Florida Press Club

Congratulations on surviving another election, Florida Press Club members! Now it’s time to push away the remnants of cold newsroom pizza—that trended Tuesday on Twitter, by the way—and celebrate our Florida Press Club winners Saturday in Malabar (near Melbourne). While there, you can eat a delicious hot meal, unwind from campaign season and find out the Excellence in Journalism winners before anyone else. We had a few more seats open up for this festive occasion, so please email Sherry (if you haven’t already) at fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com to ensure you have a seat!

The cost is $40. You’ll get to hear from Florida Today’s Jeff Meesey, who will talk about digital efforts, as well as Sun Sentinel’s Anne Geggis, who will share tips on how she won last year’s $1,000 Frances DeVore prize. There will be a delicious meal of either chicken or fish (with a vegetarian meal on demand) and a cash bar. So let’s come together and recognize our winners at this fun location on the Indian River!

Thank you to all of our registrants!

Who: Florida Press Club members at the 61st Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards Banquet

What: Dinner and awards ceremony for $40 (paid by cash or check—no credit cards please)

Where: Yellow Dog Café in Malabar, near Melbourne (here: http://yellowdogcafe.com/outsidephotos#jumptotitle)

When: Registration is at 6 p.m. Dinner is served at approximately 7 p.m.

Why: First of all, you’ll know the winners first. You’ll eat great food (chicken, fish or a vegetarian option upon request); listen to knowledgeable speakers; and network with journalists, editors, artists, designers and photographers from around the state.

Attire is semiformal/dressy casual, meaning no jeans please, but you can come without a tie.

Florida Press Club’s 61st Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards Banquet is Nov. 10, and RSVPs are slowly but surely trickling in. The banquet is the place to find out first whether you’ve won first, second or third place.

Journalists like to cut it close; we know that as journalists ourselves! However, to ensure the correct amount of food, we want to provide a financial incentive. Register on or before Nov. 5 by emailing fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com and the banquet costs $37 per person; after that, it is $40 at the door. Because the economy has affected you (and us), we are offering at cost a stunning location, delicious food and great conversations with journalists from around the state, so register—at the latest—Monday. You’ll be glad you did because we have an immense amount of fun together!

Email fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com.

Who: Florida Press Club members at the 61st Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards Banquet


What: Dinner and awards ceremony for $37 by Nov. 5; $40 afterward paid by cash or check (no credit cards please)

Where: Yellow Dog Café (Look at this deck we have all to ourselves!) in Malabar, near Melbourne

When: Registration is at 6 p.m. Dinner is served at approximately 7 p.m.

Why: First of all, you’ll know the winners first. You’ll eat great food (chicken, fish or a vegetarian option upon request), listen to a great speaker, and network with journalists, editors, artists, designers and photographers from around the state.

Attire is semiformal/dressy casual, meaning no jeans please, but you can come without a tie!

Our 2012 finalists can be found on this Google Doc: 2012 Finalists.

Note: Please remember that these are not in order either by award or class. Judges had the right to remove entries from consideration or combine classes, per the official rules of the 2012 Excellence in Journalism Competition. Also, we had a couple winners “sweep” a class this year, so to keep things interesting, we tried not to duplicate winners’ names on the finalists list—unless there’s a second name on the byline. Please notify us immediately if a change is needed in a name and/or news organization.

Some judges wrote comments, which will be available via email a week after the banquet. Questions? Comments? Email fpcpresident[at]gmail[dot]com.

Even if you are not a finalist, feel free to hang out with us at Yellow Dog Café in Malabar, near Melbourne, Fla., Nov. 10. You asked, we listened: This year we are saving our newspaper organizations—and ourselves—hidden resort fees and apathetic service by reserving a beautiful restaurant on the Indian River. Cost: $37 per person on or before Nov. 5 or $40 afterward. In order to know how much food we should order, we need to have your RSVP no later than Monday, Nov. 5 (however, we may have a spot or two open later on a first-come, first-served basis; just check).

Congratulations to our finalists and participants!