April 2008 / page 6

Top-Notch Judges Review Members’ Work

Professionals from a broad spectrum of specialties have pored over members’ entries in IWPA’s annual Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest. They examined a total of 132 entries submitted by 36 members. Award winners will have their day in the sun at IWPA’s May 17 awards luncheon. Thirty-eight first-place winners have gone on to compete nationwide, joining approximately 1,500 other contestants. National winners are announced at NFPW’s annual convention, held this year on September 11–13 in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Here is our lineup of judges for the Illinois state competition:

News – Steve Walters is the Madison Bureau Chief for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin’s largest daily newspaper, where he oversees coverage of state politics as well as Capitol politics. Previously, Steve was managing editor of the Waukesha Freeman and assistant city editor and state Capitol bureau chief at the Des Moines Register & Tribune. Steve is also a tenured lecturer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism.

Web Writing – Janice Castro teaches interactive storytelling, reporting, magazine publishing, and media management at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she is senior director of graduate education. For more than 20 years, Janice was a reporter, writer, and editor for Time magazine. She headed Time's interactive operations for five years, managing online news for Time Inc. magazines including Time, People, Fortune, Entertainment Weekly, and Sports Illustrated.

PR/Publicity/Promotion – Cheryl Procter-Rogers is president of A Step Ahead Public Relations in Lincolnshire, IL..

She counsels clients in integrated marketing communications, community relations and public affairs, strategic planning, and special events planning. Previously, Cheryl was a member of the corporate affairs team for HBO and director of public relations and advertising for Nielsen North America.

Photography – Eric Jamison is the owner of Studio J Inc., a commercial, architectural, advertising, and editorial photography studio based in Las Vegas. Eric is an intense and creative photographer who has made a name for himself within the dynamic, fast-paced Las Vegas market as a first-rate photographer of people and places.

 Books/Short Stories/Research – Russell Primm is president of Editorial Directions, Inc., a book producer and consultant providing editorial services such as concept development and project management, as well as marketing and sales consulting. Russell’s 20-year publishing career has included positions with Scholastic and the University of Chicago, and he is a member of the University of Chicago Publishing Program Advisory Board.