STPA 'Family' to Reunite
for 2021 Convention
in Uvalde, Texas
The 95th annual South Texas Press Association Convention will be held in Uvalde, known as the “Crossroads to the Hill Country,” from July 29 to 31, 2021.
Offering all the amenities of the big city with all the charm of a small town, Uvalde has plenty of opportunities for visitors to absorb some Texas history, art and nature.
Uvalde was founded in 1855 by Reading Wood Black, a young man from New Jersey. The town was originally named Encina for the live oak trees that cover the banks of the river but the name was changed to Uvalde in 1856 to honor Spanish General Juan de Ugalde.
We look forward to seeing all our STPA colleagues,
family and friends this summer for three days of South
Texas hospitality and Hill Country air.
Convention registration will be held at the
Holiday Inn Express & Suites with the unofficial
headquarters being at the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic
Center (300 E. Main Street in Uvalde), with many other
events taking place at various locations around the city. All
the sites we have chosen are easy to reach.
Convention Registration is $80 per person ($90 after
July 9) and $50 per child, age 6-12 ($60 after July 9).
Registration is free for kids 5 and under. $75 annual
STPA membership dues must be paid before registering for the convention. For more info call Jeff Berger at (830) 426-3346 or
email anvil@hondo.net.
Hotel reservation deadline is June 29 at $115 per night at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on 2801 E Main Street in Uvalde. Call 830-278-7300 to reserve your room. The phone number printed in the registration form is to the international site for Holiday Inn but the one provided here is direct and you should have no trouble getting someone who knows our convention rate.
Convention Kick-Off
The convention begins on Thursday, July 29, with the President’s Reception at 7 p.m. hosted by American Electric Power (AEP) at the Uvalde Grand Opera House, 104 W North St.. Featured will be a special performance by the Sahawe Indian Dancers, a popular dance troupe that performs throughout the country with colorful costumes and fast routines inspired by the traditions and legacies of the American and Mexican native peoples.
Following the President’s Reception, you can join us at the Strauss Haus, which will be located at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites and will be open from 9 p.m. to midnight both Thursday and Friday. It will be sponsored by Fenice Community Media and manned by the always wonderful Rhonda Chancellor from the Pleasanton Express and her husband, Will.
Friday Activities
Friday morning’s activities begin at the
SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center for breakfast
with a welcome by Uvalde Mayor
Don McLaughlin Jr.
Keynote Speaker
Our informational and educational sessions will include keynote speaker and Pulitzer Prize- winning editorial writer, columnist, reporter and editor Jeffrey Gerritt. He has earned more than 60 national and state awards, including the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
He has more than 20 years’ experience at the Detroit Free Press, USA Today and The Toledo Blade, and has completed dozens of enterprise and investigative projects focused on prisons, the criminal justice system, drugs, and urban issues. He also has won the Walker Stone Award from the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Burl Osborne Award for Editorial Leadership, two National Headliner Awards, three Sigma Delta Chi Awards and the Batten Medal.
Decorated photographer Dean
Smith will provide a pair of presenta-
tions. Smith has been involved in
news photography since 1959. He
has been a photographer for the
Troy Messenger (Troy, Alabama), the
Montgomery Advertiser-Alabama
Journal (Montgomery, Alabama), the
Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida),
and the Beaumont Enterprise
(Texas). Additionally, he has free-
lanced for the Associated Press,
United Press International and
national newspapers and magazines.
Smith is a professor of English
at the high school and college levels,
a former teacher at Dilley High
School and a longtime friend of the
Frio-Nueces Current, for whom he
served as photographer for many years.
Smith has received recognition from the Alabama and Florida members of the Associated Press, the National Press Photographers Association, and the South Texas Press Association.
STPA Better Newspaper Contest
The awards luncheon will
begin at noon and will be
catered by a local favorite.
Melissa Perner, of the
Ozona Stockman, will
announce the winners of the
2020 STPA Better Newspaper Contest
immediately after lunch.
Explore
Your afternoon will be free to explore Uvalde. Available attractions include the Aviation Museum of Texas at Garner Field, the Uvalde Municipal Airport at the eastern edge of town, which preserves the local and regional history of aviation and displays memorabilia and aircraft from WWII; and the Briscoe Art & Antique Collection in First State Bank of Uvalde. The collection of primarily Western art and Victorian era antiques is on display during bank hours at 200 E. Nopal St. The Janey Slaughter-Briscoe Grand Opera House downtown offers community theater productions, children’s theater and concert series, and professional talent.
Special Awards at the Country Club
Friday evening will find us at the Uvalde Country Club, at 407 East Garden Street, where we will have presentations of the Red Gibson and Friend of STPA awards at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m., and music by local artist Camille Sanders.
Saturday Activities
On Saturday morning, we will be back at the de Leon Civic Center.
STPA Business Meeting/Special Award
Our business meeting begins at 9 a.m. and is followed by brunch at 10 a.m. with a presentation by representatives of the Briscoe Art And Antique Collection, and the presentation of the Chester Evans Award.
We hope to see you all at our convention, and we are excited to share our informative and cultural events with you in our peaceful town at the Crossroads to the Hill Country.
Convention Registration
$80 per person, $50 per child 6-12
Free for kids 5 and younger
(Rates go up after July 9 to $90 per person, $60 per child 6-12)
*Note: $75 annual STPA membership dues for 2021 must be paid before registration for the convention.
Send to:
STPA Treasurer Jeff Berger
P.O. Box 400
Hondo, TX 78861
Hotel Deadline - June 29, 2021
CALL DIRECT TO RESERVE TODAY!
830-278-7300
$115/night - Holiday Inn Express & Suites
2801 East Main Street, Uvalde, Texas
Dean Smith
Jeffrey Gerritt
STPA Sweepstakes Takers 2020
These are the top winners named in the last year's STPA Better Newspaper Contest, based on aggregate scores from the contest's numerous categories. To see a full list of winners, visit the Winner's Circle Page.
STPA SWEEPSTAKES WINNER - DIVISION 1
HAYS FREE PRESS
STPA SWEEPSTAKES WINNER - DIVISION 3
UVALDE LEADER-NEWS
STPA SWEEPSTAKES WINNER - DIVISION 2
ROCKDALE REPORTER
_edited_edited_e.jpg)
Publisher Cyndy Slovak-Barton and production chief and assistant publisher, David White, accept their overall winner's plaque for the small weekly division.
Accepting the Sweepstakes - Division 2 plaque for 2020 in the large weekly division are the Rockdale Reporter's editor David Money, left, and general manager Kyle Cooke.
Last year's Division 3 sweepstakes plaque for semi-weekly papers went to the Uvalde Leader-News. On hand to accept in the back row, from left, are sports editor James Volz, photographer Pete Luna and publisher Craig Garnett; and, in front, from left, staff writer Julie Keeble, managing editor Meghann Garcia and staff writer Melissa Federspill.