. We need to provide valuable information to our members To maintain our viability as an organization, we must integrate social media, the Broadsheet, and our website, for outreach to new members, contest entrants, and other people we touch in our activities at the state and chapter level.

Our ultimate goal is to grow our membership and widen our demographics so we stay healthy as an organization. I would love your input as members in this effort, please e-mail me at president@newmexicopresswomen.org. Please refer to Léonie Rosenstiel’s article on the changes to the Broadsheet.

Finally, the board discussed the annual Communication Contests and NMPW Annual Conference. The NMPW professional and high school contests will begin on November 1, 2024 ^t, a month later than last year. The NMPW Annual Conference will be held at Isleta Resort and Casino, on March 21-22, 2025. Our theme will be “Artistic Expression.”

The board approved a Conference Committee that includes the chairs of the board’s contests, scholarships, and publicity committees. Please send me your input and ideas for speakers and panels for our 2025 Conference.

The 2025 National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) conference will be held on September 11-14, 2025, in Golden, Colorado. It’s a great opportunity for all members of NMPW to attend since it is so close. I’ve reached out to the Colorado Conference Planning team and told them that we would help in any way we could. Mark your calendars for the NMPW and NFPW Conferences and prepare your contest entries!

 

2024 New Mexico Winners at the NFPW Awards

By Léonie Rosenstiel

In 2024, New Mexico Press Women entered 33 First Place New Mexico winners’ works into the NFPW competition. These entries had been written by 27 different members. Of these, 11 New Mexico entries won First Place Awards. Click here for a list of all the winners, and their winning creations.

 Glenda Balas, New Mexico

• 3rd Place — Public Relations Campaign > Internal Communications for “Communication Day”
• 2nd Place — Collegiate / Education > Faculty Adviser of Student Publication, Station or Site for “UNT Dallas Arts Journal”

Jennifer Black, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Blog > Corporate or for-profit for “Into the Weave”

Sherri Burr, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Columns > Humorous for “The Writing Life: Grace”
• 3rd Place — Columns > General for “The Writing Life: Spare”
• 2nd Place — Speech for “The Underground Railroad: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom”
• 2nd Place — Personality Profile > 750 words or fewer for “The Writing Life: Diana Gabaldon”

Jonny Coker, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Video for Web > Web reporting, single news or feature story for “Local and federal agencies respond to humanitarian crisis at U.S.-Mexico border”

Mary Lou Cooper, New Mexico

• 2nd Place — Special Programming > Radio for “UNM Voices weigh in on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, parts 1 and 2”

Merilee Dannemann, New Mexico

• 2nd Place — Blog > Personal for “Resorting to the unthinkable”

Sonja Dewing, New Mexico

• 3rd Place — Writing > Short Stories > Collection of short stories written by multiple authors for “ThrillHers”

Susan Dunlap, New Mexico

• 2nd Place — Feature Story > Online publication for “A look back at what the last year has wrought”

Jill Gibson, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Specialty Articles > Science or technology for “Harnessing the Power of the Sun”

Katy Hammel, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Writing > Short Stories > Single story for “Where the Wild Things Still Are”

Natalie Hegert, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant > Magazine/Magapaper for “New Mexico Field Guide 2023”

Kathleen Hessler, New Mexico

• 3rd Place — Specialty Articles > Personal essay for “Precious Penny”

Patricia Hodapp, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Writing > Essay, Chapter, or Section in a Book for “Ahh, Paris”

Tara Lumpkin, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Website Edited or Managed by Entrant > Nonprofit, government or educational for “Voices for Biodiversity”

Angelina Malone, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Social Media Presence > Nonprofit, government or educational for “KRWG Public Media Social Media pages”

Vicki Mayhew, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Writing > Children’s Book > Fiction for “How the Unicorn Said Goodbye”

Anthony Moreno, Evelyn Sandoval, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Talk Show > Television for “Fronteras 1323 – Conversation with Denise Chávez”

Sherry Robinson, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Specialty Articles > History for “Georgia Volunteers in the Mexican-American War, 1846-1848”
• Honorable Mention — Columns > Personal opinion for “FEMA not helping disaster victims for 20 years”
• Honorable Mention — Publication Regularly Edited by Entrant > Newsletter/other publication – non-profit, government, or educational for “La Cronica”

Leonie Rosenstiel, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Publications Regularly Written by Entrant > Newsletter/other publication, nonprofit, government or educational for “The Broadsheet”

Mark Tiarks, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Specialty Articles > Arts and entertainment for “Get a Taste of Old Granddad No. 4”
• 1st Place — Specialty Articles > Reviews for “Ailyn Pérez a force of nature in Santa Fe Opera’s ‘Rusalka’”

Jim Tritten, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Specialty Articles > Travel for “Papal Blessings”

Jim Tritten, Joe Badal, New Mexico

• 2nd Place — Book Edited by Entrant for “Holes in Our Hearts”

Christian Valle, New Mexico

• 3rd Place — Special Programming > Television for “Clara Belle Williams: New Mexico Pioneer in Education”

Khadijah VanBrakle, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Writing > Young Adult Book > Fiction for “Fatima Tate Takes The Cake”

Patrica Walkow, New Mexico

• Honorable Mention — Writing > Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers > Autobiography or Memoir for “Life Lessons From the Color Yellow”

Leora Zeitlin, New Mexico

• 1st Place — Interview > Radio for “Chess and music: A two-part interview with national chess master Lior Lapid”

 

2024 NFPW Conference on Gateway to Success

It was a pleasure to represent NMPW at the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) Conference held in St. Louis on September 20-22, 2024. At the members meeting on Thursday I participated in a candle ceremony for members who have passed away in the last year. We honored Colleen Keene and Valorie “Vicky” Ramakka two members of NMPW. That evening we went to the St. Louis Artist Guild for the opening reception, which was a beautiful space where local artists were featured. We were treated to local wines, beers, and food from the area. It was delightful to meet again with the eclectic group of members from various states.

Friday’s keynote was “History in the Headlines” featuring Lynne M. Jackson and Dr. Jody Sowell. Lynne M. Jackson, the great-great-granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott and founder and president of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation, talked about the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford decision. A precursor to the American Civil War, the decision is largely considered to be one of the worst ruling ever by the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Jody Sowell, president of the Missouri Historical Society, gave a very visual presentation on little-known fun and important facts about St. Louis.

A panel called “AI: Partner and Pestilence” discussed the role of AI and its possible repercussions. There were several interesting workshops in the afternoon and Friday culminated in the Communicator of Achievement (COA) Award Banquet. The 2024 NFPW Communicator of Achievement Award winner was Gwen White from North Carolina and the runner up was Sharon Almirall from Colorado. Gwen’s speech was funny and folksy, she has many years in the NFPW including being past president.

Saturday morning NFPW president (and NMPW member) Julie Campbell moderated a panel on “The Challenges of Local Journalism” followed by Organizational Psychologist Rita Ernst demonstrating techniques to break out of negativity spirals and encourage more positive outcomes in work and life. Student awards were held during lunch and the students were all very talented and it was a tough choice for the judges. In the afternoon, a panel on “Trends in Journalism Education” followed by panels and workshops that provided choices for participants.

The conference culminated with the Communications Award Banquet on Saturday evening where two NMPW contestants received their awards. Susan Dunlap from Hillsboro, NM was presented a Second Place Award for Feature Story for Online Publication. Christian Valle from Las Cruces, NM was presented a Third Place Award for Special Programming, Television. We congratulate all our NMPW contest winners that also won awards at National!