The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

-based organization of professional women and men pursuing careers in the field of communications, including electronic, broadcast and print

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, public relations, marketing, advertising, freelancing, graphic design, digital media and photography. They are also educators and authors of all genres. Part of the coalition founding the

National Women's History Museum The National Women's History Museum (NWHM) is a museum and an American history organization that "researches, collects and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic and political life of our nation in a context of world ...

, the NFPW supports literacy and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...

as well as freedom of information and advocates for

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

issues.

History

The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) was organized May 6, 1937, when Helen Miller Malloch and other members of the Illinois Woman's Press Association (IWPA organized in 1885), along with women from five other organized states and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, who met at the

Chicago Women's Club The Chicago Woman's Club was formed in 1876 by women in Chicago who were interested in "self and social improvement." The club was notable for creating educational opportunities in the Chicago region and helped create the first juvenile court in th ...

in order to promote communication between women writers, and advance the interests and standards of women in the press. One of the major concerns of these women was that

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

legislation was not being applied equally to women's creative work. Among the 39 women attending were 24 from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, six from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, nine from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and Washington D.C.. Incorporation of the Federation was effected in 1938 in Illinois. By 1939 nine states had affiliated, including New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, Indiana, Illinois,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, and

; and a New England press group. Of these new affiliates, the two oldest were Illinois (IWPA), 1885, and Texas, (the Texas Woman's Press Association) 1893 - the only two states organized prior to 1900.

Presidents (by term dates)

# Helen Miller Malloch, (Illinois) 1937–1938 # Octavia Goodbar, ( New York ) 1938–1939 # Bertha Bliss, ( Missouri) 1940–1941 # Helen Miller Malloch, (Illinois) 1942–1943 # Gertrude Puelicher, (Wisconsin) 1943–1945 # Marie Abels, (Kansas) 1945–1947 # Catherine Dines Prosser, (Colorado) 1947–1949 # Irene R. Bedard, (Minnesota) 1949–1951 #

Mattie M. Dykes Mattie may refer to: * Mattie (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Mattie, Piedmont, Italy, a municipality * Mattie, West Virginia, United States, a ghost town * ''Grace Bailey'' (schooner), known ...

, (Missouri) 1951–1953 # Helen Ankeny, (Kansas) 1953–1955 # Velma Price, (Nebraska) 1955–1957 # Mabel Temby, (Wisconsin) 1957–1959 #

Helen Vanderburg Helen Vanderburg (born January 12, 1959) is a former Canadian synchronized swimmer and world champion. Career Vanderburg began synchronized swimming in 1969 at age eleven. From 1971 to 1973, she was a member of junior national championship team ...

, (Iowa) 1959–1961 #

Roberta Martin Roberta Evelyn Martin (February 12, 1907 – January 18, 1969) was an American gospel composer, singer, pianist, arranger and choral organizer, helped launch the careers of many other gospel artists through her group, The Roberta Martin Singers. ...

, (Arkansas) 1961–1962 # Dr. Gertrude M. Hall, (acting) (Illinois) 1962 #

Hortense P. Myers Hortense is a French feminine given name that comes from Latin meaning ''gardener''. It may refer to: Persons * Hortense Allart (1801–1879), Italian-French feminist writer and essayist * Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), stepdaughter of ...

, (Indiana) 1962–1965 #

Margaret Magee Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, (Oregon) 1965–1967 #

Ulrich Troubetzkoy Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of ...

, (Virginia) 1967–1969 # Mildred Planthold Michie, (Missouri) 1969–1971 #

Louise Shadduck Louise M. Shadduck (October 14, 1915 – May 4, 2008), also called the "Lioness of Idaho,"Carlson, Chis. ''Medimont Reflections''. (Ridenbaugh Press: 2013). was an Idaho journalist, political activist, public servant, author, speaker and lobby ...

, (Idaho) 1971–1973 # Naomi A. Whitesell, (Indiana) 1973–1975 #

Jean Wiley Huyler Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, (Washington) 1975–1977 # Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder, (Arkansas) 1977–1979 # Martha S. Reed, (Texas) 1979–1981 # D. J. Cline, (South Dakota) 1981–1983 #

Jo Cart Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from ''Lambs Anger'' * Jo a fictio ...

, (Louisiana) 1983–1985 #

Lois Jacobs Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Ch ...

, (Iowa) 1985–1987 #

Mary Lou Webb Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

, (Mississippi) 1987–1989 # Rosemary Carroll, (New Jersey) 1989–1991 #

Marj Carpenter Marj Carpenter (August 23, 1926 – June 13, 2020) was an American reporter and mission interpreter for the Worldwide Ministries division of the Presbyterian Church (USA). She was elected to the church's top post, Moderator of the General Assembly, ...

, (Kentucky) 1991–1993 #

Gwen White Gwen may refer to: * Gwen (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Gwen, or the Book of Sand'', a 1985 animated film * Gwen (film), a 2018 horror film * Tropical Storm Gwen, several storms with the name Acronyms * AN/URC-117 Grou ...

, (North Carolina) 1993–1995 # Ruth Anna, (Colorado) 1995–1997 #

Linn Rounds Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part of G ...

, (Wyoming) 1997–1999 # Vivian Sadowski, (Kansas) 1999–2001 # Ella Wright, (Alaska) 2001–2003 #

Donna Penticuff Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...

, (Indiana) 2003–2005 # Meg Hunt, (South Carolina) 2005–2007 #

Marsha Shuler Marsha is a variant spelling of Marcia. Notable people with the name include: * Marsha Ambrosius (born 1977), former member of the English band duo Floetry *Marsha Arzberger (born 1937), Democratic politician *Marsha Barbour, first lady of the U ...

, (Louisiana) 2007–2009 # Cynthia Price, (Virginia) 2009–2011 #

Lori Potter Lori may refer to: *Lori (given name) *Lori Province, Armenia *Lori Fortress, a fortress in Armenia *Lori Berd, a village in Armenia *Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, a historical Armenian kingdom from c. 980 to 1240, sometimes known as the Kingdom of L ...

, (Nebraska) 2011–2013 #

Teri Ehresman Teri is a given name directly from Teresa. Notable people with the name include: * Teri Ann Linn (born 1961), American actress and singer *Teri Anulewicz, American politician * Teri Austin (born 1957), Canadian actress * Teri Byrne (born 1972) ...

, (Idaho) 2013–2015 # Marsha Hoffman, (Iowa) 2015–2017 # , arianne Wolf-Astrauskas, (Illinois) 2017–2019 # Gwendolynne Larson, (Kansas) 2019–present

Activity

The NFPW conducts annual surveys about women in communications jobs. NFPW also created its own publication, ''Press Woman''. AGENDA is the Federation's current publication.

Competitions

Professional Communications Contest

Each year NFPW sponsors competitions to reward excellence in communication. Winners are honored at the NFPW Professional Communications Contest Awards Banquet, which is held in conjunction with a yearly conference. The Federation's annual communications contest was established in 1940 during the presidency of Bertha I. Bless of Missouri. The presentation of honor award certificates to national winners and the announcement of the national sweepstakes winner remains a conference highlight. NFPW affiliates throughout the United States have annual communications contests that provide affiliate members an opportunity to compete against regional colleagues in a broad range of categories set by NFPW. All entrants to the national contest are required to be professional, student or retired members of NFPW. Where there is no state affiliate, the member is eligible to compete in the At-Large contest.

National High School Communications Contest

The NFPW High School Communications Contest honors excellence in student journalism and is the only nationwide communications competition for high school students. Winners at the national level are chosen by winning at the state level first. It is endorsed by the

National Association of Secondary School Principals The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is a national organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 ...

. Dow Jones announces first-place winners and promotes the competition in its publication distributed to journalism advisers across the nation, giving students and their teachers/advisers local and nationwide recognition.

Communicator of Achievement

Each year, a professional communicator is selected as the National Communicator of Achievement. This program was established during the presidency of Velma Price of Nebraska. NFPW started the program as the Woman of Achievement award which was first given at the 1957 convention in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. The first honoree was Charlotte Paul of Washington. The award was renamed Communicator of Achievement in 1989. Today, the Communicator of Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the National Federation of Press Women upon those members who have distinguished themselves within and beyond their profession.

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (born February 21, 1933) is a Native American author, with a focus on children's books about Native Americans. Background and family The daughter of James Driving Hawk, an Episcopalian priest, and Rose Driving Hawk ( ...

, the 1975 Woman of Achievement, was an author of 20 books, numerous short stories and essays about Native American life and culture, a member of the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

affiliate, and the recipient of the National Medal of Humanities. The Medal of Humanities was presented by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on Dec. 20, 2000, at D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington DC. Randy Richardson, a member of the Illinois Woman's Press Association affiliate, was the 2017 Communicator of Achievement winner, becoming the first man to take the honor in 60 years.

Communicator of Achievement Honorees

The following individuals have been honored: * 1957 Charlotte Paul (Washington) * 1958 Margaret Dixon (Louisiana) * 1959 Emma C. McKinney (Oregon) * 1960 Roberta "Bobbie" Forster (Arkansas) * 1961 No Award * 1962 Agness Underwood (California) * 1963 Helen Waterhouse (Ohio) * 1964

Olive Burt Olive Woolley Burt (1894–1981) was an American teacher and journalist, known as a folklorist for her collection of murder ballads. She was also a prolific author of books.Ann Reichman, ''8. Olive Woolley Burt, Collector of Murder Ballads'', pp. 6 ...

(Utah) * 1965 Vada Carlson Rodridguez (Arizona) * 1966 Hortense Myers (Indiana) * 1967 Gladys Erickson (Illinois) * 1968 Mamie Boyd (Kansas) * 1969 Hilda Bryant (Washington) * 1970

Charlotte Schexnadyer Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

(Arkansas) * 1971

Hazel Brannon Smith Hazel Freeman Smith (née Brannon; February 4, 1914 – May 15, 1994) was an American journalist and publisher, the owner and editor of four weekly newspapers in rural Mississippi, mostly in Holmes County. Her newspapers included the ''Lexingt ...

(Mississippi) * 1972

Marjorie Holmes Marjorie Holmes (1910–2002) was an American columnist and best-selling Christian author of 134 books, 32 of which were best sellers. Holmes is known best for her biblical trilogy which began with the novel ''Two From Galilee'', a love story abou ...

(Virginia) * 1973 Ruth Carlson (Michigan) * 1974

Emily Ivanoff Brown Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

(Alaska) /

Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, wh ...

(District of Columbia) * 1975 Virginia Sneve (South Dakota) * 1976 Lois Watkins (Virginia) * 1977

Margaret Woolfolk Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning " pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular throug ...

(Arkansas) * 1978 Kathy Piper (Colorado) * 1979 Joann Easley Arnold (Colorado) * 1980 Lynn Stewart (Louisiana) * 1981 Faye Plank (New Mexico) * 1982 Betzi Woodman (Alaska) * 1983 Ann McKay Thompson (South Dakota) * 1984

(Georgia) * 1985

Lois Lambley Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Ch ...

(Nebraska) * 1986

Joanne Zerkel Joanne may refer to: Music * ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga ** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne'' * "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South'' * "Joanne", a song by C ...

(Illinois) * 1987 Kay Kennedy (Alaska) * 1988

(Washington) * 1989

Donna Hunt Marina Oliver (born 1934) is a British writer of romance novels. She has also written under the pseudonyms of Sally James, Donna Hunt, Bridget Thorn, Vesta Hathaway, Livvy West and Laura Hart. Marina also published writing books. Oliver was el ...

(Texas) * 1990 D. J. Cline (South Dakota) * 1991

Dorothy Steinmeier Dorothy may refer to: * Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters * Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character pla ...

(Indiana) * 1992 Olga Gize Carlile (Illinois) * 1993 Joan Burney (Nebraska) * 1994 Mary Rueter (Iowa) * 1995 Jan Ingram (Alaska) * 1996

Vivien Sadowski Vivien may refer to: * Vivien (name), variant spelling * Vivien, Western Australia, an abandoned town in Australia * , a British destroyer launched in 1918 and sold in 1947 for scrapping See also * Saint-Vivien (disambiguation) * Vivienne * ...

(Kansas) * 1997 Louise Seals (Virginia) * 1998 Marjorie Setter (Kansas) * 1999 No Award * 2000 Eva Marie Pearson (Arkansas) * 2001 Jane Brandt (North Dakota) * 2002 Kay Wood Bailey (Delaware) * 2003

Carole Eberly Carole is a feminine given name (see Carl for more information) and occasionally a surname. Carole may refer to: Given name *Carole B. Balin (born 1964), American Reform rabbi, professor of Jewish history * Carole Bayer Sager (born 1947), America ...

(Michigan) * 2004 Mary Kimbrough (Missouri) * 2005 Ree Strange Sheck (New Mexico) * 2006 Betty Packard (California) * 2007 Peggyann Hutchinson (Oregon) * 2008 Clara Cartrette (North Carolina) /

Cary Herz Cary may refer to: Places ;United States * Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area * Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area * Cary, Miami County, Indiana * Cary, Maine * Cary, Mississippi * Cary, North Carolin ...

(New Mexico) * 2009 Heloise (Texas) * 2010 Karen Stensrud (North Dakota) * 2011 Beth Miller Delaware) * 2012 Cynthia Price (Virginia) * 2013 Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas (Illinois) * 2014

Becky Funke Becky or Beckie is a feminine given name, often a short form ( hypocorism) of Rebecca. It may refer to: People * Rebecca Allison (born 1946), American cardiologist and transgender activist * Rebecca Becky Anderson (born 1967), British journalist ...

(Kansas) * 2015 Barbara Gigone (Colorado) * 2016

Loretta Hall Loretta is a female given name, the masculine version being Lauro. The name derives its name from the laurel tree which is symbolic of victory. This name is Italian in origin; it was popularized in the United States in the 1930s. It has many vari ...

(New Mexico) * 2017 Randy Richardson (Illinois) * 2018 Billie Travalini (Delaware) * 2019 Eileen Wirth (Nebraska) * 2020 Sandy Michel Nance (Colorado)

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Federation of Press Women Women's organizations based in the United States Journalism-related professional associations Organizations established in 1937 1937 establishments in the United States Organizations for women writers