By Larry W. Graham
ESPN.com
CHICAGO — It's kind of like your first day at a new school.
You're surrounded by fresh faces. You don't know anyone. And there's a little bit of nervousness.
That's one of the things so welcoming about the Newcomers Reception at the APSE/AWSM summer conference.
"It's nice. You come in, you meet two people when you walk in the door," said Dan Woessner of Sauk Valley Media. "It's a good way to learn faces."
The program matches first-time convention attendees with some of the more veteran members. Over the course of an hour, attendees are able to mingle in a more social situation instead of being thrust head-first into the convention.
The mentees are encouraged to latch on to their mentors and ask them questions whenever they need help.
"It's something my predecessors have done, Will (Larkin) and Paul (Skrbina), and I talked to them both about it," Woessner said.
"And as a new sports editor, it's an opportunity to meet a lot of people, learn a lot of things, and you don't always get that chance in our business."
While some members are new to the convention, they may not be new to APSE. Some of the attendees, like Beaumont Enterprise sports editor Jon Styf and Daily Chronicle sports editor John Sahly, attended the grueling APSE contest judging in February.
So for them, the Newcomer Reception means something else.
"I thought it was a great chance to get to know some people and a good chance see people I met at judging, to reconnect with them, and discuss things that can help us advance as journalists," Sahly said.
The benefits of both the convention and the reception can be immediately felt. It provides a leg up on some of the workshops and more one-on-one time with some of the workshop panelists.
It puts a bit of a personal stamp on the days ahead.
"The challenge for us is how to integrate Facebook and Twitter, because they're things we've just started using and that our readership just started using," Woessner said. "It's a chance to find out what's worked and what hasn't worked.
"I'm glad I came."
