In the interim consider the following opportunities:

1. The McDonald Award - the annual award recognizes the outstanding national SCJ Chapter; in addition to a walnut plaque, the recipient also has the chapter name and date of award added to the archival records.

2. The Barker Award - this award, now in its second year, recognizes the contributions of an adviser to an active SCJ Chapter. IT is the adviser who creates a climate of achievement and a tradition for an SCJ Chapter. If you care about SCJ and your chapter, recruit an excellent adviser and nurture that individual.

3. The SJYA - can't quite get the acronym out of it, BUT this award carries a stipend as well as the usual plaque - five hundred dollars is awarded annually to the Society's Outstanding Student Journalist. Since 1996, this award has graciously been made available by the National Dean's List.

Fliers describing the entry process are available with this newsletter as well as on the SCJ Website. I know the deadline looms, but deciding to enter, and supplying the necessary supporting data does not take that long. I encourage you to compete for these prestigious awards. They are the core of our being as an honorary organization - providing recognition of excellence, achievement and outstanding service. Awards also bring recognition of the Society, its chapter's presence on campus, and the work of individuals within the community. If you are chapter building winning a major award provides good foundation material.

AND don't overlook our other award services from the National Office.

Each active SCJ Chapter is entitled to presentation of two Certificates of Merit each year. They are 8x10 parchment awards with the individual or organization name in Gothic. There is NO charge for this award.

Last, there is the Medal of Merit, a ribbonned medallion suitable for engraving on the back of the metal SCJ Logo. There is a twelve dollar charge for this Medal which simply defrays the cost of the medal: limit, one per year per chapter.

So while you await the SCJ National Contest awards outcomes, reward your own membership with some of our other available means of recognition.

Starting a chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists is fairly easy. Keeping the chapter from becoming inactive is the challenge.

The key factor in keeping your SCJ chapter alive is to keep the students interested in the communications field, and the foundation for doing so is to provide a monthly newsletter exposing them to your campus’s different media organizations and your SCJ chapter.

Many journalism and mass communication students here at Lock Haven University don’t even realize the opportunities that lay before them because they are blind to what actually goes on within the different media organizations here. I have even overheard some upperclassmen in the department utter, "We have a radio station?" Now come on, you’re a communications major.

The first step in creating your newsletter is to figure out what will be in it. Find representatives from the media on your campus to write monthly updates as to what that club/organization has been doing lately. You’ll find that they will be very happy to sing their own praises, just be careful they don’t hit too high of a note.

You will also need to think of a good name for it (The SCJ Newsletter won’t cut it) and add some other features like career planning, internship opportunities and available journalism scholarships.

The front and back of an 8½ x 11 sheet of paper will be plenty of space for your newsletter, but feel free to expand for your ambitious individuals. Also, you don’t have to limit your circulation to just journalism majors; others on campus may be interested in the happenings of you campus media.

Adam Earnheardt is responsible for creating and maintaining the SCJ Website.

He currently serves the Society for Collegiate Journalists as webmaster and technology advisor, and was recently honored with the SCJ President's Award. The President's Award, presented by SCJ president Dr. William Lawbaugh, recognizes significant contributions to the society.

Earnheardt was also a member of the Clarion University Admissions Office until a recent promotion to University Webmaster. He served on the steering committee that helped renovate the existing Clarion University web site.

"I enjoy creating good looking web sites... webs that are easy to use," said Earnheardt. "Navigation is a huge issue in web development today. I hope that the SCJ web site is easy to navigate. We've tested the site in hopes of creating the most 'user-friendly' environment."

Earnheardt encourages SCJ chapters to contact him with individual websites.

• Western Maryland College, MD - 6 new members

• Wartburg College, IA - 12 new members

Welcome to the SCJ Family

… a URL is a terrible thing to waste.

Although this chapter has accomplished much this year, our greatest accomplishment was assisting in the formation of the new national recruiting and retention program. Under the direction of Dr. Ruehlmann, members of this chapter assisted me in making a tips list and information sheet for current chapters to use in recruiting prospective chapters.

Melissa Harris, 2000 graduate from VWC and previous SCJ Journalist of the Year, aided in this process. She included a letter that told of the individual and group benefits of having a SCJ chapter.

Five members of this chapter attended the National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C. in November. Melissa Harris also joined this group to present the recruiting and retention program. The group left the convention with support for the program and innovative ideas to bring to our college media mediums.

Currently, this chapter is involved in recruiting Christopher Newport University to start a SCJ chapter on their campus. Kelly Rust is leading a committee of three members to begin the recruiting process.

This chapter has been actively involved nationally, but has also done work on the local level. Last semester, two members of this chapter interviewed a candidate for a new communications faculty position. Additionally, twelve members of this chapter attended the Virginia Beach Forum to hear Bob Woodward from the Washington Post speak.

The chapter has participated in a club fair and a fall festival to publicize for the various college media mediums available to students. At each event, a table was set up with examples from the newspaper, yearbook, and literary magazine. Also, Linda DeRosa is working on a local web page for this chapter.

A middle school student from Norfolk Academy, Elissa Harwood, is enrolled in Dr. Ruehlmann’s Introduction to Journalism class this semester. She is the current editor of her middle school newspaper and has attended VWC’s Journalism Workshop class to learn more. She shadowed news editor and SCJ member Kara Francis and received some valuable tips from features editor and SCJ member Kelly Rust.

Twelve members were inducted into this chapter last semester and the chapter is preparing to induct thirteen members this March. Although we have fifteen graduating members, eighteen will remain to keep the chapter strong next year. Elections will be held in March for the 2001-2002 officer board.

The chapter has several events planned for the rest of the semester to include: a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the Newseum, a picnic on Reading Day, and sponsoring news reporter Joe Flanagan as a speaker in March. He will speak to students in the Journalism Workshop class, but the event will also be open to the entire campus community.

The SCJ Reporter

Editor: Mary Beth Curry