SPJ: Phoenix, Arizona Chapter

Minutes

Meeting of the Society of Professional Journalists, Valley of the Sun Pro Chapter

P.O. Box 1488, Phoenix, AZ 85001-1488

March 9, 2025, 10 a.m.

Meeting called to order: 10:03 a.m.

Attendees: Tim Eigo (President), Mark Scarp (Secretary), Kerry Fehr-Snyder (Treasurer) and Nicole Greason (Vice President), Absent: Deb Krol (Board Member) and Teri Carnicelli (Board Member).

NOTE: Board actions, either votes or assigned tasks, are in italicized type.

Opening

  • Secretary’s report/approval of minutes from Jan 19, 2024 – Board action: Moved (Mark) and seconded (Nicole). Unanimously approved.
    • Mark showed us how our website is starting to include activities by SPJ’s national organization. Many if not most Arizona journalists or even our own chapter members likely don’t look at the national website often, and by reporting some of the more impactful activities of national HQ, our chapter’s reputation can only be enhanced by showing how SPJ has journalists’ backs.
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  • Treasurer’s report – Kerry reports our investments with Russell Life Points/Northwestern Mutual as of March 7 gained $475.72 in the past quarter, to $20,230.51. Our checking account as of the same date contained $1,855.35, compared to $2,153.91 on Jan.17, 2025.
  • Mark’s Mighty Minute! – Mark reported that Morgan Loew, president of the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, has yet to meet with former coalition attorney Dan Barr in January and meet with Arizona Media Association CEO Chris Kline. He first told Mark Dec. 28 that he would hold these meetings. Loew plans to obtain from Barr information that could help in the reactivation of the coalition, and he plans to ask Kline for the AMA’s financial support. Tim asked Mark to remind Morgan that AMA has an April 22 awards luncheon at which they could make the announcement about financial support to the coalition.

Old Business

  • Don Bolles memorial bill: A bill is being introduced into this year’s Legislature to try again to establish a monument in Wesley Bolin Plaza to Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, who was assassinated with a car bomb in 1976 in Phoenix. Despite overwhelming support in the state House of Representatives in 2024, a Senate committee chairman refused to hear the bill. Tim reported that it is out of the House Government Committee. Sponsor Rep. Regina Bliss, a conservative Republican, remembers Bolles’ murder and it had an impact on her life. GOP leadership said they might have a strategy for the bill to pass this year. Tim said Bliss will advise how journalism groups might be effective in lobbying.

New Business

  • ALMA mixer, Friday, March 21, 4-7 pm, JPMorgan Chase, 4300 E. Camelback Road, The Grove Rooftop Deck, RSVP by 3/14 – promotion has begun; Valley SPJ has it on our website, Facebook and X and an e-blast to our list. RSVP deadline is 3/14. ALMA is inviting other media groups members to attend as well.
  • SPJ Region 11 conference hosted by NorCal chapter: San Francisco, May 2-3, 2025 – Mark and Tim are interested in going, where we’d learn how they put on their regional as advice for us as we plan ours for 2026.
  • SPJ national conference: October 15-19, Washington, D.C. https://www.spj.org/convention/ — Nicole is interested in going (her husband’s daughter lives in Alexandria, Va., and he and Nicole have unused first-class tickets to D.C. from another trip); only expense would be registration cost.
  • Joint event with PEN America AZ chapter: No information at this time. Tim is meeting with Michelle Beaver of the organization’s Arizona effort later today (3/9) and will report back.
  • Publicity Summit 2025 update: Set date for Saturday, Sept. 20, about a month earlier than usual as a means to attract more PR people before the start of the events season. Already a list of sponsorship opportunities, large amounts to small, is being developed. Mark will check with Leslie Beckhoff of the Publicity Summit Committee as to progress of the list.
  • Ethics Week event(s): Ethics week is in late April. It was suggested to bring in a speaker from the AP over the “Gulf of America” controversy or the stylebook. Tim said he’ll ask the AP-Phoenix’s Terry Tang whom to contact.
  • Spring event planning: No discussion.
  • 2026 Region 11 conference: Valley of the Sun hosts the SPJ Region 11 conference in Spring 2026, possibly March or April. Tim says we need to start brainstorming locations, and maybe some of our PR contacts might have location ideas, and programming, perhaps six or so panel discussions. Nicole said the Rio Salado Conference Center at the 143 and University Drive might do, as well as one off I-17 and Dunlap (Black Canyon Conference Center). St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church in Scottsdale also offers meeting space and promotes it on their materials. And Helios Foundation on 32nd Street has meeting space. ASU has a  Tim asked board members to start brainstorming that and we’ll meet again to discuss it.

Adjourned: 11:47 a.m. (104 minutes)

NEXT BOARD MEETING: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 10 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark J. Scarp, Chapter Secretary