For Immediate Release:

Contact:
Christine DiGangi, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-927-8000 ext. 205, cdigangi@spj.org

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Dana Neuts, freelance writer/editor and Region 10 Director of the http://www.spj.org/, has been named the Regional Director of the Year. The award was announced at the SPJ President’s Installation Banquet at Excellence in Journalism 2012 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Neuts is the first Region 10 director to receive the award since its inception in 2001. The award honors a regional director who serves and contributes to his or her region in the most outstanding fashion during the previous year and is based primarily on nominations and letters of recommendation. Annual reports from the chapters in the region may also impact the selection process. Region 10 comprises six professional chapters and eight student chapters in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

When presenting the award, outgoing president John Ensslin praised Neuts for her exceptional passion and organizational skills as a regional director.

“Dana is one of those people who when she says she can do something, you can take it to the bank,” Ensslin said.

Neuts has been a member of SPJ since 2005 and served on several of the Society’s committees. She previously chaired the Freelance Committee while editing and publishing iLoveKent.net and iLoveCovington.com, hyperlocal community news sites she owns. She works from Kent, Wash., and is a past president of the Western Washington Pro chapter.

“I’m not here because of me, I’m here because of my colleagues,” Neuts said to the banquet attendees. “I’m just stunned, and I’m honored. Thank you very much.”

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

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