by Val Ensalaco, President
Photo Ops and Clips from the NFPW Conference
by Val Ensalaco, President
When I left home on August 27 with plans to end my vacation at the NFPW Annual Conference in Lexington, Kentucky beginning September 9, the weather was overcast, but not threatening. After a few days in southeastern Illinois, my husband and I traveled to eastern North Carolina for a stay with family members who live on the banks of the Pamlico River. By now, Hurricane Frances was heading inland toward Florida (where we also have family) and we decided perhaps we'd make the trip from Washington, North Carolina to Lexington, Kentucky in two days rather than one because it had already started pouring down rain and the winds were heavy. As it turned out, we needed those two days. I'll spare you the details of our adventure but I will tell you that from Florida through Ohio and all points between, many attending the conference had some weather-related experiences to share. Some conference attendees arrived late. Some registrants didn't get there at all. Some attendees showed photos with award-winning potential of how weather recently altered their lives.
Last year after the national conference, I shared with you that NFPW's strategic plan was a mirror image to IWPA's plans. At their business meeting, changes were voted to NFPW bylaws. We'll soon be submitting a complete revamp of ours to our IWPA members. We've seen the improvement in Agenda, national's newsletter, as well as some of their other printed materials. PenPoints will get a new look before too long and in the meantime, you will be seeing some new features which are designed to not only be informative but to give visibility to gender specific issues in the various fields of communication.
NFPW's concern about increasing membership has resulted in some good deals, especially for students... as you'll see in another part of this newsletter. With retention of members another concern, NFPW is making a focused effort to learn what their members want and need in programs and benefits. Recently you received a survey that was designed to help IWPA meet your needs. We hope you gave the questionnaire your immediate attention. As always, we invite you to contact any board member if and when you have concerns, questions, comments, and ideas to share with us. We need to hear from you. Your feedback will help with the revamping of PenPoints and the planning of programs that will interest the diversity of IWPA members.
Cameras flashed when Pearl Serbus, one time member and past president of IWPA, received her 60-year membership award. She is the founder and past president of POPPS, Parlay of Past Presidents. Cameras flashed all evening at both the Communicator of Achievement Awards Banquet on Friday and the Communications Contest (Farewell) Banquet on Saturday. Cecilia Green, IWPA's COA, wore a unique corsage created by a shop in the hotel that specializes in making hats for the Kentucky Derby. Cecilia will affix her floral piece to one of her "red hat" head toppers. The 2004 national COA is Mary Kimbrough from St. Louis, Missouri. The runner up is Ann Faragher of Greenville, Texas. More information is on the NFPW web site under News.
A topic of interest at the national conference was responsibility in reporting whether working for a newspaper, magazine or doing in-house communications. Just as a reminder to IWPA members, NFPW sponsors affordable, state-of-the-art media liability insurance. "Anyone who is in the business of gathering and disseminating information incurs potentially significant liability exposures, particularly in this age of heightened media scrutiny" warns NFPW. Contact the national office for more information.
I hear the word bipolar a lot lately. No, no... it's not my diagnosis, it's my observation of certain goings-on. We say one thing sometimes and then do another. For instance, at the conference I attended a session entitled Politics, Privacy and the Press with Polly Judd, city council candidate and mother of Naomi, grandmother of Wynona and Ashley. Also on the panel was Tanya Pullin, Kentucky state legislator and Rita Henley Jensen, editor-in-chief of Women's eNews. The room was overflowing. The panelists talked about exchanging private lives for public fame.
I'd love to tell you all about Polly Judd's comments because she has a family of well-known women who have made the press (ahem)... but maybe we'll do that another time. You probably already know all that dirt anyway, but some of it is not as represented in the media. Instead I'll tell you about Ms. Pullin, an attractive young woman who was a dark horse (no-hoper) in her race for a seat in government and when she won, the local newspaper printed a horrible candid photo of her, face contorted. She told the group it was still bothering her three years later. We saw the photo. She was right! It seemed purposely mean in announcing: Here's your new state legislator! Think twice about using an unflattering photo, please.
Ms. Pullin also told about being prepped for a colonoscopy, lying on a cart in the hall outside the room where the test would be performed, in her hospital gown, already mildly sedated. A man walked by, recognized her, and engaged her in conversation: "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, Tanya..."
This being said, here's what was observed around the conference hotel: Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell (and a few other celebs) were guests in the hotel during the time of our conference and that of another group. They were filming in Lexington. They had absolutely no privacy in public areas and were frequently interrupted by badge-wearing hotel guests (and others) who insisted on taking pictures, including close ups in the elevators. Some people just can't resist the urge, can they? Handing a camera to someone willing to aid and abet, bold "fans" walked up to these famous people to have their pictures snapped as if everyone will believe they're long-time friends. Kurt and Goldie were well prepared for the loss of privacy. They walked away. Miss Pullin, much aware of Katie Couric's earlier and brave photo session, had to grin and bear it (pun intended) in her designer hospital gown and chauffer-driven cart. She was about to meet a deadline! No pictures for public viewing this time. So much for photo ops.
P.S. The loss of her husband to colon cancer inspired Katie Couric to encourage people to have colonoscopies and although talk show hosts sensationalized the public recording of the event, please know I am not making light of a courageous act to help save lives. This was a commendable act of public service, never done before to my knowledge, by a celebrity who could possibly influence her audiences to engage in prevention and health maintenance practices.