July 2006

251 attend Summer Convention in The Woodlands

The 127th Summer Convention June 22-24 at the The Woodlands Waterway Marriott drew 251 people representing 100 newspapers and 15 associate members.

Attendance was down slightly from 2005 when 300 people attended the 126th Summer Convention in Las Colinas.

The convention kicked off with a Mardi Gras reception with authentic Cajun delicacies and desserts.

The convention program was compelling with four outstanding speakers who kept the audience informed and entertained.

Janet Rush started the program June 23 with an energetic and hilarious tale on “How to Enjoy Failure.” Rush moved the audience to laughter as she poked fun at herself and her problems to demonstrate how to see humor in any situation.

Rick Horowitz followed Rush with “Practical Tips for More Powerful Stories.” Horowitz gave another editorial program June 24 titled “And That’s Why They Invented Editors.”

Mitch Henderson also conducted two programs over the two days — “Metamorphosis of the Media” and “Nuts and Bolts of Online Video.”

Dr. Bruce Weinstein rounded  the June 23 luncheon program with a session on ethics. He walked the audience through a series of ethical dilemmas that many newspapers face and then sought audience participation to help answer questions.

Winners in the Better Newspaper Contest and Monson FOI Awards were announced June 24.

The Texas Newspaper Foundation golf tournament sponsored by Embarq drew 22 golfers and 46 attended the June 24 TNF fund-raiser sponsored by Jackson Walker and AEP Swepco with singer Kyle Wyley sponsored by American Profile.