The two-year term tenure for Amy Moritz passes at the Chicago convention, where she will become chair of the board. In anticipation of that transition, AWSM needs to elect a new president.

Stef has been a member of the AWSM board for two years handling digital media. As VP/Digital, she conceived and produced several webinars last year on various topics relating to women in sports media.

A sportswriter at The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. — which won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for its coverage of the Jerry Sandusky scandal — she is energetic and ready to lead AWSM through the opportunities and challenges in the next few years. Please take a moment to look over Stef’s letter to members that is posted below.

Hi everyone,

I’d like to run for the presidency because I see it as a way to give back to an organization that has done more for me than I could ever quantify.

I’ve always believed that AWSM’s greatest strength is its membership. We’re more than just advocates for women in sports media, we’re a support network for one another in what can often, even in 2012, be a distinctly male world. But beyond that, we’ve always set out to help upcoming generations of women find their way into our field, and I believe it’s important that they cycle continues.

Through this organization, I’ve met women whose bylines I respected long before I had faces to put to the names. Over time, many of these women have become mentors and friends. At every juncture of my career, they’ve been there for me. For support, for counsel and for friendship.

Our membership numbers have dipped in recent years — a product of a number of factors, including the recession that put thousands of journalists out of work and probably gave college students cause to think twice about getting into a profession that currently offers little stability.

Yet, hundreds of us remain, determined to persevere in sports journalism because this is the only job we’ve ever wanted.

Over the next couple of years, I believe it’s extremely important for AWSM to reach out to all these women and get our membership numbers back to what they were before.

That will be my primary focus if you elect me as your next president.

In addition, I want to expand our presence on college campuses by building a network of AWSM chapters across the country. It we can help young women jump-start their careers by finding strong mentors early on, we’ll all be better off in the long run.

I think it’s also important for AWSM to establish ourselves more as an organization that drives the conversation about women in sports. As a newcomer to the AWSM board last spring, I initiated a series of webinars about issues ranging from female pioneers to homosexuality in sports. The goal was to help develop conversations and raise awareness about issues that aren’t often discussed in the regular sports landscape. Going forward, I’d like for us to continue these dialogues, and to use our website as a vehicle to keep the issues that women face in sports alive throughout the year.

Finally, I also believe in continuing education. Our membership includes some of the best and the brightest in our profession. We have people skilled in everything from covering the Olympics to web design and I think we could all stand to pick up new skills from our colleagues regardless of where we are in our careers.

So I’d like to also come up with ways for us to share our expertise with one another beyond the workshops at the annual convention. With the Internet, there are a ton of different ways that we could do that. The webinar model, for instance, is something we could explore, and, if we get enough interest, we could also revive the regional meetup groups we’ve had on and off over the years.

I’m not a member of the pioneer generation of women’s sportswriters. I have yet to crack into a major market, and in the grand scheme of things, I’m just starting out in my career.

But I believe that I have the energy, the drive, and the heart to lead AWSM into the future. And I say that knowing, as always, that I’ll be able to count on the advice, support and experience of all the amazing women within our membership.

I’d be honored to be your next president, if you’ll have me.

Sincerely,

Stefanie Loh

Filed your taxes yet? April 17 is the federal tax deadline this year. It’s also a good time to check if you’ve let your AWSM let your membership lapse

With busy schedules and crazy deadlines, it’s easy to forget to keep your membership up to date. So here’s a friendly reminder to renew your membership with us.

April is membership drive time for the Association for Women in Sports Media!
Why is your membership important? Because you help AWSM’s efforts to support and advocate for women in sports media.  AWSM offers scholarship and internships to college students and mid-career training grants to our established members looking to enhance their skill set in the constantly changing media landscape. Without your membership, programs like this would not be possible.

Membership has its benefits. Members, for example, received discounted registration fees for our annual convention, which this year is in Chicago, June 20-23.

Registration is open now, sign up for the 2012 AWSM/APSE convention in June. We’d love to see you there!

Want to find out if your membership is up to date? It’s easy:
1. Go to the directory page
2. Click on “access the direct link here”.
3. Type in your email address and your password. If you don’t know your password, request that your password be sent to you.
4. If your membership needs to be renewed or has lapsed, the system will tell you that your email is not linked to an active membership. That will be your indication that you need to go to the “Join AWSM” page and input your information.

If you have questions about your membership standing, email AWSM President Amy Moritz (amy.moritz@awsmonline.org) or AWSM VP/Administration Alisha Hord (alisha.hord@awsmonline.org).

Sandy Rosenbush

Congratulations to Sandy Bailey Rosenbush, AWSM’s 2012 Mary Garber Pioneer Award winner.

“I’m overwhelmed by this honor,” Rosenbush said. “AWSM has been such an important force in helping to diversify the sports media, and in showing that women belong not just in this industry but also in leadership roles in it.

“In truth, we still have a long way to go. But thanks in no small part to AWSM, we are well on our way, and growing stronger every day.”

Rosenbush has been an editor and writer for some of the world’s most prominent news outlets — The Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and currently ESPN, where she has been an event news editor since 2008.

But her passion for teaching has not only made Rosenbush unique among past winners, but has enriched the lives of other journalists along with those just starting out in the profession.

“It is a pleasure to award Sandy this honor,” said Amy Moritz, AWSM president. “In every step of her career she has been a pioneer, helping to set an example that so many women have admired and strived to emulate. Sandy has not just done her job well, however. She has actively worked to create more opportunities for women and minorities in the sports media industry and to train them to shine in their roles.”

While serving as the first woman president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, in 1993 she and Leon Carter, then-chair of the National Association of Black Journalists Sports Task Force, founded the Sports Journalism Institute, designed to add to the ranks of women and minorities in the industry.

With financial backing from the Freedom Forum at its inception, SJI continues to partner with APSE and NABJ, along with AWSM and the Asian American Journalists Association. In June, SJI will welcome its 20th class to journalism “boot camp” at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

“The award is well-deserved,” said Carter, executive editor of ESPN-New York and SJI co-director. “Sandy is a terrific leader and role model. She has devoted countless hours to the Sports Journalism Institute over the past 20 years to help improve diversity numbers in sports departments. SJI is still alive today because of her.  She participates on every level of SJI — planning, scheduling, teaching, fund-raising, etc.  Many women and African Americans owe a lot to her, including me.  We are all better for the work she has done. “

Just a couple years removed from editing the student newspaper at her alma mater, the University of South Florida, Rosenbush was hired by the Washington Post’s George Solomon to work on the sports copy desk.

In her 10-year tenure there, Rosenbush advanced to deputy sports editor, working on a staff that included prominent writers Christine Brennan (2004 Pioneer winner), Sally Jenkins and Jane Leavy. She then left for the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, writing and editing sports for two years before being hired as the deputy sports editor at the New York Times.

In 1993, Rosenbush moved to Sports Illustrated as a senior editor. Over a 13-year career, she rose to assistant managing editor, making her mark as the Olympics editor and the editor in charge of SI Presents, producing special and commemorative publications. Rosenbush was also the startup editor for the groundbreaking and now-defunct SI for Women.

Rosenbush left Sports Illustrated in 2006 to become a New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching fulltime for two years in the city’s public school system, before returning to sports at ESPN, where she works with event crews covering mostly college football, basketball and pro tennis.

Rosenbush, who has lived in Brooklyn for nearly 20 years, is married to Rich Rosenbush, editor of the Daily Racing Form. They have three children, Katy, Kyle and Emma.

The Mary Garber Pioneer Award, AWSM’s highest honor, recognizes those who have paved the way and serve as role models for women in sports media. The award has been given annually since 1999 to those who have distinguished themselves in the field while reflecting and advancing the values and mission of AWSM.

It was renamed the Mary Garber Pioneer Award in 2006 to honor one of the industry’s original pioneers. Rosenbush will be honored during the Mary Garber Pioneer Award winner lunch at AWSM’s national convention. The 2012 Convention, held in conjunction with APSE, will be held from June 20-23 in Chicago.

Past Mary Garber Pioneer Award winners:

• 1999: Lesley Visser
• 2000: Claire Smith
• 2001: Michele Himmelberg
• 2002: Tracy Dodds
• 2003: Melissa Ludtke
• 2004: Christine Brennan
• 2005: Cathy Henkel
• 2006: Kristin Huckshorn
• 2007: Julie Ward
• 2008: Mary Schmitt Boyer
• 2009: Linda Robertson
• 2010: Julie Cart
• 2011: Rosa Gatti

For Members of the Association for Women in Sports Media

Deadline: Nov. 20, 2011

The Association for Women in Sports Media wants to help ensure its mid-career members have
the skills and knowledge to adapt to the challenging and evolving media landscape and meet their
career goals. Through funding from an Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation grant,
AWSM will provide mid-career training grants of up to $1,500 to deserving AWSM members.

For your application to be considered, you must supply all of the following:
* A completed two-part application form.
* A resume including your professional experience, formal education, professional development
seminars or workshops, or other relevant training experiences.

Applicants must also be current members of AWSM with up-to-date dues and fees.
If you are unsure of your status, contact Alisha Hord at ahord@sportingnews.com.

All materials must be received by Nov. 20, 2011.
Email: colleen.mcdaniel@pilotonline.com
Ground mail: Colleen McDaniel, sports editor, The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave.,
Norfolk, VA 23510

Questions:
Colleen.McDaniel@pilotonline.com
Applicants will be notified by Jan. 1, 2012.

Here’s the application form: Midcareer2011