Press Club of Toledo

Touchstones entries are due TODAY The best in local journalism will be celebrated this fall when the Press Club of Toledo hosts the 2024 Touchstone Awards at the Valentine Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 26. Entries for this year’s ceremony are due today, July 15. https://lnkd.in/e7XCjEJs... Nominations may be submitted electronically to [email protected] or delivered to Shaun Hegarty at 4247 Dorr Street, Toledo, Ohio 43607.

Come mix and mingle with the Press Club at La Fiesta Restaurant at 2072 Woodville Rd. Oregon, OH 43616 anytime 6 - 10 p.m. Press Club mixer events are a great opportunity to mingle with media, public relations and marketing professionals and learn more about what the Press Club does for the community.

🎉 Announcing the 2024 Touchstone Awards! 🎉 We are thrilled to invite you to join us for the 2024 Touchstone Awards ceremony, celebrating the pinnacle of local journalism and community contributions. Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 26, at the historic Valentine Theatre. 🏛️ This year, we honor the remarkable achievements of: 🏅 Barbara Hendel – Norm Cartwright Award for promoting the Press Club’s principles 🏅 Ambrea Mikolajczyk – Contributor Award for outstanding community impact 🏅 Debra Monagan – Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong contributions in business, public service, and philanthropy 🏅 Mark Zaborney – Golden Touchstone Award for lifetime achievement in journalism Nominations for the Touchstone Awards are open until July 15. If your work in journalism or communications was published between May 1, 2023, and May 14, 2024, consider submitting it for consideration. With over 20 categories spanning print, television, radio, social media, and public relations, there are plenty of opportunities to showcase excellence. Tickets are now available at toledopressclub.com, with discounts for Press Club members, nominees, and students. Proceeds from the event support the Press Club of Toledo’s scholarship fund, helping future journalists from The University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. Special thanks to our supporters: The Blade, Adams Street Publishing, Communica, Nuestra Gente Community Projects, Owens Corning, SSOE Group, and media sponsor BCAN/BCSN. Let’s come together to celebrate the best in journalism and community service! 📰✨ Read more: 🎉 https://lnkd.in/e-z4QwMS #TouchstoneAwards #LocalJournalism #CommunityService #PressClubToledo #ToledoEvents #JournalismExcellence #NetworkingOpportunity

Welcome, Sheila Howard aka "She Jag" from The Blade to The Press Club of Toledo board! Sheila Howard joined The Blade in 2023 as a general assignment reporter and multimedia journalist covering several newsbeats, with a passion for health and highlighting issues of underserved communities. She is a recent recipient of The Blade’s Eddy Award for significant contribution to paper. Sheila is originally from Detroit, Mich., where she studied journalism and communications at Wayne State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in community development from Central Michigan University. In 2013, Sheila relocated to the Toledo area and became a contributing writer for the Interfaith Gazette. She has authored three books that focus on weight loss and juicing, and manages a Facebook community of over 1,800 members that provides content on health, fitness, diet and juicing. Sheila is a wife, mom and Mima to 21 grandchildren. She is also a church organist and choir director. When she is not reporting or writing, Sheila enjoys word games, spending time with her family, working out and playing with her fur babies, Nia and Nigel.

Thank you to everyone who attended last night’s Pressing Issues program, “Focus on Freelancers: How to be an Advocate.” Special thanks to our panelists and moderator—Lori King, Sean Nestor, Allison Kuhn and Nick Corbin—for sharing their experiences and facilitating an important conversation among Toledo’s creative community. We also want to thank our event sponsors, WTOL 11 and AAF Toledo, and Communica for hosting.

The Press Club of Toledo joins Toledo’s journalism community in celebrating the life and legacy of Kurt G. Franck, president, manager and executive director of The Blade. He passed away Friday, March 15 after a battle with cancer. Kurt was a champion of journalism and a longtime friend of the Press Club, serving as board president in 2014. He received the Norm Cartwright Award at the 2022 Touchstones. The award honors outstanding efforts to promote the Press Club’s principles: advancing ethical journalism, inviting a closer look at the issues that shape journalism today, and fostering fellowship between the media and those that they cover. We offer our deepest condolences to Kurt’s family and The Blade staff. He will be greatly missed.

Welcome New Board Member, Riley Runnells! At Adams Street Publishing Co., Riley is the editor of the Toledo City Paper, Mature Living Magazine and Findlay Living Magazine. She also spearheads the company's podcast and video efforts and is the co-TikTok manager. Riley has worked as a professional writer/editor throughout her college career and beyond. She was the editor in chief of Thread Magazine, a fashion and culture publication on Ohio University's campus. She also was the editor in chief of Southeast Ohio Magazine, and the Culture editor at The Post newspaper, Ohio University's premier college publication. Outside of her editorships, Riley interned with PAPER Magazine and Los Angeles Magazine. Riley has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Riley obtained a dual minor in Entertainment Journalism and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies during her time at Ohio University, as well as certificates in Diversity Studies, LGBTQ Studies, and Strategic Leadership.

Welcome new board member, Jenni Roder! Jenni Roder is the corporate public relations specialist at SSOE Group, an internationally ranked architecture and engineering firm. She is responsible for public relations and media relations for all SSOE offices worldwide. Jenni received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from The University of Toledo in 2001 and shortly thereafter, started her now 20-year career with SSOE. In addition to serving as a board member for the Press Club of Toledo, Jenni serves on the board for the Anthony Wayne Athletic Boosters. She is a proud resident of Waterville where she lives with her husband Tim and daughter Tatum, who will be heading to Bowling Green State University next year. Her son Ty resides in Fairborn, Ohio and is a student-athlete at Wright State University.

Welcome new board member, Heather Pacheco! Heather Pacheco is the Senior Events Manager at The Blade. She is responsible for growing revenue while executing successful and well-attended events. Before coming to The Blade almost five years ago, she held various management positions in marketing and development with Michigan.com, the business arm of The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, and K12. Heather’s journey in the marketing field spans 25 years, during which she has honed her skills identifying lucrative sponsorship opportunities and cultivating meaningful relationships with key stakeholders. Whether orchestrating large-scale conferences, product launches, community events or marathons, her commitment to excellence, coupled with her adaptability, has earned her a reputation as a go-to expert in the event marketing realm. When Heather is not navigating the evolving landscape of event marketing, she enjoys golfing and traveling to Florida.

Welcome to our new board member, Heather Schramm! Heather is the assignment editor at WTOL 11. She came to the station in 2011, shortly after graduating from the University of Toledo. Before moving to the news desk, she was a nightside newscast director who focused on consistency and creative showcasing in the station’s storytelling. Heather is an alumna and board member of Toledo School for the Arts, and is passionate about the importance of arts education. She plays French horn. She was also a board member for the Central Great Lakes chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2022. Serving her hometown through journalism is a privilege to Heather, and she loves introducing the city to the young newsies who move here. She currently lives in the historic Beverly neighborhood with her sheepdog. #toledoohio #toledopressclub #ethicaljournalism #toledopress