FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/4/14

Contacts:
Tara Puckey, SPJ Chapter Coordinator, 317-920-4784, tpuckey@spj.org
Taylor Carlier, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785, tcarlier@spj.org

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Society of Professional Journalists honored the SPJ Florida Pro and Cincinnati Pro chapters as Chapters of the Year today at Excellence in Journalism 2014 in Nashville, Tenn. The Society annually honors two chapters, a large chapter of 75 or more members and a small chapter of fewer than 75 members, for their commitment to SPJ’s mission and exceptional chapter programming.

Large chapter: Florida Pro
The Florida Pro chapter has gone above and beyond to connect outside of SPJ by annually teaming up with various journalism organizations, such as the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, for a co-hosted event. Also, the chapter has found ways to incentivize membership by giving away an iPhone app as part of their chapter’s membership.

Among its great programming, the chapter has hosted zombie workshops, co-produced Freedom of Information workshops and continually maintained a job bank for journalists.

Small chapter: Cincinnati Pro
The Cincinnati Pro chapter had a year of growth through its events. The chapter single-handedly hosted multiple well-attended events ranging from a “Journalism Cabaret” night to a session on Freedom of Information and working with public information officers.

But, the chapter found even more success through its outreach to journalism students in the area by staging an internship program event for 40 students, making a scholarship fund and conducting a “Lunch with the Pros” session.

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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