Time's running out; register for KPA convention

It's hard to believe, but the 2017 Kansas Press Association annual convention is just six weeks away.

It's scheduled for April 7 and 8 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka. The deadline for the KPA discounted room rate is March 16.

Emily Bradbury, KPA assistant director, has uploaded the registration forms and hotel information for the convention.

The theme of this year’s convention is “Real News Is Our Business.” Featured speaker will be Coffeyville native Kansan Mark Hamrick, Washington Bureau Chief of Bankrate.com and past president of the National Press Club.

Other presenters will include Ed Henninger, who will have sessions on “Designing Great Ads: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know” and on how to spruce up your public notices to add value and keep them in the newspaper; and Denise Malan, training director of the Investigative Reporters and Editors, who will present two sessions.

In addition, we’ll have a variety of Speed Topics with information on photography, editorial writing, how to utilize KanFocus, and a Q&A with Max Kautsch, KPA’s legal hotline attorney.

The Friday night banquet will include the presentation of the Clyde M. Reed Jr. Master Editor Award, the Boyd Community Service Award, the Gaston Outstanding Mentor Award and two inductees into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame.

On Saturday, Morley Piper, a veteran of the D-Day landing at Normandy in World War II, will deliver an inspiring presentation on the events in 1944. Piper spent his career in newspapers and now has the title of clerk of the Newspaper Association Managers.

The Awards of Excellence, where newspaper staff members are recognized for outstanding work in news and advertising, will be featured on Saturday.

To view the online registration form and hotel information, go here.