My hat is off to Hugh Aynesworth, president of the Press Club of Dallas, Tony Pederson and the entire group of journalists, teachers and others who have donated untolled hours of strategic planning, hard work and precious time to bring the Press Club of Dallas back to a position of respect. I have followed the activities of PCD since joining a few years back and like everyone else, was horrified at the scandal of 2007.  But that's over. Working for thousands and thousands of hours combined, so many  have brought the Press Club of Dallas back on its feet, standing tall again.

Kudos to Gloria Campos and Cheryl Hall for taking on the chairmanship of the 2008 Katie Awards.  Their personal message says it best. It's here, taken from PR Newswire.

Press Club of Dallas Announces 2008 Katie Awards

[ PR Newswire  ·  2008-07-24 ]

Integrity, Transparency and Competing Against the Best

DALLAS, July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A message from Gloria Campos, anchor WFAA- TV Channel 8 and Cheryl Hall, business columnist The Dallas Morning News:

It's with great pleasure that we announce the launch of the 2008 Katie Awards from the Press Club of Dallas.

This will be the 50th Katie Awards competition and the first since it was cancelled in 2007, when judging improprieties were discovered.

Since then, the Press Club of Dallas Foundation, which oversees scholarships generated by the Katies, has worked arduously with the Press Club to restore integrity to the competition.

As board members of the Foundation, we have taken this endeavor on as a personal crusade. We staunchly believe in both missions of the Katies: to help college students pay for degrees in media-related fields and to honor the best work by those already in the media.

We intend to restore the Katie Awards contest to its past glory. The key to success will be transparency and judges of the highest qualifications.

Stunning Banquet

The annual presentation banquet will be held in conjunction with the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the venue will be the Sixth Floor Museum, in downtown Dallas on Nov. 15.

Our keynoter will be Hugh Aynesworth, an internationally recognized expert on the assassination and its aftermath. He stepped in to help save the Press Club as its president.

Although the competition is scaled back from previous years, we believe you will find it is as prestigious as ever. Exemplary judges, primarily from the respected Poynter Institute, have agreed to carefully review the entries.

Tony Pederson, Professor and Belo Distinguished Chair in Journalism at Southern Methodist University, has done yeoman's work in crafting the categories to give the broadest entry possibilities in all major areas of media. We believe the best of the best will shine even brighter.

The categories are finely tuned to honor the most critical aspects in media today - both new media and traditional. So if the categories you might have entered in previous years are missing, look for others that your work might qualify for.

(Photo of the late Det. Paul Bentley with Hugh Aynesworth at the national screening of Oswald's Ghost at The Texas Theatre in October 2007. Photo by MK Semos. I chose this photo because of the connection: Det. Bentley was the officer who arrested Lee Harvey Oswald at the Texas Theatre.) 

Free Entries

To encourage participation and to make up for past judging transgressions, we're offering two free entries to individuals who entered in the past two competitions. Media outlets will be allowed to make two free entries for each category previously entered.

Additional entries and entries by those who did not participate in the 2005 and 2006 competitions remain at $40.

Key Dates

-- Entries must be submitted by Friday, August 22, 2008

-- Finalists will be announced about October 1, 2008

-- Banquet will be held on November, 15, 2008. Additional details can be found at www.PressClubDallas.com or www.KatieAwards.com.

The downside of offering free entries is that it will unfortunately reduce the amount of money the event generates for scholarships. In fact, if everyone who qualifies takes advantage of this offer, we will be fortunate to break even.

So with hat in hand, we'd also like to ask those who value our mission of providing scholarships to forgo this free offer and pay the normal fee.

We promise that every statue handed out during the awards banquet will truly represent excellence. In addition, top leadership of the Club and the Foundation will abstain from the competition. Those who have experienced a special year and enter the competition will not be involved in judging or the banquet.

Limited Seating

We also promise that the banquet, while limited in the number of seats available, will be first class in every aspect, including excellent food, libations and company. By reducing the number of categories to focus solely on working media, the program should move at a much quicker pace.

As co-chairs of this half-century competition, we entreat you to support the Katie Awards, one of the most attractive awards in journalism and communications.

Thank you,

Gloria and Cheryl

Co-chairs of the 2008 Katie Awards

SOURCE  Press Club of Dallas

07/24/2008

CONTACT:  Hugh Aynesworth, President, Press Club of Dallas,

+1-214-358-0666/

Web site: http://www.PressClubDallas.com

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