LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear PFWA members:

I have to start with some housekeeping notes. The first is an unfortunate o­ne. Mark Curnutte, the PFWA’s second vice-president, has resigned for personal reasons. Mark is doing well but doesn’t feel he is able to continue in his role. The PFWA wants to thank Mark for his service and we know he will always be a friend to our organization...

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear PFWA members:

I have to start with some housekeeping notes. The first is an unfortunate o­ne. Mark Curnutte, the PFWA’s second vice-president, has resigned for personal reasons. Mark is doing well but doesn’t feel he is able to continue in his role. The PFWA wants to thank Mark for his service and we know he will always be a friend to our organization.

The PFWA has moved to find Mark’s replacement. We are happy to announce that Mark Gaughan has accepted our offer to fill the position. o­ne of the most respected journalists in our profession, Mark is a long-time beat writer covering the Buffalo Bills for the Buffalo News.

Mark will be running for the first-vice president’s position in February as my presidential tenure ends. Charean Williams holds the first VP position and will be running for president. We also will be filling in the second VP position. For those interested in running for office, information will be provided in the December PFWA newsletter. The election will be held in Tampa o­n January 30 at the PFWA’s annual Super Bowl meeting.

The PFWA also wants to thank Tampa Tribune NFL writer Ira Kaufman for volunteering to serve as our liaison with the Super Bowl XLIII Host Committee. More media-related details about the upcoming Super Bowl will be included in our December newsletter.

*The PFWA will soon be announcing new bylaws and membership requirements. Charean Williams is heading a committee that is formulating both. We are hoping to unveil the new bylaws and membership requirements in a December 1 newsletter before we make our annual push for January 2009 renewals.

SPECIAL FUND
The PFWA is proud to announce the formation of an emergency relief fund to help our members who are in need of financial assistance stemming from unforeseen circumstances. Details will be provided in the December newsletter as we formulate rules for the application process.

This is from former PFWA president John McClain, who received an outpouring of support after Hurricane Ike hit the Houston area:

"I'd like to thank my friends in the PFWA who called or e-mailed to check o­n Carol and me before, during and after Hurricane Ike. We appreciated it very much. We had a couple of trees down and a lot of limbs. We had some damage to the back of the house, but it wasn't a big deal compared to so many others, especially those in the coastal areas who were wiped out.

"I'm sad to report that another o­ne of our long-time members, this time Bob West of the Port Arthur News, was wiped out for the second time. West and his family lost their home in Hurricane Rita. It had to be rebuilt. This time, Hurricane Ike destroyed his home and almost all of his possessions. I'm hoping that the PFWA can reach out to help Bob and his family. Thanks for anything you can do for them, including prayers. And thanks again to everyone who checked o­n Carol and me."

Bob is o­ne of the people that the PFWA Emergency Relief Fund is designed to help. For information o­n how to donate to the fund, please email PFWA treasurer Mike Sando at mikejsando@gmail.com or mike@pfwa.org.

MEDIA RELATIONS
*The PFWA offered its support to San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami after Oakland Raiders executive John Herrera verbally assaulted him. We condemn Herrera’s lack of professionalism and are disappointed that the Raiders did not issue a public apology immediately following the incident.

*On a happier note, it appears the NFL’s media policies are having their intended effect and generating better access to players and coaches. The NFL has done an excellent job reminding uncooperative players about fines for those who don’t fulfill their media responsibilities. Some teams also have taken advantage of a new offer from the NFL to open their weekly conference calls to the national media.

That’s not to say the system is perfect. The PFWA has tried its best to work with the league and teams to fix problem areas. If you believe there is a violation of an NFL media rule and have reached an impasse with a team about fixing it, please contact me (alex@pfwa.org or alex1marv@aol.com) so I can try to mediate a solution.

HALAS AWARD
The PFWA received significant publicity for our Halas Award, thanks to winner Kevin Everett and the Buffalo Bills. I want to thank Bills PR chief Scott Berchtold and Everett representative Eric Armstead for helping to make this possible. Here is a report from Mark Gaughan, who also has the PFWA’s appreciation for helping to handle the presentation of the award:

“The Bills could not have given the PFWA’s Halas Award any higher profile in the season opener. Everett was presented with the plaque in a ceremony at midfield at halftime. It was Everett's first o­n-field appearance since his career-ending injury in the 2007 season opener. It was a very big moment for fans to show their admiration for Everett and he received a huge standing ovation. I had the privilege of giving him the plaque. The Bills did it at halftime, rather than before the game, so the maximum number of people would be in the seats.

“Kevin, who has received several other high-profile awards this year, including the Ed Block Courage Award, was genuinely appreciative of the award and of the chance to speak to the fans. Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, who treated Everett, also said a few words.”

Mark also wanted to give Berchtold and his staff some more praise:

“The Bills have kicked up their post-game quote sheets to a new level. The number of quotes distributed is exceptional and the distribution is very fast.

“Also, this is old news, but I'm not sure it ever has been recognized. The Bills have an outside statistical guru named Mike Heim who updates all their team records. About two hours after every game, he emails (through the Bills) a massive document that updates all the players' season and career figures, and where they stand as a result of the game-day performances. It also includes many interesting notes o­n the last time the Bills did x, y or z from a team and individual standpoint. Heim does it for road games, too. If other teams have not seen it, I'd encourage them to ask the Bills for a copy.”

Some more notes of praise to pass along:

*From Tampa Tribune NFL writer Ira Kaufman: “Despite the departures of Tony Morreale and Derek Cuculich, Jeff Kamis’ PR staff in Tampa has proven a resilient bunch. Through training camp and two home preseason games, the Bucs went above and beyond to provide the media with timely information and access. Writers working against deadline pressure during the preseason were given extensive halftime quotes from a total of 14 players and coaches to help speed the process along. Play-by-play sheets and stats were delivered in a timely manner and a full post-game quotes package was e-mailed promptly.

“Coach Jon Gruden is available in a group setting after practice and he takes the time to meet with writers o­n an individual basis almost daily. Assistant coaches are always available and encouraged to meet media demands.”

*From Colts beat writer Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star: “Kudos to Atlanta's Reggie Roberts and Carolina's Charlie Dayton for making sure I got back to my downtown hotel room following late-night preseason games. As you probably know all too well, it's tough to get taxis at stadiums -- even downtown stadiums -- after midnight. Even though I considered walking back to the hotels each time, Reggie and Charlie went out of their way to get me a ride. Charlie drove me himself and Reggie hooked me up with o­ne of his assistants.”

*Chicago Sun-Times Bears beat writer Brad Biggs wanted to share this:

"Just a quick note to commend the great help a group of Chicago writers received when in Carolina last month. Three of us were stuck in the press box late after the game and the Panthers’ PR intern Will Bryan gave us a ride back to the Marriott. It sure beat standing o­n the corner waiting to see how long it would take for a cab to show up. The Panthers’ parking situation for out-of-town media isn’t very convenient, but Will’s help made everything much easier. I made the unfortunate accident of leaving some belongings in the press box and Andrew Mason, the Web writer for the Panthers, then brought those items to me at the hotel. So a big thanks to Will and Andrew and the staff run by Charlie Dayton and Steven Drummond.

"For media heading to Soldier Field this season, it’s worth noting that wireless Internet access has been free thus far. Previously, it was $35 and then at times last year it was $10. The best guess is it’s a PR move by the Chicago Park District, which has a vested interest in positive news in the city’s bid to land the 2016 Olympics."

SCHOLARSHIP NEWS
The PFWA’s scholarship program remains strong. Here is a note from o­ne of our previous winners – Andrew Somers, the son of Arizona Republic Cardinals beat writer Kent Somers:

"Dear PFWA members: As a recipient of your scholarship for the past four years, I just wanted to let you know how appreciative I am. Because of the scholarship, I was able to do things these past four years that I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to do, the most prominent being spending a semester abroad in Orvieto, Italy last spring. I'm currently a math and chemistry major at the University of Arizona and plan to graduate in December 2009. It's been an amazing four years, and thank you for playing a role in that."

The PFWA would love to hear from other scholarship winners as well. For information o­n the scholarship program, which is open to high school seniors of PFWA members in good standing, please contact Clark Judge at cjudge@nyc.rr.com.

ODDS AND ENDS
The PFWA wants to thank the St. Louis Rams and new coach Jim Haslett for a policy shift. Haslett has re-opened the Rams' practices to the media that were closed under predecessor Scott Linehan. Also, after Haslett's first press conference the day after a game, the coordinators did not follow him as had been the custom under Linehan. When asked about that, Haslett said, "You can get them any time you want." ... The PFWA sends its condolences to New York Giants media relations director Peter John-Baptiste upon the recent death of his father. Donations in honor of Edward John-Baptiste can be made to the American Cancer Society in his name. American Cancer Society -St. Croix Unit, P.O. Box 6987, Christiansted, St. Croix 00823 or visit the website www.cancer.org to make a donation ... Congratulations to San Diego Union-Tribune NFL writer Jerry Magee, who is retiring after 53 years in the newspaper business.

Regards,
Alex Marvez