| Scenes from the Silent Auction |
|
Elvis makes a guest appearance, but the stars of the show are the
auction bidders, who helped AASFE raise nearly $7,600 for fellowships
for next year's convention.
Elvis impersonator Jim LeBeouf made a guest appearance at the Silent Auction and New President's reception at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas in October. Among those he serenaded were AASFE President Ann Maloney, editor of the Features Production Center for The New York Times Regional Newspapers, and First Vice President Chris Beringer, deputy managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  Even two past presidents got into the Elvis act -- Mary Hadar,
assistant managing editor/features at The Washington Post, and Janet
Grimley, assistant managing editor/features at the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer.
Oh, and AASFE raised a little money, too -- nearly $7,600. The 160 or so Las Vegas convention attendees sipped drinks, noshed on sushi, shrimp and other appetizers and then put their pens to work bidding on training opportunities, Oscar-bound Hush Puppies, Olympic berets and a huge display of artwork. The money raised will pay for minority fellowships that will allow several young journalists to attend the 2003 convention in St. Petersburg, Fla. Applications will be accepted in the summer of 2003. Stay tuned. A big thank you goes to The Baltimore Sun's John McIntyre, The Oregonian's Tom Hallman, Tom Kunkel, dean of the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and Steve Duke of Northwestern University's Media Management Center, who generously donated their time for training seminars. |