April 2002
MEETINGS
Next at IABC ...
'I Had a Life Plan, but the Magnet Fell Off the Fridge'
Anne Barab (annebarab.com) has been described as Erma Bombeck with a bite. Not as cozy as Erma's lemon chiffon cake, but more tart like a raspberry cobbler that leaves seeds in your teeth. She decorates her ideas on change, leadership and teamwork with lots of practical examples from business, politics, education and family life.
From chief operating officer of a mortgage bank, to president of her own consulting firm, to elected official, she will apply 30 years of business experience and public service to enlighten and entertain at the April IABC meeting.
* Time, date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, April 9
* Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
* Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at 7th & Commerce streets; get valet ticket
* Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students
* RSVP by noon April 5: Dan Frost at (817) 735-6157 or frostdg@c-b.com
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Next at PRSA ...
Inside the Real West Wing: A Speechwriter's Story
from the Campaign Trail to the White House
You've seen the NBC version Wednesday nights, now hear about the real West Wing of the White House, from someone who works there every day. Kasey Pipes, associate director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives, will share insights at the Pro-Am Day luncheon regarding message placement and life inside the Beltway.
A Fort Worth native, Pipes now writes speeches and coordinates long-range planning and research for the Bush administration. He reports to Karl Rove, senior adviser to the president. During the campaign, he wrote op-eds, scripts and speeches, serving as lead speechwriter for Dick Cheney.
* Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, April 19
* Place: Los Vaqueros Restaurant, 2629 N. Main St.
* Parking: free
* Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $10 students (paid by the pros)
* RSVP by noon April 17: Lisa Albert at lalbert@ymcafw.org
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Next at SPJ ...
From Sportswriter to Cop: Only for the Sheriff
Would the Transition Go So Well
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson's early years hardly belied the future that awaited this son of legendary Fort Worth Press sportswriter Andy Anderson: a year at Tarrant County Junior College, then a stint at UT Austin before becoming a sportswriter at his dad's paper in 1975, followed by a move to the Arlington Daily News where he was sports editor for three years.
Somewhere in there he found his calling and became a policeman, moving up in the ranks to a spot that seemed natural -- public information officer for the Arlington Police Department. It was a good fit. Anderson, known for his professionalism and laid-back demeanor, became the face of the department when the city and state reeled from the death of Amber Hagerman.
Anderson seemed a natural fit once again when voters in 2000 elected him to bring order to a sheriff's office in disarray. So what's it like now, Dee? Fort Worth SPJ will find out April 15 when he drops by for dinner.
* Date: Monday, April 15
* Time: mingling 5:45 p.m., dinner 6:15, program 7:15
* Place: Water Street Seafood, 1540 S. University Drive
* Cost: program free; to eat, $13 members, $17 nonmembers, $5 students; no food orders taken after 6:30
* Menu: choice of seafood enchilada, Southern fried catfish, mesquite-grilled chicken or shrimp harpoon, all served with a salad, vegetables and seasoned rice, fresh-baked bread and tea, soft drink or coffee; cash bar
* RSVP: Kay Pirtle at mkpirtle@yahoo.com
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STRAIGHT STUFF
Deadline is fast approaching -- April 5 (or through April 9 with a $20 late fee) -- to enter the Bronze Quill competition, IABC/Fort Worth's annual judging of written and visual communication pieces. Sixteen categories run the gamut from Web sites, to public service announcements, to newsletters, magazines and annual reports. Entry forms are at iabcfortworth.com. ... Lennox Samuels, the Dallas Morning News' deputy managing editor in charge of post-Sept. 11 coverage; WFAA-TV reporter Brett Shipp, former U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins and FBI press spokeswoman Lori Bailey will discuss public information and security issues following the terrorist attacks at a Dallas SPJ/Dallas Bar Association panel at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Belo Mansion, 2101 Ross Ave. KERA's Glenn Mitchell will moderate. RSVP to Lisa Biondo at (214) 220-7450 or lbiondo@dallasbar.org. ... The D/FW Network of Hispanic Communicators will honor WFAA-TV's Gloria Campos for her 25 years in broadcasting at its 20th annual scholarship awards banquet Saturday, April 6, at Cityplace Conference Center in Dallas. Scholarship recipients and winners of the NHC's high school writing contest will be recognized. Write Gary Piña, gpina@star-telegram.com. That same night, George Curry, editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service and BlackPressUSA.com, will keynote a banquet at the Fairmont Hotel celebrating the 175th anniversary of the black press in America. Sponsored by The Dallas Examiner, the event will recognize African-American newspapers, magazines and journalists in the area. Contact Tuala Williams at (214) 428-3446 or twilliams@dallasexaminer.com. ...
TCU journalism professor Anantha Babbili will examine the historical, cultural and economic factors fueling the increase in violent media content at a half-day symposium Saturday, April 20, at University Christian Church. Sponsored by the church and Cook Children's Medical Center, the symposium targets students, parents, teachers, and health care and social workers and will feature comments by Dr. R. Scott Colglazier, UCC senior minister, on the role faith communities can play in responding to violence in the community and the world. To register, call (817) 885-4170. ... Dallas Morning News columnist Marlyn Schwartz will address the Association for Women Journalists scholarship dinner Friday, April 26, at the City Club in Arlington. Info: awjdfw.org. ...
Jane Schlansker's PR/marketing firm InterStar has some office space in its building that would be ideal, she says, "for freelancers or someone who just needs a small space ... a single office or two." Contact Dionne Bierko at (817) 332-6522 or db@interstargroup.com. InterStar is at Sixth and Grove streets, downtown Fort Worth. ... The IABC Next Generation Scholarship assists unemployed members or those who need help to attend an IABC event or even to continue membership. Recipients must have been active in IABC for three or more consecutive years. Eligibility is limited to one award every three years. Info at www.iabc.com/about/nextgen/index.htm.
SPJ national update: 1.5 wins, 1 pending, 1 life remembered ... Florida legislators set out this year to seal access to many government records, but in the end, the 2002 legislative session closed off few documents -- and voters in November will actually be asked to make it tougher for legislators to shut out the public. Open-government advocates said the all-out defense against closing public records, along with a campaign by the state's newspapers, may have made the difference. Still, the lawmakers did restrict access to Social Security, bank account and credit card numbers; blueprints for public buildings, including stadiums and water treatment plants; and information that defense contractors provide to qualify for tax refunds. ... A bill meant to ease access to state and local government records won the Pennsylvania House's overwhelming approval, with supporters calling it the first step toward overhauling the state's 44-year-old public records law. The measure would set deadlines for agencies to respond to requests, require government offices to provide reasons for denying access in writing, and impose fines for violating the law. The measure goes to the Senate for consideration. ... SPJ and eight other organizations joined a friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Association of American Publishers seeking a court order to allow the National Records and Archives Administration to handle presidential records according to the Presidential Records Act of 1978. President Bush issued an Executive Order on Nov. 1 stating that the current president has the right to withhold any records of a former president who wants to release them. Said SPJ president Al Cross, a political writer and columnist for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal: "This takes us back to the bad old days of treating presidential records as private property, which we thought went out with the Nixon administration." ... SPJ is calling on its members and others to find ways to honor Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and other murdered journalists, as a reminder of the essential role that journalists play around the world. In Tacoma, Wash., journalism students at Pacific Lutheran University wore off-white ribbons fastened with pearl-headed pins. SPJ reported that 37 journalists died doing their jobs last year.
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PR Professionals Needed for Pro-Am Day, April 19
The students are ready. Are you? Greater Fort Worth PRSA will host its annual Pro-Am Day on Friday, April 19, with industry professionals serving as mentors-for-a-day. Organizers are billing the event as a great way to become more involved with the chapter, advise future professionals and meet potential employees.
The day will begin with a "meet and great" at Four Star Coffee Bar, 3324 W. Seventh St. Each student will then join his or her assigned pro for a morning of shadowing -- give her a project or task, let her follow you to a meeting, have her research some media contacts -- followed by lunch at Los Vaqueros on North Main Street to hear George W. Bush speechwriter Kasey Pipes. Afterward, the students will remain at Los Vaqueros for a short seminar, "How Do You DO That?"
To volunteer, contact Carol Murray at (817) 255-9408 or cmurray@fwmsh.org. Each pro is asked to cover his student's $10 lunch cost. Students are expected from TCU and possibly Hardin-Simmons, UNT and UTA.
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Upbeat on the Downhill: A Seasoned Sportswriter's
Fond Look Back at His First Winter Olympics
by Frank Perkins
He didn't know much when he started, but that didn't keep Star-Telegram sports columnist Jim Reeves from a great time reporting the 2002 Winter Olympics.
"I've covered baseball and sports like that for over 30 years, but I had never heard of a 'Nordic combined.' I thought they were talking about a double-feature starring Elke Sommer," he told SPJ members and guests at the March meeting. Turns out the Nordic combined was a 90-meter ski jump on the first day followed by a 15-kilometer cross-country ski race the next day. Ms. Sommer did not compete.
Reeves volunteered to join the Star-Telegram coverage team because the Olympics were filled with outstanding athletes and events he had never seen. "Then after I was there a day or so, I realized that the stories are not so much about the events but the people doing them, and there were simply tons of great people stories."
For example, Steven Bradbury's. Bradbury was an Australian surfer in the 1,000-meter speed-skate, one of the events that made a media magnet of American Apolo Anton Ohno. "It looked like he had stopped for a cigarette break or something as the other athletes raced off and left him dead last," Reeves recalled. But, in the last lap, all the contenders crashed and a stunned Bradbury sailed across the finish line, becoming Australia's first gold medalist at a Winter Olympics.
There was skier Picabo Street's farewell, which left Reeves proud of American athletes. "She finished 16th in her event and then announced that she was retiring from the sport. She gave this wonderful speech about how she had been driven to excel, to win at any cost, but now she had changed and was growing in her humanity and her relationship with God," he said. "She blew me away. She retired gracefully and left the sport in a blaze of glory."
Another people story had a personal angle for Reeves. It was the bronze won by snowboarder Chris Klug 18 months after he had a liver transplant. Holding a framed photo of the beaming Klug waving a large American flag tied to a ski pole, Reeves pointed to his own face in the background. "I was behind the athlete and officials talking to his family members when one of them handed me the flag and asked me to get it to Chris. I climbed over a couple of snow fences and handed him the flag, and he began waving it about. I had tears in my eyes. I felt such a great joy to participate in his victory."
Reeves left his audience silent as he recounted the drama of the eight American athletes who carried in the torn and scorched American flag from ground zero at the World Trade Center site during the opening ceremonies. "The crowd of 35,000 went absolutely silent," he said. "It was as if they were mesmerized. That silence roared louder than any noise in any stadium."
Reeves took from his first Winter Olympics more than a notepad full of memorable stories. "I felt cleansed by it all. I thought the 'child of light' theme at the opening ceremonies was apropos. I wouldn't have missed it for the world, even though Elke Sommer wasn't there."
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PEOPLE & PLACES
John Cockrell, president of Cockrell Printing Co., is the 2002 recipient of the Silver Medal, the highest honor given by the American Advertising Federation at the local level. "Silver Medalists are special people who find extra time, energy and resources in demanding careers to influence and improve the industry and our community," said Jim Stuart, chairman of the award committee and CEO of Stuart Bacon Advertising-Public Relations. "John Cockrell is one of those special people." A 1969 TCU grad, Cockrell served in the Army in Vietnam. He is president of the TCU Frog Club and has served on the boards of the Fort Worth Symphony, the Printing and Imaging Association of Texas and the Advertising Club of Fort Worth. He has also been a member of the TCU Regional Fund Raising Campaign and the Jewel Charity Ball. The Silver Medal has been given across the country
since 1959; the Advertising Club of Fort Worth gave its first Silver Medal to Bruno Lore in 1961. Jim Stuart was a 1993 recipient.
Kudos & Contracts ... Star-Telegram staffers Matt Frazier, Lamor Williams, Etta Hulme, Paul Harral, Linda Campbell and Mike Norman in news and Jane Trimble in special sections have received School Bell Awards from the Texas State Teachers Association. Also, Paula Caballero was recognized for work at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and Danny Robbins for work at the Houston Chronicle. Entrants are nominated by TSTA members. ... For the first time in the paper's history, the Star-Telegram sports section has been named to the Associated Press Sports Editors Top 10, both daily and Sunday in the big-paper category. S-T sports also won an Award of Excellence for sports section design in the 175,000-and-over circulation category from the Society of Newspaper Design. Two awards were given; The Washington Post received the other one. ...
Kudos II ... The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International has recognized the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau with one Gold and two Silver awards in the Adrian Advertising Travel Awards competition. Fort Worth CVB art director Troy Myatt designed the entries, which include a full-page ad that ran in The New York Times promoting Fort Worth's cultural institutions and an announcement on the FWCVB's new Washington, D.C., convention sales office. The contest attracted more than 1,500 entries from 45 destinations around the world. ... The Columbia Scholastic Press Association has awarded UTA's campus newspaper, The Shorthorn, a Silver Crown as one of the nation's best college papers. The Shorthorn also was recognized last month as the best daily college newspaper in Texas by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. ...
Kudos III ... The media kit and Web site created to trumpet Texas Wild! (texaswild.org), the Fort Worth Zoo's sprawling, needs-its-own-Zip code exhibit, were honored at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions convention. And the zoo's PR team received the FW Ad Club's Dateline Award for garnering the most positive publicity for the city and county with the Texas Wild! campaign last year. ... SPJ member Derik Moore won a Best of Category Award from the Texas School Public Relations Association for a story he wrote on an Alvarado high school teacher who received a three-book contract from a publishing company in New York. Moore, the Alvarado ISD public information officer, won a similar award last year for a crisis management plan for the school district. ... UTA Shorthorn ex Reese Dunklin was named a finalist, along with Dallas Morning News colleague Brooks Egerton, in the National Press Club's National Journalism Awards Public Service Reporting competition. The awards dinner will be April 12.
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GET A JOB
Fort Worth Sister Cities International seeks a membership/marketing coordinator. Duties range from producing the monthly Highlights publication, a quarterly newsletter and the annual report, to putting on educational membership events, to developing and maintaining a Web page. Bachelor's degree required, plus 2-3 years experience; proficiency in writing, editing, event organization and volunteer management skills preferred. Fax a resume to (817) 212-2655.
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WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS
PRSA ... Christine McCarren with Nursefinders ... Camille Crim with Harris Methodist Fort Worth ... Diane Rhodes with the Fort Worth Opera
SPJ ... Don Boren, an east Fort Worth Kwik Kopy franchisee and husband of longtime member Wanda Conlin ... Beverly Horvit, UTA journalism teacher ... Mark Horvit, Arlington Star-Telegram ... Jane Holleman, Arlington Star-Telegram ... editor Gayle Reaves-King and Dave Mann, Jeff Prince and Christy Goldfinch, all with Fort Worth Weekly ... Mitch Whitten, Renaissance freelancer ... UTA student Denise Mpinga ... Dino Chiecchi, AP Dallas
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COMINGS & GOINGS
Promotions ... two at the zoo: TCU grad and seven-year Fort Worth Zoo PR veteran Mindia Whittier, a driving force behind the award-winning Texas Wild! campaign, to communications director ... Texas A&M grad Lyndsay M. Nantz, who also worked on the Texas Wild! promotion, to communications manager
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ALL BOUND UP
"Milicent Le Sueur," by Margaret Moseley
reviewed by Patricia Ann Jones
Margaret Moseley's first novel, "Bonita Faye," introduced a kindly little lady with a penchant for murder. Then, Moseley tickled our funny bones and raised our adrenaline with her Honey Huckleberry mystery series. Now along comes Milicent Le Sueur, a psychotic bag lady who will steal your heart, but never your money.
Some folks where Milicent used to live thought that maybe she should be tested. So she up and moved to Portsmith, a town "just over the hills and through the valley." No one ever came looking for Millie, and that suits her fine. She has no idea who she is or where she hails from. Even her name is new. Appropriated it, she did, from a can of peas. Everyone in Portsmith loves Milicent and finds her colorful even though she's obsessive compulsive and blissfully neurotic, which is to say one fried chicken short of a picnic.
But she's not so loopy that she can't solve a murder.
Moseley pulls you into the story using Milicent's sense of humor, her antics, like shouting at passers-by, "WHATCHA lookin' at?" and her favorite saying, "Whoop de doo." Also, you learn that she has a home between two large trees with a magic rock between them. Every first of the month, money appears under Millie's rock, and it has to be magic unless Portsmith's police chief put it there. Now is his name Wade Tate or Tate Wade? It really doesn't matter to Millie. Then again, Miss Vinnie Ledbetter might be Millie's benefactor. Miss Vinnie allows Millie to sleep in her spare bedroom on cold winter nights even though Millie would prefer her trees in the park.
Everything was going so well until the high school girl got herself killed right near Millie's trees. Someone said, bet that crazy bag lady killed the girl. When another murder occurs, the blame again falls on Millie.
Millie's convoluted logic puts her way ahead of the local police in solving the crimes. You find yourself on the lam with Millie as she outwits both the murderer and the cops. She does have help from Gypsy, a character so finely drawn that it takes awhile to discover "her" secret.
"Milicent Le Sueur" is a finalist for the Edgar Mystery Award. Harlan Coban, author of the Edgar Award-winning Myron Bolitar series, says this tale, loaded with humor and mystery, is "for the little schizo in all of us." How true. It's magic in a bag!
Patricia Ann Jones is a published writer and literary critic for the Tulsa World. Oklahoma native Margaret Moseley lives in Fort Worth.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Kristie Aylett, APR; GFW PRSA
While in New Orleans last month, I took a break from the French Quarter to meet with Cyril Guerrero, APR. You may remember Cyril as a former Southwest District chair and longtime PRSA leader. Now he's heading the New Orleans effort to host the 2003 PRSA International Conference. This is the closest the conference has been to Fort Worth in years, and there are plenty of opportunities for the Southwest District and the Fort Worth chapter to get involved -- speakers, sponsors, attendees, etc. I'm booking my Big Easy reservation now in anticipation of good times and great professional development. I just hope they don't start the conference before noon.
But first, there's the 2002 conference in San Francisco, "Public Relations: Interpreting a World of Change and Challenge" (prsa.org), Nov. 16-19. San Fran chapter chief Peter Magnani has challenged other PRSA branches to compete for the highest percentage of members who register early. The victorious chapter wins a case (that's 12 bottles) of California wine. So register by Oct. 4 and save $100! I'll polish the glasses.
San Francisco has also offered to let other chapters keep 10 percent of the sponsorship dollars they raise. If our chapter lands a company headquartered in this area as a $5,000 sponsor, say, we keep $500. For a $50,000 sponsor, we keep $5,000. But hold your horses, folks. Before any of us approaches a company, please send a note to Bill Orr (borr@mslpr.com), who's keeping the master list of prospects. He'll check the list and tell you either to go for it or hold off because the company has already been contacted. He'll also send some message points and support information regarding sponsorship levels, benefits included at designated levels and contract guidelines, as well as instructions on how to proceed. Could be a great way to get exposure for area companies and a painless way to raise funds for our chapter.
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Cecilia Jacobs, IABC/Fort Worth
Now and then you just have to toot your own horn. That's exactly what folks did at our March getting-to-know-you luncheon. When all was said and done, I was reminded why I joined IABC 15 years ago -- to be around people who are passionate about what they do and willing to share that passion with others.
IABC/Fort Worth secretary Dan Frost presented a demographics analysis proving that our chapter has a lot going for it. Nearly half the members are managers at local corporations or in government. Chapter members represent 11 of the top 100 employers in Tarrant County, including AMR Corp., Bell Helicopter-Textron, the city of Fort Worth, RadioShack, Sabre Holdings and Alcon. More than 80 percent of the members regularly communicate with audiences up to 10,000 people, and several have national and worldwide audiences.
A third of the members boast 15-20 years in the communications business, followed by another 21 percent with 25-30 years of know-how. That amounts to a lot of expertise to draw from. And I do. I've never called an IABC/Fort Worth member for help and been turned down. Fact is, a lot of my success comes from the support of those I eat lunch with at least once a month. It's time well-spent.
Speaking of monthly luncheons, reserve April 9 for what should be a delightful time with Anne Barab. Hope to see old friends at our monthly meeting and make a few new ones. Professional communicators can't have too many. The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Petroleum Club, but a lot of us show up early for handshakes and hugs. Can't have too many of those, either.
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OVER & OUT
John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ
Fort Worth SPJ lost a friend and new member last month when Bill Swift, husband of former scholarships VP Linda Swift, died of a heart attack while on business in Houston. An outgoing, energetic, can-do type, Bill could solve a problem while others were still forming the committee to define it. He was a craftsman, skilled at restoring antique hand-crank record players and once-elegant mansions and 356 Porsches. If getting your wheelchair through the line at Birraporetti's Sunday brunch was a problem, he was the one you wanted to fill your plate. His experiences and range of interests made him a splendid conversationalist; we didn't talk nearly enough, but there would be time -- tomorrow, perhaps. We always think that, don't we? ...
Dorothy Estes, a discerning sort who has crafted enough seminars to recognize quality when it strides to the podium, couldn't quit exclaiming -- "weeks of instruction packed into one hour" -- over author-UT Austin senior lecturer Dave Garlock's lessons on interviewing at the SPJ regional meeting last month in San Antonio. You just know that Garlock is on the program for the national convention in September. And he's only the beginning. ...
Hooray for Mike Blackman, Sonny Bohanan, Robert Bohler, O.K. Carter, Wayne Carter, Ashley Cheshire, Doug Clarke, Mike Hinshaw, David House, Shirley Jinkins, Amanda Kowalski, Bob Kowalski, J.R. Labbe, Lila LaHood, Dave Lieber, Dave Mann, Kristi Payne, Jeff Prince, Gayle Reaves-King, Tom Shuford, Kristin Sullivan, Bill Teeter and Worth Wren, Jr. -- all current or former working journalists and all but five SPJ members -- for helping judge the North and East Texas Press Association competition. ...
Next time you wonder what you're doing in newspapers -- listen! Merle Haggard! "I'm proud to be in print; it (just) pays the rent" -- recall the clamor Jan. 3, when Bill Clinton's pooch Buddy went to that dog run in the Great Beyond off the fender off a teen motorist. TV news covered the first mutt's demise with the breathless vigor not experienced since the last time Channel 5 thought it might snow. Intoned a male voice on an "Inside Edition" commercial lead-in: "See where Buddy was born. And meet his parents." Honest. Sing it, Merle.