Opening Meeting Minutes

Minutes from the Associated Press Sports Editors Winter Conference and Judging opening meeting at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026

President Paul Barrett called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. PT and introduced first vice president Perryn Keys, second vice president Erik Hall, third vice president Tony Maluso, executive director Bill Eichenberger, and conference coordinator John Bednarowski. 

Past presidents in attendance:

• Dan Spears, USA Today Sports Network (2024-25)
• Naila-Jean Meyers, Minnesota Star Tribune (2023-24)
• Jorge Rojas, The Athletic (2022-23)
• Gary Potosky, The Philadelphia Inquirer (2021-22)
• John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal (2018-19)
• Tommy Deas, then Tuscaloosa News (2016-17)
• Phil Kaplan, then Knoxville News-Sentinel (2010-11)
• Bill Eichenberger, then Newsday (2003-04)

Region representatives

Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.  – Jim Pignatiello

Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.  – Pat Obley

Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. – Nalia Jean Meyers

West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.  – Maria McIlwain 

Representing The Associated Press: Barry Bedlan

Finances and budget update (Bill Eichenberger)

The number of organizations entering the contest to 200 this year. We are about $5,000 ahead on the budget halfway through the year. 

Tommy Deas is working to raise funds for the summer conference. 

Bill Eichenberger said his first contest judging was in 1986. 

“I don’t think the contest has ever been more prestigious than it is right now,” Eichenberger said. 

Conference update (John Bednarowski)

All meeting rooms are in this hallway. Most of the time will be spent in the Monterey Bay room. Continental breakfast will be available every morning, 7:30 to 9. There will be workspaces for groups.

Please don’t abuse the privilege of free drinks. Contest headquarters will be in the Turtle Bay room if there are any questions or to deliver results.

Tonight’s cocktail party and buffet from 6:30-8:30 in Monterey Bay, followed by the APSE Bowling Tournament at South Point Bowling Center. Room for 20 bowlers. If you can’t bowl, come up and laugh at those trying. 

Highly suggest getting a Players Club card. Gets you $3 off the buffet.  

The closing meeting is on Thursday in this room.

Revenue (Tommy Deas)

We have raised $17K in confirmed sponsorships for the 2026 Summer Conference. That’s the most we have ever raised by the opening meeting at winter judging.

Our sponsors so far are:

– USA TODAY Co., which will host the opening reception

– NHL

– MLB

– APSE Foundation, which is sponsoring a general session

– The Seattle Times

There are pitches out to several other potential sponsors. Some traditional sponsors have indicated that they will not be able to renew those this year, so many of you may be hearing from me and our conference coordinator, John Bednarowski, to see if your organizations can pitch in. It could be a tough year for us, so every penny will count.

Thai Night and Mini Golf (Tommy Deas, Justin Pelletier)

From Tommy: Our Thai Night tradition of going out for Thai food at APSE gatherings continues on Monday, Feb. 23, in Las Vegas. We will gather in the hotel lobby at 6:20 p.m. to journey to Blue Orchid Thai Kitchen, a walk of about 1.5 miles (Uber if you’d rather) at 10516 Las Vegas Blvd South.

From Justin: As has become tradition in recent years, APSE will again offer a minigolf outing during judging this year. Sadly, there will be no live gators. HOWEVER, this year we will be at one of the best minigolf course franchises in the country, and it’s not all that far from our hotel.

Pertinent information: The outing will be on Wednesday evening, Feb. 25, at PopStroke Las Vegas, at 6617 South Las Vegas Blvd. We are shooting for 7:30 p.m. tee times.  The cost is a flat $30, and it includes unlimited rounds on two amazing on-site courses. We are still toying with a format and how many rounds to play, whether to add a cut/championship round, etc. There is also a full restaurant and bar on site for those who may want to double this up as a dinner option before or a late-night snack after.

Please email Justin Pelletier at jpell915@gmail.com ASAP to confirm entry, so we can get a headcount for potential reservation or format options. 

APSE Foundation & Fellows Class (Lisa Wilson/Jorge Rojas)

A warm welcome to our 14th class of Fellows. Please stand as your name is called so we can recognize you:

– Bria Manning, sports editor, Montana Standard/406 MT

– Carlos Silva Jr., sports editor, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

– Andre Fernandez, deputy sports editor, Miami Herald

– Isabella DiAmore, associate sports editor, Philadelphia Inquirer

– Courtney Shultz, deputy managing editor, The Athletic

– Lyric Swinton, SI Takedown, freelance wrestling reporter and social media producer, Blavity

– Zoe Collins Rath, sports producer and reporter, Austin American-Statesman

The Fellows enjoyed a great weekend of learning and camaraderie in Nashville, Tennessee, last month. Mallory Merda Adams joined them and completed her requirements for graduation.

Thank you to APSE for its continued support of the Foundation, and to our members who support us on Giving Tuesday and throughout the year. Our annual silent auction will take place during the summer conference.

COMMITTEE REPORTS 

Diversity (A. Sherrod Blakely)

No update.

Membership (Jason Murray)

No update.

Career Advancement (Lisa Wilson)

We welcomed three new APSE student chapters this academic year – Hampton University (Dr. James Ford, adviser), Rowan University (Mike Rosenstein, adviser), and Stony Brook University (Professor Richard E. Ricioppo, adviser). That brings the number of chapters to 17.

We hosted our annual How to Land an Internship Session in October, and we will have two more events before the end of the spring semester, the first on navigating your first job out of college on Thursday, March 12. We’ll also go over the scholarship application process and how to enter the annual student contest.

Thanks to all who have expressed interest in joining the career advancement committee. I will be in touch soon, as I am planning a meeting to brainstorm for the career advancement session at the summer conference, as well as student programming for the fall semester.

I am working on the mentorship program/pairings and will have that finalized between now and the summer conference.

Region updates from Patrick Obley and Jim Pignatiello:

Patrick: We just locked down the Southeast Region meeting for May 11 in Birmingham. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has committed to a one-hour, on-the-record Q&A (we have him back after not having him for the last two years due to conflicts). Meeting at 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday at the South Point Deli to plan for the region meeting. 

Jim: We’re locked in for the Northeast Region meeting occurring on Monday, April 13 at Boston University. Big thank you to Sherrod Blakeley for his help on the ground there. We’ll be working through the details in the coming months. Taking ideas from members, possibility of Tuesday meeting with students for those staying over. 

Commissioners (Hank Winnicki)

I’m looking at the last week of April for the meetings this year, but I won’t be able to confirm dates until early March. As always, strong attendance is a key to keeping these meetings going. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please reach out.

Legal affairs and ethics (Gerry Ahern and John Cherwa)

No update.

Olympics (Roxanna Scott)

Our APSE committee worked with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in late 2024 to allocate credentials for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan. We met virtually because the USOPC preferred this over meeting in person for cost savings and efficiency. At the meeting, everyone in attendance felt the allocation was fair, and we did not receive any feedback from APSE members with concerns or feedback. Once the Paralympics are complete next month, we will get instructions on how the USOPC wants us to proceed with credential requests for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. We will share that information with the larger group. 

World Cup 2026 (Paul)

The 2026 men’s World Cup committee met twice recently, and the meeting this month was a very helpful presentation and Q&A with the FIFA PR staff on the credential process and navigating the media hub. There were lots of questions, and our friends at FIFA have agreed to do another Q&A with us next month. I’ll send out a meeting invite once it’s scheduled.

If you would like to join this committee, please email me at apsepresident@gmail.com. 

Red Smith Award (Matt Pepin)

The nomination period closes on Monday (Feb. 23), and voting will begin immediately. Eligible voters can expect an email with voting instructions and a link to candidate bios. I’ll have a story ready for the website that can be posted early this week about this year’s nominees. We remain on track to have a winner announced by the end of March.

Scholarships (Phil Kaplan)

Scholarship committee is just waiting to find out how much money and how many scholarships will be awarded.  There was some discussion brought up by Naila that the APSE Foundation would contribute to help increase the amount or possibly help provide enough money to go back to six scholarships instead of four.

Phil is looking for people to join the committee to help select who receives the scholarship. 

Erik asked about moving scholarships to APSE Foundation. Naila is in favor of that move. She believes Garry Howard scholarships are already in the foundation. Erik believes it makes sense and supports making it happen.

Student Contest (Erik Hall)

The deadline for the student contest will be Saturday, April 11. Will try to get something on the website late this week or early next week. Anybody who wants to be a judge should let Erik know at hallerik7@gmail.com 

Website/social (Erik Hall)

The website brought in $350 in job postings since June 1, 2025. Things are running smoothly with the website. 

OLD BUSINESS 

No updates. 

NEW BUSINESS

2027 Conferences (John Bednarowski)

Looking at a number of potential spots for 2027. Denver reached out and got 20 proposals with some very competitive rates. Also, competitive rates from Chicago and Milwaukee. Indianapolis is also in the mix. Looking to settle on a location prior to this summer’s convention. 

The 2027 winter conference location is to be determined. Hope everyone has a good time this week, and if everyone does, John would like to bring it back here next year, then start moving it around a bit. 

Erik believes we shouldn’t consider Indianapolis for the 2027 summer conference. We should be focused on locations that are welcoming to all members. 

Committee changes & volunteers (Paul)

No update, but just this reminder that we’ll begin taking nominations for second vice president at the closing meeting. If you have questions or interest or have someone you’re reaching out to, please find me or an officer throughout the week.

APSE Contest (Perryn Keys)

Thanks everyone for being here to attend the conference and, more importantly to me, help judge the 2025 Contest.

We had 200 news organizations enter this year’s contest. That’s 22 more than last year and 31 more than just two years ago. So if you wonder why my hair is far grayer than it was just last year, well …

That reflects what Bill said previously about steady membership at the smaller newsrooms around the country. That resulted in more than 1,800 individual writing entries, 200 print and digital entries, and 300 photos to be looked at.

It’s a lot. I want to thank those folks who couldn’t be here who have already given their time to get us to this point (and will be giving more as things come in). We’ve had APSE alumni, a couple of past presidents, and other friends of APSE be a part of the remote judging process. 

What’s New: This is at least the third year we made an adjustment to how the divisions were created, using a combined print + digital circulation number that better reflects our business’ goals and directives. 

We added a new category, podcasts, and we expanded high school beat writing to include Divisions A and B. Last year was the first year for high school beat writing, but it was confined to just C and D, and it was a runaway hit. Organizations could enter two writers in C and D, we kept it to one writer in A and B — more than anything, I was just worried about the amount of freight we were adding and the ability to keep the contest judgeable. 

Podcasts, similarly, I’m not surprised that the number of entries for the first year was not voluminous. So we combined the categories — podcasts will be A and B, and then C and D.

I’m looking forward to seeing how all this plays out.

And now, on to the super-important stuff.  

All you fine folks who are here: I thank you, I want you to take your time, pace yourselves, I want you to concentrate, I want you to enjoy yourselves, but I also want you to be on the clock and on the job.

First things first: Las Vegas has gotten the best of many a fine and sturdy soldier. Have fun at night, but please report for duty in the morning in good condition.

Part of the reason I say that is because, despite my best efforts, we have about six-eight fewer judges than we had compared to last year, and we have two more categories and 22 more organizations. I think we’re gonna end up in good shape, and it always works out in the end, but I’m gonna need some rabbits. So please do your best, and be swift, and be willing to take on a second round if you can.

Contest central is the Turtle Bay room. That’s where the officers will be all week if you need anything or want to stop by and say hi.

My cell number is 225-806-8676 in case you need anything or have any questions.

Judging groups

Investigative – Dan Spears, Damon Marx, Greg Brownell

Division A Event coverage – Jim Pigniatello, Courtney Schultz and Ryan Winn

Podcast A&B – Justin Pelletier, Andre Fernandez, Lyric Swinton

Division A Digital – Mauro Diaz, John Bednarowski, Nate Mink

Division A Projects – Jim Barnes, Lauren Jennings, Diamond Leung

Division B Event Coverage – Pat Obley, Nick Daschal, Tommy Deas

Division B Digital – Marcus Vanderberg, Barry Bedlan and Isabella DiAmore

Division B Projects – Maria McIlwain, Bria Manning and Gary Potosky

Division C HS Beat Writing – Naila Jean Meyers, Rod Beard, Sherrod Blakely

Division C Event Coverage – Iliana Limon Romero, Hank Winnicki, Carlos Silva

Division C Digital – Jorge Rojas, Jim Hascup, Johanna Huybers

Division C Projects – Scott Thurston, Bill Eichenberger, Zoe Collins Rath

Division D HS Beat Writing – Phil Kaplan, Chris Korman, Jeff Perkins

Gary Potosky reminds everyone to wear their nametags.

Tommy Deas asks about lines for recusal. Perryn says a lot has to do with common sense. It’s generally left up to groups to decide. If there is a debate, come to the contest room. 

Motion to adjourn: Tommy Deas

Second: Dan Spears

Meeting ends at 4:53 p.m

Members in attendance:

• Perryn Keys, The Buffalo News
• Tony Maluso, Capital Gazette
• Paul Barrett, The Seattle Times
• Erik Hall, The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.)
• Jim Pignatiello, MassLive
• Barry Bedlan, AP
• PAT OBLEY, The Villages
• Justin Pelletier, McClatchy / News & Observer
• Ryan Winn, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Marcus Vanderberg, ESPN
• Naila Meyers, MN Star Tribune
• Maria McIlwain, The Philadelphia Inquirer
• John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal
• Iliana Limón Romero, LA Times
• Scott Thurston, Boston Globe
• Gary Potosky, Philadelphia Inquirer 
• Tommy Deas, USA Today Co.
• Nick Daschel, The Oregonian
• Chris Korman, The Banner
• Nate Mink, Syracuse Post-Standard
• Jimmy Hascup, NJ.com
• Bill Bradley, Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• Rod Beard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Sherrod Blakely, Boston University
• Jorge Rojas, The Athletic
• Andre Fernandez, The Miami Herald
• Zoe Collins-Rath, Austin American-Statesman
• Lyric Swinton, The Takedown on SI
• Bria Manning, Montana Standard
• Courtney Shultz, The Athletic
• Carlos Silva Jr., Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
• Dan Spears, USA Today CCJ
• Phil Kaplan, USA TODAY South Region
• Damon Marx, Dallas Morning News
• Greg Brownell, Post-Star (retired)