Plans are shaping up for Missouri Press Association’s 147th Annual Convention in September!
MPA President Mark Maassen of The Kansas City Star will play host to the meeting, Sept. 5-7, at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, 200 West 12th Street, Kansas City.It’s a jam-packed MPA Convention. A few spots to be filled and more details to come.
Be watching for registration information and plan to make your hotel reservations.
Hope to see you in September at the Kansas City Downtown Marriott!
Keep reading for extensive details.
The meeting will open with a breakfast Board Meeting of MPA and Missouri Press Service, 8 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the hotel.
If you’re interested in golf, the shuttle bus will leave the hotel at 11:15 a.m. Thursday for Drumm Farm Golf Club in Independence. The outing will include a favorably priced round of golf, including lunch. A 12 noon shotgun tee-off is planned. The format will be a four-person scramble.
On Thursday night at 7:30, the MPA convention-goers will visit Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar in the popular Power & Light District (located about four blocks from the hotel).
Friday morning’s sessions begin with breakfast at 8:00 at the hotel with Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander as speaker.
Two breakout sessions at 9:15 will feature Matt Sokoloff (online paid content) and Vince Coultis (advertising sales). Sokoloff has held a fellowship at the Reynolds Journalism Institute in Columbia, and Coultis is with The Kansas City Star.
At 11:00, a general session will feature Robert S. Kenney, chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission, who will discuss the workings of the Missouri PSC.
New association officers and directors for 2014 will be elected at the annual MPA Business Meeting at 12 noon. Remarks from MPA President Mark Maassen will include the association’s financial report. An In Memoriam service will remember association members who have died during the past year.
Friday’s luncheon at 12:30 p.m. will feature Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer Frank White as speaker. White will autograph copies of his new book, One Man’s Dream, My Town, My Team, My Time, after his talk. Copies of the book cost $25 each.
From 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, MPA is bringing back the popular Lightning Round Roundtables with six discussion leaders on various topics. Attendees will be able to visit each roundtable for 15 minutes, then move to another topic. Discussion leaders include Jean Maneke, legal issues; Jack Miles, editorial issues; Peter Wagner, ad sales promotion ideas; Dawn Kitchell, Missouri Press Foundation topics; Vince Coultis, marketing; and Matt Sokoloff, paid content. The roundtables were among the highest-rated sessions at the 2012 MPA Convention in Columbia.
The MPA Newspaper Hall of Fame reception and banquet, including the 23rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, is slated for 6 p.m. Friday.
Saturday morning’s activities begin with breakfast at 8 (speaker to be announced).
Breakout sessions at 9:30 a.m. include Peter Wagner, advertising guru from Sheldon, Iowa (Get Real! Creating the Community’s Leading Advertising Sales Team), and Sam Mellinger, sports columnist with The Kansas City Star.
Winners of the Missouri Press Foundation Better Newspaper Contest will pick up their awards at the luncheon beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday. Outstanding Young Journalists of the Year for weeklies and dailies will be honored at the luncheon, along with scholarship winners.
