Text from 2011-12 APSE President Michael Anastasi's farewell address delivered Saturday at the awards banquet to conclude the APSE/AWSM Summer Conference in Chicago:
Good Evening …
A year ago, as I became President of this organization, I stood before you, announced the creation of APSE’s Diversity Fellowship
Program, and said it was my dream to see its first graduates joining us here in Chicago.
They are.
Ed Guzman, Carrie Cousins, Adena Andrews — please stand. Congratulations on completing the program, and I truly wish you the
best in your future endeavors. I know that whatever they are, you are excellent leaders, and you will succeed.
These journalists worked extraordinarily hard over the past nine months. I am privileged to have come to know them better, and I am
proud of them. From our time in Indianapolis, to Orlando, to now, Chicago, to their work in the classroom, at region meetings, to
preparing seminars, to judging, to working with the students of the Sports Journalism Institute, they have come so far. And I look
forward to them helping APSE continue to propel this program forward.
Please come up and accept your diplomas.
I would like to thank and recognize my family, who have been unwavering in their support of me and of APSE — my wife Julie, my
daughters Alexandra and Grace.
For the third consecutive year — and I hope this continues as an APSE tradition under the new officers — I ask for all of the spouses of the sports journalists who are here to stand and allow us to recognize you.
I would like to thank The Salt Lake Tribune, Digital First Media, MediaNews Group, Joe Baird and my bosses, Nancy Conway and Dean Singleton, whose support of APSE and of me and of sports journalism also has been unwavering.
I must thank all of those who have served the organization over the past year, in ways both large and small. So many do so much behind the scenes for this great organization. I mentioned just a few in the
program. There are many more.
I am proud of the Diversity Fellowship Program, am pleased we launched our online diverse candidate listings bank, have adopted and published a formal statement of our beliefs, and have partnered, for the first time, on a joint conference with the Association for Women in Sports Media. I believe this is a partnership with great promise.
I congratulate Stefanie Loh, AWSM’s new president, and thank past presidents Jenni Carlson and Amy Moritz, who helped make this
conference happen and be a success.
I am also proud to have seen the launching of our University Outreach Program and I know it will soar. I am pleased we modernized our rules for the Red Smith Award, that we have continued to evolve our digital presence, that we continued to evolve and improve our contests, and that all of our regions met and had strong and well-attended professional development programs throughout the country.
I would like to recognize the leadership and vision of my predecessors, Garry D. Howard and Phil Kaplan. They were wonderful
mentors and remain invaluable members of this organization.
I know APSE will flourish under the leadership of President Gerry Ahern, who is my good friend and one of the country’s most talented editors. With Gerry, Tim Stephens, Ben Brigandi and of course Jack Berninger, I could not have asked for a better team.
I am convinced Gerry and Tim, along with new officers Mike Sherman and Tommy Deas, are poised to lead APSE into a new era of great prosperity, despite the ongoing challenges facing our industry.
APSE will thrive as long as it remains relevant to those who practice sports journalism, changing and evolving with the times. Under Gerry, Tim and Mike, there is no question that will happen.
Thank you for allowing me to serve as your President.
