SALT LAKE CITY – Four days of exchanging ideas and honoring professional achievements came to an end Saturday night with applause, handshakes and embraces in the crowded hallway of a hotel ballroom.
The 37th annual Associated Press Sports Editors convention concluded with a banquet at the Salt Lake City Marriott City Center. Outgoing president Garry D. Howard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was feted and new president Phil Kaplan of the Knoxville News Sentinel ascended to the top spot. New second vice president Gerry Ahern of Yahoo! Sports and third vice president Ben Brigandi of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette were introduced. An awards ceremony honoring the winners of the organization’s 2009 contest for writing, sections and websites immediately followed.
Interaction was a common theme throughout the convention, which began Wednesday. Veteran APSE members served as mentors to first-time attendants such as Jason Gonzalez of the Antelope Valley Press in Palmdale, Calif. and Julie Jag of the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel. The exchange of ideas and knowledge was both rewarding and overwhelming.
“It’s amazing the amount of knowledge here,” Jag said. “It’s been such a learning experience and a confidence booster. You just feel the passion.”
Both Gonzalez and Jag said they appreciated the Red Smith luncheon Friday that honored Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and benefited from attending specific sessions over the course of four days.
“I enjoyed the perfect game story session,” Gonzalez said. “I’m associate sports editor and to hear how these editors interact with their writers and go beyond made an impact on me.”
APSE made a good impression on Gonzalez and Jag and accomplished what otherwise could not be done without bringing everyone together in one setting.
“Everything APSE does is first class,” Gonzalez said. “They come together under one roof to share what’s on their minds and in their hearts. It makes you want to excel in what you do.”
The convention was just as beneficial to members who have attended for a variety of years. Jeff Rosen of the Houston Chronicle said he remembered what it was like to first attend in the late ‘90s and is just as encouraged by meeting newcomers as he is by the company of long-time members.
“I like coming here and seeing younger people attend,” Rosen said. “They care about their journalism. That’s extremely gratifying.”
Making conventions a reality requires much effort in scheduling professional and leisure activities. The overall experience in Salt Lake City was “extremely well organized,” Rosen said.
“It’s a minor miracle that it comes together as well as it does every year,” he said. “The selection of workshops I think was outstanding. The extracurricular activities Michael [Anastasi, Managing Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune] put together were top notch.”
Attending conventions since 2003 has made for a growing collection of notes and new knowledge from sessions for Mike Sherman of The Oklahoman. Just as sports journalism and the profession in general is changing, Sherman said APSE is also changing and must continue to do so to address the issue of declining membership and convention attendance.
“It’s the finest professional developmental organization for sports writers and editors that there is,” he said. “We’re going to have to evolve…make it more affordable for people to come. We need to look at more ways to involve writers but it’s an editors organization first.”
The convention also creates optimism for the future of APSE and the profession, starting with the strong leadership of recent APSE presidents.
“It gives us a lot of hope that the industry will survive,” said Dennis Rudner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “There are brilliant people out here who are trying new and innovative things. We’re certain to put out a better product.”
Incoming president Kaplan said APSE will continue the legacy Howard started and needs to “explore as many options as possible” in the coming years.
APSE meets in Boston for the 2011 convention.
