SCHAUMBURG, IL - The Illinois Woman's Press Association, an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW), honored 30 members for 83 winning entries in the 2007 Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest at its May 19 Awards Luncheon at the Union League Club in Chicago.

The 37 1st place entries have gone on to NFPW for national judging. Results will be announced at the September 20-22 conference in Richmond, VA. This competition recognizes excellence in communications and covers a wide range of categories in print and electronic media, books, photography, advertising and public relations.

Cecilia Green, Director of Public Relations for Turnaround Management Association in Chicago, was the winner of the Silver Feather Award for achieving the highest number of points among all the entrants. She received four 1st place awards, one 2nd place and one honorable mention for her entries in the news reporting, public relations, public service programs, audiovisual and annual report categories.

A total of 130 entries were submitted for state judging. The most competitive categories were in web writing, news writing and public relations/advertising/research.

The slate of judges this year were:

• News: Steven Walters is Capitol bureau chief for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin's largest newspaper, and a tenured lecturer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism. Earlier in his career, he was managing editor of the Waukesha (Wis.) Freeman daily newspaper and a reporter and editor for the Des Moines (Iowa) Tribune. He is a former president of the Des Moines Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and was a founding member of the Association of the Capitol Reporters & Editors.
• Web: Gregory J. Downey is Associate Professor with a 50 percent appointment in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a 50 percent appointment in the School of Library and Information Studies. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in computer science from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, an M.A. in liberal studies from Northwestern University, and a joint Ph.D. in history of technology and human geography from the Johns Hopkins University.
• Public Relations/Advertising/Research: Cheryl Procter Rogers, APR, Fellow PRSA, 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, special events planning, and other areas. Previously, Rogers was a member of the corporate affairs team for Home Box Office (HBO), a public relations consultant in the Chicago area and director of public relations and advertising for Nielsen North America. In 2006, she was the national president and chief executive officer of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
• Photography: Eric Jamison is owner of JStudio, Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is an intense and creative photographer who has already made a name for himself within the dynamic and fast-paced Las Vegas market as a first-rate photographer of people and places.
• Books: Judy Brownfield is owner of an independent bookstore, Books at Sunset, in Elgin, Illinois. Active in the business network and the community, she received the Northern IL Bookseller of the Year Award in 2001, the Elgin Image Award in 2003, Literacy Recognition from the ROPE program in 2004, and the Education's Business Partner of the Year and YWCA Leader Award in Business in 2005.

IWPA is the Illinois affiliate of NFPW, an organization that offers networking and professional development, and is dedicated to professional excellence and the highest ethical standards in the communications field, and to the rights and responsibilities of the First Amendment. For more information about IWPA, call the Illinois Woman's Press Association Hotline, 312/458-9151, or visit the IWPA Web site, http://www.iwpa.org.

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