Guest Blog: Come to SPJ’s National Conference!

 

It’s Matt Hall, the vice president of the SPJ Foundation and a member of this year’s SPJ conference planning committee, and I wanted to reach out personally to ask if members of the St. Louis Pro chapter would consider attending our annual convention. Monday is the deadline to book a discounted room at the convention hotel and I wanted to be sure you knew.

As always, you’ll find inspiration, networking, training and camaraderie at our next SPJ convention. We’d love to have you and, in fact, we’ve created some of our panels just for SPJ members. See below! SPJ is a great organization because of its members, and it’d be awesome to see you in Ohio in October.

Our convention website is spj26.org. On it, you can conveniently see our scheduled speakers, register for the convention and book a hotel room.

These are the panels we designed specifically to help SPJ chapters get stronger. We are putting on these panels for leaders like you.

• Here’s how we set up “Tips and Ideas on How to Run a Successful SPJ Pro Chapter”: SPJ’s chapters are the backbone of the Society. These local connections enable SPJ members to engage in a high level of journalism in their own communities. A local chapter helps its members obtain valuable training from industry experts on the local, regional and national level; mentor young and upcoming journalists; and engage with other journalists nationwide on topics that are the foundation of our Democratic society — With nearly 250 local chapters, this session will share tips and ideas from local chapter leaders who are running successful local chapters.

• We also have “SPJ Paves the Way for Young Journalists,” that is meant to “give campus chapter leaders some of the tips and tools needed to run a thriving campus chapter. Attendees will hear from campus chapter leaders who will share their own insights and experiences of working with young college journalists across the country.”

• And you’ll see a third that is designed especially to help chapter treasurers. It’s described like so: Financial oversight isn’t just the treasurer’s responsibility. Presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and other chapter and regional leaders all play a role in keeping their organizations financially healthy. Led by the controllers for SPJ and the SPJ Foundation, this interactive session will cover practical strategies for financial reporting, recordkeeping, leadership transitions, compliance, and internal controls. Learn how to reduce risk, improve continuity, and create processes that make officer transitions smoother. You’ll leave with tools, resources, and best practices to help your chapter or region operate more effectively and confidently.

Thanks for being SPJ members. We’re stronger together. 

Matthew T. Hall