AWC 2006 Annual Professional Conference, September 14-16, 2006 Kansas City, MO
The Heart of It All
Make the most of conference professional development sessions and networking opportunities!
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Session Descriptions
Thursday, pre-session, continuing education/certification: Suzanne Shaw, William Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas
Special Events and Speakers
Opening Evening Reception, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Thursday—Get acquainted/greet old friends. The Terrace, Hyatt Regency
Opening Session, 8:30 a.m. Friday—“Let Your Life Speak,” Barbara Korner, Ph.D. interim dean, College of Fine Arts, University of Florida
Leadership Showcase Luncheon, 12:45 p.m. Friday—“Kansas City:
A City of Women Leaders,” Panel discussion by area women leaders:
Carol Marinovich, former mayor Kansas City, Kan.,
and now head of the public affairs division
of Fleishman-Hillard’s Kansas City office; Karen Messerli, mayor of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Sue Frank, mayor of
Raytown, Mo.; Annabeth Surbaugh, chair, Johnson
County (Kan.) Commission; Laura McConwell,
mayor of Mission, Kan.
AWC National Meeting, 2:15 p.m., Friday
Night Out, 6:00 p.m. Friday—A Taste of Kansas City at Union Station
AWC Awards Breakfast, 8:30 a.m. Saturday
AWC Connects, 11:15 a.m. Saturday—Chapter leaders and members connect with AWC. Attend one of these three concurrent sessions:
Programs That Rock! – What programs worked best for you this past year? Would you like to hear what programs worked for other chapters? Bring your “best programs” and best ideas to share with other AWC members.
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How to Get Members and Keep Them! – Linda Miller, professor of Communications in the Graduate School of the University of Kansas – Edwards Campus, will give us a brief overview of the mindset of the college graduate just coming into the workplace. AWC members will facilitate a Q&A session about how to bring in new members and keep them.
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How to Manage Your Chapter – Pam Valenzuela and Sarah Barlow, from ASCENT Management, will walk AWC members through the online tool called MemberClicks and give you tips on how our National office can help chapters. You’ve got questions?? Pam and Sarah have answers!!
Saturday Lunch: Headliner Award, 12:45 p.m.—Anita Parran, AWC member and associate state director for public affairs, State of Missouri, American Association of Retired Persons
Included in full conference registration. You may also register for:
Single ticket: $35
Tables of 10: $300
Matrix Foundation—Edith Wortman First Amendment Award & Blue-Ribbon Panel , 2:15 p.m. Saturday
Matrix/Clarion Awards Dinner, 7:30 p.m. Saturday—Clarion Awards presentation plus International Matrix Award Winner Karen Elliott House, former vice president Dow Jones; former publisher, The Wall Street Journal
Included in full conference registration. You may also register for:
Single ticket: $60
Tables of 10: $550
Breakout Sessions
TECHNOLOGY TRACK
“From Print to eMprint,” 9:45 a.m. Friday—Roger
Fidler, director of technology initiatives, Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, University of Missouri School of Journalism
eMprint
(short for Electronic Media Print) is a new hybrid digital publishing
platform merging features of the interactive Web with the
newspaper in a digital magazine-like format.
“What’s New and What’s Next in Communications,” 11:15 a.m. Friday—Panel led by Ann Brill, Ph.D., dean, William Allen
White School of Journalism, University of Kansas
Check out the newest technological advancements: online journalism, online advertising, e-commerce! Brill will discuss the future of communications and the new skill set for today’s journalist.
“You’ve Written Your Book, Now What? Publishing and Marketing Your Work,” 9:45 a.m. Saturday—Publications panel: AWC member Pola Firestone, owner of BookWorks, a Kansas City publishing, marketing and consulting firm, moderator; Nancy Pickard, published mystery writer (17th book published in April); Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, freelance writer, book author; and Bettye Zoller Seitz, audiobook author and audio coach
Are you a budding self-help guru, novelist or just have a great idea for a book? Come learn how to get your manuscript published. Panelists will discuss strategies for identifying the right publisher and finding a literary agent who will be excited about representing you. They will share tips and resources (and some insights into the finicky world of publishing) to help you sell your book idea as well as when self-publishing may be the right direction for you.
As Seitz observes, “Knowing what NOT to do is sometimes much more important than knowing WHAT to do.”
ENTREPRENEUR TRACK
“Gateway to New Ventures: Starting Your Business,” 9:45 a.m. Friday—Co-facilitated by Sally Smith, Smith & Associates, Inc., and Kelly Pruneau, Kansas Women’s Business Center
Discover the resources that are available to you to help you consider starting a business. Understand the pros and cons of taking on this new venture of business ownership.
“Emerging from the Crowd: Growing Your Business,” 11:15 a.m. Friday—Co-facilitated by Sally Smith, Smith & Associates, Inc., and Kelly Pruneau, Kansas Women’s Business Center
Make the connection between strategic business planning and strategic life planning. Three successful AWC entrepreneurs, Martha Piland of MB Piland Advertising and Marketing from Topeka, Kan.; Marlene Chism of ICARE Presentations from Springfield, Mo.; and Susan Voyles of Logos Communications from Detroit, Mich., will share in a panel discussion of their challenges and successes.
“The Importance of Networking and Building Alliances,” 9:45 a.m. Saturday—Denise Upah Mills, 6 Degree Solutions
It’s all about “who” you know and “what” you can do for each other. Learn how to extend your network alliances beyond a handshake. Learn to combine the “best of the best” networking ideas for a more purposeful approach to networking.
OFF TRACK
Tools to help build skills, enhance communication & support your goals
“How to Be a Successful Freelancer,”
9:45 a.m. Friday— Andrea Warren, author of ten books,
including five award-winning nonfiction books for young readers. These include Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's
True Story and Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps.
Learn how Andrea Warren has turned her memories and thoughts into a successful freelance career. Warren
bares no bones in telling it like it is—rejection slips and all!
Freedom of Information/Ethics Panel, 11:15 a.m. Friday— Charles N. Davis, Ph.D., associate professor, University of Missouri
School of Journalism, and executive director, National Freedom
of Information Coalition, moderator. Panelists: Lewis Diuguid,
vice president of community resources, The Kansas City Star;
Tonda Rush, Washington, D.C., attorney, and director of public
policy for the National Newspaper Association; Ann Gardner, Lawrence Journal-World editorial editor
Once a value taken for granted by many Americans, freedom of information (FOI) has returned to the national conversation in a huge way since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, reinvigorated the debate over secrecy and security. Panelists will discuss the issues surrounding open government, and how journalists can use government records at all levels of public life—from the federal government to the local school board—to involve the public in oversight of our elected and appointed officials.
“Life Coaching—What It’s All About,” 9:45 a.m. Saturday— Lorrie Crystal Eigles, life and career coach, Authentic Communication
Give your creative whims a life! Eigles will help us look beyond our silhouette in the mirror and steers us in the direction of new “possibilities.”