2019 CONVENTION INFORMATION Hotel At-A-Glance 1500 S. 48TH STREET SPRINGDALE , AR 72762 479.751.8300 Number of Guest Rooms: and Convention Center 206 of Northwest Arkansas You and your guests will find Springdale is central Meeting Space: 61,000 to a number of activities and attractions to Square Feet enhance your participants’ total event experience. Please let us know if we can make any suggestions Number of Meeting Rooms: in addition to the following recommendations. 22 Springdale is home to the Northwest Largest Meeting Room: Arkansas Naturals Baseball team, the Kansas City Royals Minor League Affiliate. Convention Center - 28,800 Arvest Ballpark is located one mile from the Square Feet Springdale Holiday Inn, the official hotel of the Naturals. Nwanaturals.com On-Site Dining Facilities: 2 Taking its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building designed by world-renowned Parking: Free, Self-Serve architect Moshe Safdie, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art boasts a Recreation Facilities: collection featuring American masterworks Aerial view of Crystal spanning five decades from the Colonial Era 24-Hour Fitness Center Bridges; photography by to contemporary times. More than 3.5 miles Adair Creative. Courtesy of of trails wind through the Museum’s 120-acre Crystal Bridges Museum site, providing guests with access to the Indoor Pool & Hot Tub of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. beautiful Ozark landscape. with Outdoor Sundeck https://crystalbridges.org/ The Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion Walking Distance to (AMP), is known as Northwest Arkansas’ Local Parks premiere outdoor concert venue, with the largest stage house in Arkansas, accommodating 9,500+ people. https://waltonartscenter.org/AMP The History of the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association and Arkansas Journalism Advisers Association The Arkansas High School Press Association (AHSPA) was founded in 1929 by the late W.J. Lemke Arkansas Scholastic Press Assoc. of the University of Arkansas. Its purpose was to improve school publications in Arkansas, to P.O. Box 492 State University, AR 72467 increase their prestige, to promote the field of journalism and to recognize outstanding achievement. Executive Board Members Fourteen high schools attended the first AHSPA convention at the University of Arkansas in Kristy Cates Fayetteville April 19-20, 1929. Lemke, the first executive secretary, immediately began a series of Executive Director & Treasurer contests each spring, held a yearly convention, published a monthly bulletin and also conducted a fall press meeting. Although yearbooks were included in AHSPA at the time, heavy emphasis was Karla Sprague President placed on the more prevalent newspapers during the conventions, with sessions offered in news, sports, feature, headline and column writing. AHSPA conventions were discontinued during World Roy Vaughn War II but were revived in 1946, with meetings at Little Rock Central High School. With the Vice President exception of 1950 and 1951, when no conventions were held, AHSPA has met every year since. Andrew Young Secretary Regional high school press meetings were organized in 1947, and the first journalism section meeting was held during the Arkansas Education Association convention in Little Rock Nov. 8, Justin Turner 1935. JEA State Director Regional Directors After Lemke’s retirement as executive secretary on the 25th anniversary of AHSPA in 1954, five teachers formed an executive board to continue the business of the association until the new Tracey Yates Thompson executive secretary, Roberta Clay of Arkansas State Teachers College at Conway (now the Northeast Region University of Central Arkansas), was appointed later the same year. She retired in 1959, and Dr. Lisa Stine David Bergin of the University of Arkansas took her place. One year later Dr. Jess Covington, also Central Region of the University of Arkansas, became executive secretary, a post he held until 1969 when the title of “executive secretary” was changed to “executive director” and Dr. William D. Downs Jr. of Trent Jones Northwest Region Ouachita Baptist University was appointed to the position until 1996. Gary Lundgren of the University of Arkansas served one year in 1997. Beth Shull served from 1998 until 2005. In the Michael Westbrook summer of 2005, Allen Loibner-Waitkus of The University of Arkansas–Pulaski Technical College Southern Region became executive director, a position he holds to this day. Members-at-Large The Arkansas High School Press Association officially changed its name to the Arkansas Scholastic Julie Fitz Press Association in 1998. The present ASPA board consists of five Arkansas Journalism Advisers Episcopal Collegiate HS, Literary Association officers, five officer-school advisers, four regional directors, one adviser from each Magazine media area and the executive director. Victor Guidry Caddo Hills HS, Newspaper Although conventions were traditionally held either at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville or at Little Rock Central High School, AHSPA officers moved the meeting to the Marion Hotel in Little Jane Andrews Wynne HS, Broadcast Rock in 1969. AHSPA also met at the Royal Vista and the Arlington hotels in Hot Springs and the Camelot Inn in Little Rock. Beginning in 1979, the convention was held at the Excelsior Hotel (later Lesley Allen the Peabody Hotel) and the Statehouse Convention Center. In 2006 the convention began Fayetteville HS, Film rotating to different convention centers and hotels around the state, including Fort Smith, Hot MacKinzy Chaney Springs, Little Rock and Rogers. Glen Rose HS, Yearbook As of July 2018, ASPA moved to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro with Kristy Cates who followed Loibner-Waitkus as executive director. TABLE OF CONTENTS DIRECTOR’S LETTER .................................................................................... 1 2019 OFFICER SCHOOLS ............................................................................. 2 CONVENTION REGISTRATION ......................................................................... 3 HOTEL INFORMATION ................................................................................... 4 ON-SITE REGISTRATION INFORMATION ........................................................... 5 ON-SITE CONTEST GUIDE ............................................................................. 7 CONVENTION SHIRT ORDER FORM ............................................................... 12 2020 OFFICER SCHOOL APPLICATION .......................................................... 13 ASPA GRADUATE SCHOLAR INFORMATION .................................................... 14 CONVENTION TENTATIVE SCHEDULE ............................................................ 16 WHAT'S NEW? This Is Important! ONLINE REGISTRATION As noted in the letter from the executive director, ASPA has a much stronger online presence this year. This packet includes forms you may print and copy if you'd like to do things the way they have always been done, but things have been simplified because of the website. You can register for convention, register for on-site contests, order T-shirts and so much more on the website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Charli Thweatt at [email protected]. SOCIAL MEDIA As you all know we have a Facebook and Twitter account, but we recently started a new Instagram account and YouTube channel. We want to share your works all over our social media accounts and website! You won’t want to miss out, so follow us now! @ArkansasScholasticPressAssociation @ASPA1929 @ArkScholasticPressAssociation @ArkansasScholasticPressAssociation NEW ASPA LOGO The new logo was created by Suvannah Sterrett from www.brandperfectdesign.com. Old Logo (c. 2017)C New Logo A NEW CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS With an updated new logo, also comes a new site feature! We are excited to announce ASPA Store now allows you or your schools to create a customer account. This will allow you to have access to your orders, save payment methods, and save time during the checkout process. So sign-up today on the ASPA website, it’s FREE! ASPYS The ASPYs is a new “red carpet” event to honor the best of Broadcast and Film categories! Visit ASPAs website for more details. 28 January 2019 Students & Advisers of Journalistic Publications Around the state of Arkansas Arkansas Scholastic Press Assoc. P.O. Box 492 State University, AR 72467 Dear Students & Advisers: Executive Board Members We are so grateful to have student voices! It is inspiring to see your writing, photos, Kristy Cates broadcasting, design, films and advertising. We are looking forward to viewing your Executive Director & Treasurer contest entries. This year we hope to give every contest entry feedback as you continue to hone your voice. We have a paid subscription to Dropbox, so we believe space is Karla Sprague available for all entries. Also, thanks to Arkansas State University, I have an intern President named Charli Thweatt who will email each school that enters--digitally or by mail letting Roy Vaughn them know exactly what ASPA received. We want contests to be as transparent and Vice President helpful to scholarly journalists and their advisers as possible. Plus, we want to celebrate the contest entries of merit during the convention. Andrew Young Secretary Justin Turner Obviously, we believe Voices Matter! That will be the theme for this year’s convention. JEA State Director Also, we want to celebrate your accomplishments as we celebrate ASPA’s 90th year. Technology