2006 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTION READ THE CANDIDATES' Q&A RESPONSES 2006 NOMINEES (Note: Some candidates were nominated by themselves, some by other ACES members. Responses are presented in the third person except for some segments in quotation marks, which are the words of the candidate.)
FOR THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BOARD:
Gerri Berendzen
CURRENT JOB: Copy desk chief at Quincy (Ill.) Herald-Whig, a 25,000-circulation daily newspaper. Supervise universal editing/design desk of eight people. Responsible for staff development.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: As an ACES member since 2002, Gerri has attended national conferences in Chicago, Houston and Hollywood. She was on a small-newspapers panel in Chicago and a co-presenter of a small-newspapers session in Hollywood. She serves on the steering committee for ACES Midwest and has written for the newsletter and Web site.
QUALIFICATIONS: As an editor for a small newspaper in a rural area, Gerri represents a segment of the copy editing population not now represented on the ACES board. She has been dedicated to promoting the position of the small- to midsize-paper copy editor in ACES.
VISION FOR ACES: Gerri wants to make ACES a better value for editors who have to pay their own way. Training opportunities have increased with regional chapters, but there’s still more to be done. Efforts that reach out to copy editors in underserved regions and those at small to midsize newspapers will help the organization grow. So will addressing copy editing concerns beyond the traditional rim and slot, such as Web editing and non-newspaper editing.
Susan Blair
CURRENT JOB: Sue retired as copy chief of TIME in 2001 and has nearly finished revising the TIME style manual. She edits and publishes a family-association newsletter.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: Sue was one of the first non-newspaper editors to join ACES. She has worked to broaden the issues addressed by the organization to include the concerns of editors working in all media and has recruited members from magazines. She has attended every ACES conference, participated in various panels and contributed to the newsletter.
QUALIFICATIONS: Thirty years on the TIME copy desk made Sue keenly aware of the concerns of both copy editors and desk managers. Having a non-newspaper representative on the executive committee indicates to potential members that ACES is inclusive and wants to improve the lives and livelihoods of those working in all media.
VISION FOR ACES: In the current economic climate, copy editors face threats to their job security and the quality of their work. She believes that through the national conference, regional conferences and the newsletter, ACES is the best resource to help them improve their skills and develop the ability to be leaders and their own best advocates at their publications. Significant membership growth is vital to providing the stable financial base ACES needs to continue to provide such programs.
John Boogert
CURRENT JOB: News editor, Rocky Mountain News in Denver. Supervises about 40 full- and part-time copy editors on presentation team. Oversees newsroom operations at night.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: John enthusiastically attended the 2004 Houston conference. At the 2005 Hollywood conference, he co-presented the “Recipes for Success” session, assisted with the silent auction, performed clerical duties and worked in merchandise sales. He also has been active in the proposal and early planning for the 2008 Denver conference.
QUALIFICATIONS: John has 27 years of daily newspaper experience — from large to small — and endless energy. He’s spent virtually all his career as a copy editor or supervisor of copy editors. Nothing is impossible in John’s eyes, and he’s not bashful when it comes to spreading the gospel of ACES.
VISION FOR ACES: John will champion the role of copy editors in the evolving world of newspapers. The industry is changing, and our talents are vital to its survival. Our jobs must evolve with the industry, and ACES is the perfect vehicle. We can, and must, keep our seat at the table. We must escalate chapter building; boost and retain membership; raise our flag higher in colleges and high schools; expand diversity efforts; and fine-tune and expand training.
Anne Ferguson-Rohrer
CURRENT JOB: Copy desk chief, Metro, The Washington Post. Supervises largest copy desk in newsroom (26 full-timers, 6 to 8 part-timers); acts as one of two unofficial deputies to AME for copy desks; mentors two copy editors.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: Anne was a dynamic board member during her previous tenure (1999-2003). Her energy, ability to generate new ideas and organization skills were critical in shaping ACES during its formative years, when she served as secretary. She has co-presented workshops at two ACES conferences and has assisted in running the conference on-site in each of the seven years she has attended.
QUALIFICATIONS: Anne has a long history with ACES, going back to the first conference. She knows the organization from the ground up, yet will bring a fresh eye to projects. Her dedication to the organization has inspired others to join ACES and, in turn, run for the board. Anne has a tremendous ability to provide direction and turn those around her into leaders; she thrives behind the scenes.
VISION FOR ACES: “Two crucial areas to ACES’s growth and success are the continued establishment of regional chapters and intensified expansion of its fundraising operations. Specific, related goals include creating yet more training opportunities, particularly for colleagues at smaller publications; more benefits for members (tangible — building on existing contests and discount arrangements with other groups — and intangible — strengthening professional networking, fostering a mentoring network); and cultivating strategies to raise copy editors’ status in the media universe, to push supervisors on a local level to regularly and publicly reward copy editors and to encourage further diversity within ACES and on copy desks everywhere.”
Sara Hendricks
CURRENT JOB: Assistant managing editor, Victoria (Texas) Advocate. Although Sara is second in command of the entire newsroom, her day-to-day duties involve the production end of getting the newspaper to the press, including news, lifestyles and sports desks.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: A presenter for three years at ACES conferences (Cleveland will make four). Sara has judged two headline contests, and she participated in a panel at the Hollywood conference designed to convince top editors that copy editors need resources to maintain newspaper credibility in an increasingly technological age.
QUALIFICATIONS: Sara worked as a reporter, so knows what it takes to be an effective newsroom communicator. She’s been a copy editor on both lifestyle and news desks, so understands the challenges copy editors face, particularly at small newspapers. She was there when paste-up was the mode of getting words and pictures to the press. And was there for transition to pagination. She’s accustomed to getting things done, as one of her main duties is making sure that the frontline system operators make changes to their system to fit newspaper production — when they’d much rather the copy editors changed how they work to fit the system.
VISION FOR ACES: Sara welcomes the opportunity to help ACES pursue ways to get more people to join. She wants to encourage members to be more involved by working with presenters to conduct interactive workshops. As she moves into the arena of training at her own paper, Sara would like to translate what she learns to include ACES members and she wants to be a voice for those who work at smaller papers.
Mary Elizabeth (Lisa) McLendon
CURRENT JOB: Deputy copy desk chief, The Wichita Eagle. Duties include editing copy and writing headlines and cutlines on a 10-member universal desk. Also fills supervisory role.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: Lisa has attended the past four conferences and has co-presented at two of them with a focus on smaller newspapers. She also has served on the scholarship committee. At her previous paper, she persuaded the editor to pay for all copy editors to be a member of ACES. Lisa also does a lot of behind-the-scenes work, helping set up conferences and organizing merchandise.
QUALIFICATIONS: Lisa has spent her career at small to mid-sized papers. ACES has been concerned about the voice of small newspapers getting lost; Lisa would be an excellent representative. She’s a proven hard worker with excellent critical thinking skills.
VISION FOR ACES: The most important thing ACES can do is increase our outreach to journalism students. These are our future colleagues, and we should inform, train and nurture them as much as possible. Lisa knows how much smaller newspapers can benefit from ACES and wants to ensure ACES stays focused on finding ways to connect with those who might not have the resources to come to national conferences.
Naomi Seldin
CURRENT JOB: Rim/slot copy editor, Times Union (Albany NY). Naomi paginates the business section; edit business wire copy; and edits local, national and world news copy.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: Since attending her first ACES conference in Baltimore, Naomi has led or served as part of the society’s headline contest committee five times, including this year; served as a member of the society’s executive committee this year; attended five annual conferences; and led a workshop for rim editors at the ACES conference in Chicago.
QUALIFICATIONS: Naomi has consistently contributed her time and effort to promoting ACES through its national headline contest and other ventures. She shares the society’s mission of providing training, networking and mentoring opportunities for professional and hopeful copy editors.
VISION FOR ACES: “I would like to see the society expand its membership by offering student and professional editors services and opportunities for recognition that make their membership worth the cost. Student scholarships, the headline contest and the newly established Robinson prizes are all ways to reward excellence. Regional workshops, student chapters and Web site forums and training really should be expanded to serve the needs of ACES members who can’t afford to attend the annual conference.”
Barbara Tarshes
CURRENT JOB: Executive news editor at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., supervising a 38-member universal copy desk.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACES: Member since 1998. Attended eight ACES conferences; presenter at three. Assisted in organizing conferences in Long Beach and Hollywood as well as Southern California chapter meetings.
QUALIFICATIONS: More than 20 years in news copy editing in both editing and supervisory positions, most recently in training. Experience at mid-sized, aggressively zoned daily in suburban Southern California. Desire to expand ACES’ reach to benefit copy editors on papers of every size.
VISION FOR ACES: “ACES conferences provide significant training opportunities. The challenge is to expand these opportunities to those who can’t get the time off or the funding to attend. ACES is not only about professional development, it also is an advocate for the desk. The outreach to the news world’s upper echelon through personal contact, articles in industry magazines and at conferences must be maintained. A coordinated regional training effort through pairings with other journalism organizations should be explored.”
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