Convention, trade show planning begins with contest entries, award nominations

A busy spring schedule is planned in preparation for this summer’s Texas Press Association Convention and Trade Show in San Marcos.
The Texas Better Newspaper Contest opens for entries Feb. 1 and nominations for the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame, as well as TPA awards, are due in March. All awards presentations will be part of the 2022 TPA Convention and Trade Show July 28 - 30 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Hotel, Conference Center & Spa.

TEXAS BNC
The rulebook for the 2020-21 Texas Better Newspaper Contest is available for download online at www.texaspress.com/bnc. Those interested in entering are encouraged to download the rules and read the guidelines for entries.
The entry period opens Feb. 1 on the BNC website. Deadline for entries is March 4. TPA member newspapers may submit entries from material published during the 16-month period ending Dec. 31, 2021.
The contest has 18 competition categories. Sweepstakes competition categories include advertising, column writing, editorial writing, feature photography, feature writing, general excellence, headline writing, news photography, news writing, page design, sports coverage and sports photography. Points for awards in competition categories are used to determine the sweepstakes winners in each division. Special award categories include best magazine, best website, community service, online live coverage, public notice and special section.
Contest fees are $10 per category entered.
Members are reminded that with the exception of the specific online categories, best website and online coverage, material entered must have been published in the newspaper’s print product — including photography categories.

Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame
The Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame honors dedicated Texas professionals who made a difference in their local communities, raised journalistic standards, then encouraged and inspired others. 
Each year, up to four newspaper leaders are honored at the Hall of Fame Induction luncheon held during the Texas Press Convention and Trade Show. If you have a hero or mentor whose influence helped shape your career, please consider nominating him or her for induction in the 2022 class.
The selection committee is accepting nominations through March 15 for the class to be honored at the induction ceremony July 29, 2022, during the convention. A project of the Texas Newspaper Foundation, the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame began more than a decade ago, with the first class inducted in January 2007.
The nomination form, including qualifications, can be found on the Texas Newspaper Foundation website, www.tnf.net. Supporting documentation is helpful and encouraged. Anyone may submit a nomination. Past nominees who were not selected may be re-nominated, and multiple nominations are acceptable. The selection committee will meet in April to consider the nominations.
In addition to the Hall of Fame, the foundation preserves the stories of Texas journalists through the Texas Newspaper Oral History project at The University of Texas at Austin and raises funds for continuing education workshops and seminars offered by the Texas Center for Community Journalism at Tarleton State University. Annual fundraising events for TCCJ programs are the silent auction held in conjunction with the convention trade show and the annual Robert Burns Memorial Golf Classic.

TPA Awards
Nominations are sought for these TPA awards:
• The TPA Golden 50 Award, honoring men and women who have displayed exemplary service and selfless contributions to journalism for 50 or more years. 
• The Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership, awarded annually to a publisher or to a newspaper executive who contributed most significantly to the industry and his or her community over the past year. 
• The Fred Hartman Award for Excellence in Sports Writing, which will be presented this year to a writer for a newspaper of more than 10,000 circulation. Presented in conjunction with Hartman Newspapers, this award carries a cash prize.
Deadline for all nominations is March. 15. Nomination information and forms for these awards are available on the TPA website, www.texaspress.com/contest-awards. For more information, contact Mike Hodges at 512-477-6755 or mhodges@texaspress.com.