NEW SPJ GEORGIA CHARTER MEMBERS

Welcome to the new charter members of SPJ Georgia! Don’t forget that YOU CAN JOIN SPJ Georgia as a charter member and further your journalistic ambitions and the industry in Georgia.

• Ilene Heller, freelance editor

 

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH SPJ GEORGIA

Almost a year has passed since we planted the seeds of SPJ Georgia – or should I say beans since we did meet at Starbucks.

We had a vision of bringing SPJ to the state of Georgia and connecting journalists from across platforms. I had never been a part of an SPJ chapter, but I was excited to begin one.

In January 2014, we officially founded the Georgia chapter of SPJ.

Almost nine months have passed, and we’re on the right track. SPJ Georgia now has more than 50 members from Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Kennesaw and more. We’re about to attend our first Excellence in Journalism national conference as a chapter; at the last conference in Anaheim, Calif., we weren’t even a thought.

We’re also happy to partner with the Atlanta chapter of the Online News Association (ONA) for our first joint event (scroll down to read more about this in our “Upcoming Events” section). The panel on social media, along with a mixer, will be on the evening of Sept. 18 in Atlanta. We would love for you to join us to learn about social media and to meet our colleagues at ONA, whose Atlanta chapter began around the same time SPJ Georgia did.

All in all, SPJ Georgia has blossomed faster than I could have ever imagined. None of that is possible without you, our members. So please let us know if you have any suggestions for events or anything SPJ Georgia can do to better serve you. Want to get experience planning an event? Or looking to spearhead a project? Let us know at spjgeorgia@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who has made SPJ Georgia a success. Hope to see you at our social media panel in September!

-Adina Solomon, SPJ Georgia interim board member

 

SPJ GEORGIA MEMBER NEWS

SPJ Georgia member Lindsay Gladu, a freelancer, has become SPJ Georgia’s new social media coordinator. She will run the chapter’s social media presence, including its Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Congratulations to SPJ interim board member Sharon Dunten on being named SPJ national’s August volunteer of the month! Sharon helped create SPJ Georgia. Read more about her here.

If you would like to share news about an SPJ Georgia member, please email spjgeorgia@gmail.com.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS & CONTESTS

Sept. 4-6: SPJ Excellence in Journalism national conference is held in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Opryland Hotel.

Sept. 18: SPJ Georgia is partnering with the Atlanta chapter of the Online News Association (ONA) for a social media panel. Mingle with journalists from SPJ and ONA and learn about social media from four experts. Taco Mac, 573 Main St NE, Atlanta. For more details and to RSVP, email spjgeorgia@gmail or go to http://www.meetup.com/ONA-Atlanta/

Continuing: SPJ national revises its Code of Ethics.

 

BOARD MEETING REVIEW

On Aug. 5, the SPJ Georgia interim board met via Google Hangout. Sharon Dunten, Phelps Hawkins, Marsha Walton, Jason Meucci, Adina Solomon and Devika Rao were in attendance.

The following are highlights of the Aug. 5 interim board meeting:

• SPJ Georgia is looking at creating an online survey of members to get a gauge of what they want to see from the organization.
• SPJ Georgia discussed partnering with universities.
• SPJ Georgia’s next goal is get chapter bylaws approved.

The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. at a location to be determined. Please contact spjgeorgia@gmail.com if you want to attend the meeting. Please note that all records are open to SPJ Georgia members upon request.