We want you to join the 2021-2022 SPJ Florida Board

It’s almost time for SPJ Florida to host its annual board elections — and we want you to run. Our programming and advocacy has earned us the title of Society of Professional Journalists’ Chapter of the Year seven times since 2010!

How did we do it? Our members asked for out-of-the-box ideas and we delivered, with journalism training incorporated into interactive games and lively networking events — all while advocating for journalists and emphasizing media literacy education for news consumers.

Though a global pandemic cancelled a slate of planned events — like our media literacy program, the Fake News Game Show — we pivoted to fit the needs of our membership, including co-organizing a virtual roundtable discussion on why journalists choose to cover certain topics, giving out college scholarships and grants to high school students and advocating for journalists.

We also sold cool T-shirts and continued the Hand Up Fund to financially support other laid-off and furloughed journalists across the state, and our board members helped set up the Race and Gender Hotline for journalists to get real-time advice on covering big topics.

With the future of journalism always uncertain, SPJ Florida needs strong leadership to continue to offer workshops and help struggling newsrooms.

If protecting the Fourth Estate is your calling, join us!

To serve on the board, you must:

• Be a member of the Society of Professional Journalists in good standing (not a member yet? Join!)
• Attend our board meetings, which are hosted every other month, either in person or virtually. Our bylaws state that a member who misses three meetings in a row can be voted off the board.
• Have a passion for journalism — our board members have been in print, digital, television, radio, freelancers, journalism/media teachers, retired journalists, college students, First Amendment advocates and more.

Positions on the board:

• President
• Past-president (not an elected post)
• Vice President
• Vice President of Programming
• Vice President of Membership
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Board of directors (six positions)
• Student representative

The election will take place on Sept. 20. Details on the method for voting will be announced soon. All chapter members in good standing are welcome to run and vote in the election.

If you would like to run for a position on the board, we’d love to hear from you. Email spjflorida@gmail.com with your intention to run, a short bio and headshot by Sept. 13.