eChaser: February 2000


	Society of Professional Journalists, Fort Worth Professional Chapter Public Relations Society of America, Greater Fort Worth Chapter International Association of Business Communicators, Fort Worth Chapter eChaser archive [graphics format] February 2000 MEETINGS Next at IABC ... The Body Speaks Volumes: Expert on Nonverbal Communication Explains Physical Quirks No matter what your words say, your body language can send a different message. Crossed arms, cleared throat, tossed hair -- all are clues to your true feelings. Come learn more about nonverbal communication at the February meeting from Michael E. Cinatl, coordinator of Career and Employment Services at Tarrant County College, Southeast Campus-Arlington. Cinatl came to Fort Worth to start an interpreter training program at TCC Northwest Campus after having taught deaf students and then serving as education director for a state facility for the deaf, blind and developmentally disabled. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a master's degree in education of the deaf, he has helped countless students and area residents find employment. * Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8 * Place: Petroleum Club, UPR Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor; easy parking in garage at Seventh and Commerce streets * Cost: members $15, students $11, nonmembers $20, walk-ins an additional $2 * Reservations by noon Feb. 4: (817) 460-3534 or jan@jgary.com ---------- Next at SPJ ... When Connectivity Cramps Your Style: Panelists Tackle Hard-wiring vs. Human Contact Issue Trade stocks. Research a story. Buy Christmas gifts and prescription drugs and airline tickets. Write a friend on the other side of the world. What can't we do electronically? Well, shake hands with the sales clerk, for one. Or hear her voice live. Or see her smile. An Internet futurist, a populist city planner and the man behind North Texas' first intranet community will examine how far an electronic world can take us -- and whether we should go willingly or put up a fight -- at the next SPJ meeting. Internet entrepreneur Lee Gilbert, cofounder of the Web design company QuantumHost Internet Services, will outline how the business environment is changing. Turn down a tiny corner on a piece of paper. The corner represents the current 'Net presence in our lives, Gilbert says; the rest of the sheet is where we're going. But our humanity may suffer along the way, suggests UTA professor Paul Geisel, an internationally in-demand urban design consultant and lifelong observer of man's foibles. If you think it's dumb that your supervisor sends you e-mails so you two don't have to talk, then you and Geisel will get along fine. Fred Balda, meanwhile, envisions a neighborhood where not only computer messenging but all manner of e-links are commonplace. As president of Hillwood Development Corp., he's building such a community in the Alliance region from the ground up, fully fiber-optic wired for Internet and intranet applications. Three guarantees with this program: You won't be bored. You'll leave knowing more than when you came. You'll laugh at least once. * Date: Monday, Feb. 21 * Time: mingling 6:30 p.m., food 7, program 7:45 * Place: UNT Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd. (take Clifton Street off Camp Bowie to parking lot A; flagpole on the hill marks the entrance) * Cost: free for the program; to eat, $20 SPJ members and associate members, $25 nonmembers, $10 students and professionals with two years or less experience * Menu: it'll be Mardi Gras so expect a full plate with a New Orleans flair, plus tea and soft drinks, beer and wine * RSVP for dinner: (817) 877-1171 or doti1@aol.com ======================================== STRAIGHT STUFF Robert Olen Butler, the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, will kick off his North Texas book tour with a reading from his newest novel and participation in a Q&A session at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at Barnes & Noble north in Arlington, 934 E. Copeland Road. During the book signing, Jerry Rizzi (playing bass) and Lee Schloss (tenor sax) will perform sketches from their new CD, "Turn of the Century." Barnes & Noble will make a contribution to Writers Garret from sales at the event between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. ---------- Need a Change in Career Scenery? PRSA Conference Offers Fresh Ideas The PRSA Southwest District Conference -- a wealth of innovative concepts and time-tested processes cleverly viewed -- will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 17-18, at Embassy Suites Outdoor World in Grapevine. Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, will speak on "PR and Internet Journalism: Exploring a New Relationship" at the keynote luncheon Friday, which will serve as the monthly meeting for the Fort Worth and Dallas PRSA chapters. Scheduled speakers and their presentations include, on Thursday: Joel Zeff, Zeff Creative, on discovering your own creativity; and on Friday: Marcus Kabel of Reuters (Dallas), Loren Steffy of Bloomberg News (Dallas) and Alan Goldstein of The Dallas Morning News, getting your story in the news; Angela Jeffrey, Jeffrey Communications, implementing measurement and evaluation tools; Cynthia Pharr, APR, C. Pharr & Co., positioning yourself for career growth; Tom Peck, Texas Health Resources, and Jamie Rambo, Baylor Health Care System, communicating during mergers and acquisitions; and Priscilla Lynn, Sprint, creating an executive communications program. Full registration costs $150 for PRSA members and $200 for nonmembers. Pricing options are available for smaller segments of the conference, such as the keynote luncheon -- $25 for members and $35 nonmembers. For more information or a brochure, contact Wendy Kula, (972) 612-8794 / w.kula@gte.net, or Kim Speairs, APR, (817) 336-7799 / kim@stuartbacon.com. For hotel reservations, call (800) EMBASSY. ---------- 2000 Corporate Communication Workshop: "Communicating in a Changing World" Jay Kizer, managing partner of Ray & Berndtson, will address the future of workplace communication as keynote speaker for the third annual Corporate Communication Workshop presented by Fort Worth IABC and the Center for Productive Communication at TCU's M.J. Neeley School of Business. The workshop will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 17-18, at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center, 2820 Stadium Drive. Seminar presenters include, on Thursday: Greg Regian, Regian & Wilson/Grey, on thinking creatively; Ruth Cogswell, Berry & Associates in Weatherford, handling a crisis with finesse; Randy Scoggin, TCU, PowerPoint graphics presentations; Renee Arrington, Ray & Berndtson, videoconferencing; John Singleton, TCU, crosscultural communication; and consultant Liz Spears on the Internet résumé; and on Friday: Dr. Diana Newbern, TCU, team building; Kelli Horst, TCU, dealing with the media; Dr. Greg Stephens and Shari Barnes, both TCU, conflict resolution; Steve Lee, Quicksilver Interactive Group in Dallas, marketing a product; Dr. Evelyn Roberts, TCU, business etiquette (followed by hamburgers from Kincaid's and a Neiman Marcus business fashions show); Mary Dulle, Alcon Laboratories, internal communications; and consultant Betty Prilliman of Dallas on effective business writing. Registration fees for professionals -- $75 if received before Feb. 4, $100 otherwise -- include all seminars and activities, breakfast and lunch each day, and a conference T-shirt. Students pay $25 before Feb. 4, $34 after. Neeley alumni pay $50 before Feb. 4, $67 after. For Kizer's keynote luncheon only, cost is $25 for professionals, $20 Neeley school alumni and $10 students. Registration is limited and first come, first served. Call the Center for Productive Communication at (817) 257-7539 or e-mail cpc@tcu.edu. ---------- If Lovin' You Is Wrong, I Still Want to Write Several Fort Worth SPJ members plan a caravan to Austin's hot "Come Write With Us" weekend -- the SPJ Region 8 conference nested inside the National Writers Workshop -- May 13-14 at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake in the fun hub of central Texas. Molly Ivins, Geneva Overholser, Buzz Bissinger, Leonard Pitts, Kurt Andersen and Sandra Tsing Loh are among the wordsmiths booked for the workshop, a production, for the second consecutive year, of SPJ and the Poynter Institute, with host coordination from the Austin American-Statesman. Registration is $75; call (800) 233-1234 (request the NWW rate) or go online at www.austin360.com/community/features/nww.html. There's a workshop hotline, (877) 900-9080, and e-mail jdycus@attbi.com to reach the caravan team. You can drive, if you like. ---------- Journalists Seek Florida Governor Apology SPJ has asked Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to apologize to a group of reporters for a comment he made about removing them from the sit-in they were covering. The nine Florida journalists on Jan. 19 were escorted against their will from the governor's offices in Tallahassee while covering a protest by black lawmakers over Bush's plan to end the state's affirmative action policy. "SPJ cannot and will not condone the forcible removal of journalists from a public area where an important public event was occurring," said Ian Marquand, chair of SPJ's Freedom of Information Committee. Bush has already apologized for telling an aide to "kick their asses out," a remark about the journalists that was captured by a television microphone and widely reported. "We would like to see Governor Bush go further and apologize to the reporters," Marquand said. "By evicting the media, the governor essentially removed the public's eyes and ears and, in the process, escalated the tension of the events." ======================================== PEOPLE & PLACES After a long dry spell, FW Weekly has a new music editor. Colin Maycock, described as kind of a hunk with a British accent, arrived Dec. 15 and immediately set to work planning the Weekly's annual music awards. A veteran of the alternative press -- three years as entertainment editor and three more as editor/publisher of a Vancouver weekly, The Campus Times -- he recently ended a short but informative stint as assistant city editor at the Temple Daily Telegram. Actually, he drove away screaming. He also has worked as an offshore oil worker and a librarian and has a master's degree in geography (the second Weekly staffer to do so, if that says anything about geography degrees). ... A new professional writers group is forming in Fort Worth. To quote co-organizer Pam Humphrey: "No name yet. No philosophy, goals, ideals or dues (although we will take up a collection occasionally to pay speakers' fees). No advertising guys, PR types or unpublished poets allowed. Now is the perfect time to get involved so you can mold it to your will." Call FW Weekly writer Humphrey at the old Packard garage, 335-9559 extension 132, or the other co-organizer, Betty Brink, at 478-6372. ======================================== COMINGS & GOINGS Promotions ... at Stuart Bacon: Will Burdette, from free-lance writer, editor and proofreader (May '98) and junior copywriter (August '99) to copywriter; the TCU grad formerly was a production intern at Harcourt Brace College Publishers and a corporate communications intern at American Airlines ... at the S-T: Kevin Lyons to Arlington as deputy sports editor for high schools ... Bob Kowalski, from Arlington assistant sports editor to sports editor ... Michael Tribble, from the NE copy/design desk to the features design desk as a senior design editor for business ... Charean Williams, from general assignments sports reporter to national NFL writer. Shiftings ... at the S-T: Jeff Caplan, from FW high school coordinator to general assignments reporter ... Eric Zarate to high school coordinator. Exits ... at the S-T: Marisa Taylor, recently transferred from the NE bureau to downtown, has moved to San Diego ... Betsy Blaney, leaving the NE newsroom to become public information officer at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas ... Damon Marx, formerly assistant sports editor/news desk, to the sports desk at The Palm Beach Post ... Katina Revels, formerly with StarText editorial, to San Jose as a Web content producer with knightridder.com. ======================================== FROM THE PRESIDENT Kim Speairs / PRSA The first month of 2000 was action-packed, and February appears headed for more of the same. Here's how things are shaping up: * Scholarship fund gains $3,000 * As a result of the fast-paced nature of bank mergers and acquisitions, our chapter scholarship fund started $3,000 richer in 2000. Past president Linda Johnson shared the good news about the Norwest Bank Fort Worth/Wells Fargo donation at the January meeting. Norwest's generosity places our chapter in position to create a public relations scholarship program. * More than 65 reach out and touch membership survey * The results are in -- from more than half of our members -- and they were used at the board retreat last month to shape our strategic plan. Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. It indicated that we want more opportunities to get to know our fellow members and that we're interested in conducting a chapter-wide community service project. Look for new programs and initiatives in the areas of membership development, professional development, chapter communications and chapter services. * District conference set for success * It's not too late to sign up for the PRSA Southwest District Conference, Feb. 17-18. Latest news is that national past president Sam Waltz, APR, will speak at the district meeting Feb. 17. I encourage you to attend the conference, if only for the keynote luncheon the next day. E-mail me at kim@stuartbacon.com for more details. Now I'm headed to New York to tour PRSA headquarters and meet our national officers. Tell you all about it next month. ---------- PRESIDENT'S COLUMN Jan Gary / IABC An IABC meeting is the place to be. IABC/Fort Worth is a small chapter by IABC standards -- just 40-some members -- but we make up in friendliness what we lack in size. We're the perfect group for someone who hesitates before entering a crowded room. Our experience level runs the spectrum, from novice to retiree. IABC meetings are the perfect place to network. We really know each other and can lend a helping hand or a sympathetic ear. We stress professional development through programs and workshops -- with a little fun thrown in for balance. See you at a meeting. One of our biggest meetings is coming March 14, when we honor the Communicator of the Year 2000. Nominees are judged on outstanding achievements of the past five years, their commitment to high professional standards, examples of inventiveness and creativity, and ways that they have made an impact on their organization and their community. Past recipients include Clarice Tinsley, anchor/reporter, KDFW-TV Fox 4, 1997; Pat Svacina, public information officer, City of Fort Worth, 1998; and Delbert Bailey, publicity manager, Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, 1999. March 14 is also our "executive meeting," where we encourage everyone to bring a boss so our bosses can see the value of communications. Plan to attend as we honor one of Fort Worth's finest communicators. Details later. ---------- OVER & OUT John Dycus / SPJ Welcome, new director Penny Cockerell, oft-lauded staff writer at The Daily Oklahoman Fort Worth bureau, who replaces living legend j prof David McHam on the board. Penny steps into a fast-moving stream, what with past president Kay Pirtle doing some early heavy lifting on the Fort Worth-hosted 2002 national convention, director Larry Lutz fronting the second installment of the SPJ/Barnes & Noble Teen Newswriting Workshop at B&N north in Arlington, chapter VP Linda Swift and her crew moving full speed on rewarding outstanding students at the April scholarship dinner (area journalism departments have been notified; applications have been received), director Verlie Edwards finalizing the member directory and Wanda Conlin delivering quality programs. With folks like this on the board and advisory board, you'd be having a good time as president, too. This from Ray Begovich, immediate past president of the Indianapolis Professional Chapter. Its "SPJ in the Classroom" program links high school students with local pros to discuss ethics, careers, writing and editing, news judgment and media literacy. Members commit to an hour or so in a classroom as a guest speaker. The chapter contacted the Indiana State High School Journalism Association through the Department of Education. No shortage of pros jumped at the chance to give something back to their industry by inspiring young journalists. We can do this at Fort Worth SPJ. Any takers?

No matter what your words say, your body language can send a different message. Crossed arms, cleared throat, tossed hair -- all are clues to your true feelings. Come learn more about nonverbal communication at the February meeting from Michael E. Cinatl, coordinator of Career and Employment Services at Tarrant County College, Southeast Campus-Arlington.

Cinatl came to Fort Worth to start an interpreter training program at TCC Northwest Campus after having taught deaf students and then serving as education director for a state facility for the deaf, blind and developmentally disabled. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a master's degree in education of the deaf, he has helped countless students and area residents find employment.

Trade stocks. Research a story. Buy Christmas gifts and prescription drugs and airline tickets. Write a friend on the other side of the world. What can't we do electronically? Well, shake hands with the sales clerk, for one. Or hear her voice live. Or see her smile. An Internet futurist, a populist city planner and the man behind North Texas' first intranet community will examine how far an electronic world can take us -- and whether we should go willingly or put up a fight -- at the next SPJ meeting.

Internet entrepreneur Lee Gilbert, cofounder of the Web design company QuantumHost Internet Services, will outline how the business environment is changing. Turn down a tiny corner on a piece of paper. The corner represents the current 'Net presence in our lives, Gilbert says; the rest of the sheet is where we're going. But our humanity may suffer along the way, suggests UTA professor Paul Geisel, an internationally in-demand urban design consultant and lifelong observer of man's foibles. If you think it's dumb that your supervisor sends you e-mails so you two don't have to talk, then you and Geisel will get along fine. Fred Balda, meanwhile, envisions a neighborhood where not only computer messenging but all manner of e-links are commonplace. As president of Hillwood Development Corp., he's building such a community in the Alliance region from the ground up, fully fiber-optic wired for Internet and intranet applications.

Three guarantees with this program: You won't be bored. You'll leave knowing more than when you came. You'll laugh at least once.

Robert Olen Butler, the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, will kick off his North Texas book tour with a reading from his newest novel and participation in a Q&A session at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at Barnes & Noble north in Arlington, 934 E. Copeland Road. During the book signing, Jerry Rizzi (playing bass) and Lee Schloss (tenor sax) will perform sketches from their new CD, "Turn of the Century." Barnes & Noble will make a contribution to Writers Garret from sales at the event between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.

The PRSA Southwest District Conference -- a wealth of innovative concepts and time-tested processes cleverly viewed -- will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 17-18, at Embassy Suites Outdoor World in Grapevine. Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, will speak on "PR and Internet Journalism: Exploring a New Relationship" at the keynote luncheon Friday, which will serve as the monthly meeting for the Fort Worth and Dallas PRSA chapters.

Scheduled speakers and their presentations include, on Thursday: Joel Zeff, Zeff Creative, on discovering your own creativity; and on Friday: Marcus Kabel of Reuters (Dallas), Loren Steffy of Bloomberg News (Dallas) and Alan Goldstein of The Dallas Morning News, getting your story in the news; Angela Jeffrey, Jeffrey Communications, implementing measurement and evaluation tools; Cynthia Pharr, APR, C. Pharr & Co., positioning yourself for career growth; Tom Peck, Texas Health Resources, and Jamie Rambo, Baylor Health Care System, communicating during mergers and acquisitions; and Priscilla Lynn, Sprint, creating an executive communications program.

Full registration costs $150 for PRSA members and $200 for nonmembers. Pricing options are available for smaller segments of the conference, such as the keynote luncheon -- $25 for members and $35 nonmembers.

For more information or a brochure, contact Wendy Kula, (972) 612-8794 / w.kula@gte.net, or Kim Speairs, APR, (817) 336-7799 / kim@stuartbacon.com. For hotel reservations, call (800) EMBASSY.

Jay Kizer, managing partner of Ray & Berndtson, will address the future of workplace communication as keynote speaker for the third annual Corporate Communication Workshop presented by Fort Worth IABC and the Center for Productive Communication at TCU's M.J. Neeley School of Business. The workshop will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 17-18, at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center, 2820 Stadium Drive.

Seminar presenters include, on Thursday: Greg Regian, Regian & Wilson/Grey, on thinking creatively; Ruth Cogswell, Berry & Associates in Weatherford, handling a crisis with finesse; Randy Scoggin, TCU, PowerPoint graphics presentations; Renee Arrington, Ray & Berndtson, videoconferencing; John Singleton, TCU, crosscultural communication; and consultant Liz Spears on the Internet résumé; and on Friday: Dr. Diana Newbern, TCU, team building; Kelli Horst, TCU, dealing with the media; Dr. Greg Stephens and Shari Barnes, both TCU, conflict resolution; Steve Lee, Quicksilver Interactive Group in Dallas, marketing a product; Dr. Evelyn Roberts, TCU, business etiquette (followed by hamburgers from Kincaid's and a Neiman Marcus business fashions show); Mary Dulle, Alcon Laboratories, internal communications; and consultant Betty Prilliman of Dallas on effective business writing.

Registration fees for professionals -- $75 if received before Feb. 4, $100 otherwise -- include all seminars and activities, breakfast and lunch each day, and a conference T-shirt. Students pay $25 before Feb. 4, $34 after. Neeley alumni pay $50 before Feb. 4, $67 after. For Kizer's keynote luncheon only, cost is $25 for professionals, $20 Neeley school alumni and $10 students.

Registration is limited and first come, first served. Call the Center for Productive Communication at (817) 257-7539 or e-mail cpc@tcu.edu.

Several Fort Worth SPJ members plan a caravan to Austin's hot "Come Write With Us" weekend -- the SPJ Region 8 conference nested inside the National Writers Workshop -- May 13-14 at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake in the fun hub of central Texas.

Molly Ivins, Geneva Overholser, Buzz Bissinger, Leonard Pitts, Kurt Andersen and Sandra Tsing Loh are among the wordsmiths booked for the workshop, a production, for the second consecutive year, of SPJ and the Poynter Institute, with host coordination from the Austin American-Statesman. Registration is $75; call (800) 233-1234 (request the NWW rate) or go online at www.austin360.com/community/features/nww.html. There's a workshop hotline, (877) 900-9080, and e-mail jdycus@attbi.com to reach the caravan team. You can drive, if you like.

SPJ has asked Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to apologize to a group of reporters for a comment he made about removing them from the sit-in they were covering. The nine Florida journalists on Jan. 19 were escorted against their will from the governor's offices in Tallahassee while covering a protest by black lawmakers over Bush's plan to end the state's affirmative action policy.

"SPJ cannot and will not condone the forcible removal of journalists from a public area where an important public event was occurring," said Ian Marquand, chair of SPJ's Freedom of Information Committee. Bush has already apologized for telling an aide to "kick their asses out," a remark about the journalists that was captured by a television microphone and widely reported.

"We would like to see Governor Bush go further and apologize to the reporters," Marquand said. "By evicting the media, the governor essentially removed the public's eyes and ears and, in the process, escalated the tension of the events."

After a long dry spell, FW Weekly has a new music editor. Colin Maycock, described as kind of a hunk with a British accent, arrived Dec. 15 and immediately set to work planning the Weekly's annual music awards. A veteran of the alternative press -- three years as entertainment editor and three more as editor/publisher of a Vancouver weekly, The Campus Times -- he recently ended a short but informative stint as assistant city editor at the Temple Daily Telegram. Actually, he drove away screaming. He also has worked as an offshore oil worker and a librarian and has a master's degree in geography (the second Weekly staffer to do so, if that says anything about geography degrees). ...

A new professional writers group is forming in Fort Worth. To quote co-organizer Pam Humphrey: "No name yet. No philosophy, goals, ideals or dues (although we will take up a collection occasionally to pay speakers' fees). No advertising guys, PR types or unpublished poets allowed. Now is the perfect time to get involved so you can mold it to your will." Call FW Weekly writer Humphrey at the old Packard garage, 335-9559 extension 132, or the other co-organizer, Betty Brink, at 478-6372.

Promotions ... at Stuart Bacon: Will Burdette, from free-lance writer, editor and proofreader (May '98) and junior copywriter (August '99) to copywriter; the TCU grad formerly was a production intern at Harcourt Brace College Publishers and a corporate communications intern at American Airlines ... at the S-T: Kevin Lyons to Arlington as deputy sports editor for high schools ... Bob Kowalski, from Arlington assistant sports editor to sports editor ... Michael Tribble, from the NE copy/design desk to the features design desk as a senior design editor for business ... Charean Williams, from general assignments sports reporter to national NFL writer.

Exits ... at the S-T: Marisa Taylor, recently transferred from the NE bureau to downtown, has moved to San Diego ... Betsy Blaney, leaving the NE newsroom to become public information officer at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas ... Damon Marx, formerly assistant sports editor/news desk, to the sports desk at The Palm Beach Post ... Katina Revels, formerly with StarText editorial, to San Jose as a Web content producer with knightridder.com.

The first month of 2000 was action-packed, and February appears headed for more of the same. Here's how things are shaping up:

* Scholarship fund gains $3,000 *

As a result of the fast-paced nature of bank mergers and acquisitions, our chapter scholarship fund started $3,000 richer in 2000. Past president Linda Johnson shared the good news about the Norwest Bank Fort Worth/Wells Fargo donation at the January meeting. Norwest's generosity places our chapter in position to create a public relations scholarship program.

* More than 65 reach out and touch membership survey *

The results are in -- from more than half of our members -- and they were used at the board retreat last month to shape our strategic plan. Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. It indicated that we want more opportunities to get to know our fellow members and that we're interested in conducting a chapter-wide community service project. Look for new programs and initiatives in the areas of membership development, professional development, chapter communications and chapter services.

* District conference set for success *

It's not too late to sign up for the PRSA Southwest District Conference, Feb. 17-18. Latest news is that national past president Sam Waltz, APR, will speak at the district meeting Feb. 17. I encourage you to attend the conference, if only for the keynote luncheon the next day.
E-mail me at kim@stuartbacon.com for more details.

Now I'm headed to New York to tour PRSA headquarters and meet our national officers. Tell you all about it next month.

An IABC meeting is the place to be. IABC/Fort Worth is a small chapter by IABC standards -- just 40-some members -- but we make up in friendliness what we lack in size. We're the perfect group for someone who hesitates before entering a crowded room. Our experience level runs the spectrum, from novice to retiree. IABC meetings are the perfect place to network. We really know each other and can lend a helping hand or a sympathetic ear. We stress professional development through programs and workshops -- with a little fun thrown in for balance. See you at a meeting.

One of our biggest meetings is coming March 14, when we honor the Communicator of the Year 2000. Nominees are judged on outstanding achievements of the past five years, their commitment to high professional standards, examples of inventiveness and creativity, and ways that they have made an impact on their organization and their community. Past recipients include Clarice Tinsley, anchor/reporter, KDFW-TV Fox 4, 1997; Pat Svacina, public information officer, City of Fort Worth, 1998; and Delbert Bailey, publicity manager, Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, 1999.

March 14 is also our "executive meeting," where we encourage everyone to bring a boss so our bosses can see the value of communications. Plan to attend as we honor one of Fort Worth's finest communicators. Details later.

Welcome, new director Penny Cockerell, oft-lauded staff writer at The Daily Oklahoman Fort Worth bureau, who replaces living legend j prof David McHam on the board. Penny steps into a fast-moving stream, what with past president Kay Pirtle doing some early heavy lifting on the Fort Worth-hosted 2002 national convention, director Larry Lutz fronting the second installment of the SPJ/Barnes & Noble Teen Newswriting Workshop at B&N north in Arlington, chapter VP Linda Swift and her crew moving full speed on rewarding outstanding students at the April scholarship dinner (area journalism departments have been notified; applications have been received), director Verlie Edwards finalizing the member directory and Wanda Conlin delivering quality programs. With folks like this on the board and advisory board, you'd be having a good time as president, too.

This from Ray Begovich, immediate past president of the Indianapolis Professional Chapter. Its "SPJ in the Classroom" program links high school students with local pros to discuss ethics, careers, writing and editing, news judgment and media literacy. Members commit to an hour or so in a classroom as a guest speaker. The chapter contacted the Indiana State High School Journalism Association through the Department of Education. No shortage of pros jumped at the chance to give something back to their industry by inspiring young journalists. We can do this at Fort Worth SPJ. Any takers?