Press Club of Toledo, Ohio

...promoting the advancement of ethical journalism and fostering fellowship
among representatives of the media and those they cover...




Toledo Area Parent

Toledo City Paper

Sojourner's Truth




WUPW Fox Toledo 

WTO5  Toledo's CW


WKKO K100 Radio
WRQN 93.5

WTOD SuperTalk 1560

WWWM Star 105

Nominations sought
for the annual Touchstone Awards

The Press Club of Toledo annually recognizes newsmakers and newsbreakers in Northwest Ohio through the prestigious Touchstone Awards. We invite you to nominate those individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to Northwest Ohio through journalistic excellence or community service. This year the Touchstone Awards will be presented on October 14, 6:00 p.m., at the Toledo Club.

Download the nomination form here.

Mayor-Elect Mike Bell featured at Pressing Issues

Toledo Mayor-Elect Mike Bell was the featured guest at the most recent Pressing Issues workshop sponsored by the Press Club of Toledo. Mr. Bell discussed how he plans to address media issues. Follow this link to view the discussion via KnowledgeStream.

The Pressing Issues workshops will continue in 2010.

Press Club of Toledo
2009 Touchstone Awards

The 11^th annual Touchstone Awards, honoring community service and excellence in journalism, were presented during ceremonies on October 8^th at the Toledo Club. The awards were presented by the Press Club of Toledo.

The prestigious Lifetime Achiever Award, recognizing long-term efforts to enhance the quality of life in northwest Ohio, was presented to Richard Anderson, chairman emeritus of The Andersons. Over the years, Mr. Anderson has served on the boards of the United Way, Boy Scouts, Public Broadcasting, Rotary Club, and the University of Toledo Foundation. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the boards of Sauder Woodworking, the Toledo Symphony, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the Toledo Community Foundation. His numerous honors include being named Pacemaker of the Year in 1989 by the University of Toledo School of Business Administration. In 2005 Lourdes College conferred on him a Doctor of Public Service, Honoris Causa.

The Touchstone Contributor Award was presented to Billie Johnson, Executive Director of the Area Office on Aging. Ms. Johnson was recognized for her more than three decades advocating for older Ohioans. Over the past year, under her leadership, the Area Office on Aging provided over a million meals to seniors, assisted over 17-thousand grandparents and relatives raising children, and responded to more than 18-thousand contacts for help and services.

A special Home Town Hero Award was presented to Jamie Farr. As a regular cast member of the most watched television program of all time, Jamie Farr brought never-ending recognition to Toledo through his constant references to Tony Packo’s and the Mud Hens. The Jamie Farr Owens-Corning Toledo Classic presented by Kroger, was launched in 1984, and has raised over 6.2-million dollars for local children’s charities.

The Golden Touchstone Award honors a lifetime of achievement in the field of journalism in northwest Ohio. The award was presented to Homer Brickey, who recently retired from The Blade after a 40 year career. His honors include the Ohio Associated Press “Feature of the Year,” and from the U-S Small Business Administration the national “Media Advocate of the Year.” He is the author of two books: “Master Manipulator,” about the collapse of Bell & Beckwith, and the pictorial “Toledo: Access. Opportunity. Edge.” Numerous members of his staff went on to become great journalists and often credit Mr. Brickey for his mentoring.

The Press Club of Toledo scholarship was awarded to Amanda Patton, a junior majoring in Communication with an emphasis in broadcast journalism. She became the youngest student producer of UT:10 news - the university's biweekly newscast and currently is a Morning Producer and traffic reporter at WTOL. She continues to be a full-time student carrying 15 plus credits per semester and balancing her work at Channel 11. Amanda plans to graduate from the University of Toledo in May of 2011 and continue her budding career as a TV journalist.

Excellence in journalism awards, judged by the Radio Television News Director's Association of Northern California, were presented to:

The Blade, for its series “State of Distress.” Judges said, “This is a good, thorough look at the real stories about the economy and the real people who are affected. Good story telling and evidence of great research -- a cornerstone of great journalism.”
Kevin Milliken at El Tiempo for his series looking at the minority inclusion goals of Toledo’s government. The judges noted “that a major mission of a journalist is to hold our leaders accountable – and this entry attempts to do just that.”
WTVG 13 Action News and reporter Bill Horman. Judges said the feature on the Bail-Out Bill “was a great effort to provide perspective and explain it to TV viewers in an understandable and memorable way. He captured the absurdity of the pork and included many voices to give the bill perspective.”

The Norm Cartwright Award, presented to a Press Club member for outstanding contributions to the community and to the Press Club was presented to Jan Skunda. She retired in December 2006 from day-to-day operations of Funk-Luetke-Skunda Marketing, where she had provided counsel since 1993. Prior to joining FLS, Ms. Skunda served as executive director of college relations at Owens College, manager of community relations of American Motors (Chrysler) Jeep in Toledo and spent 11 years at WTOL-TV as news reporter, anchor, weathercaster and producer.

Ms. Skunda has chaired a number of major community projects, including Ohio Goes Uptown and the Corporation for Effective Government. She is a past member of the board of directors for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Toledo Opera. She served as President of the Toledo Press Club, Chairman of the Greater Toledo Area Chapter of the American Red Cross and President of the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Public Relations Society. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Stranahan Theater Trust. In 2007, Ms. Skunda received the Press Club of Toledo Lifetime Achiever Touchstone Award.

Keynote speaker Andy Curliss discussed "rules" of life he had learned from mentor Pat Stith. Many people who heard the address asked for a copy of the rules. Here they are:

1. Never lie to yourself.
2. Half measures avail nothing.
3. It's an ill wind that blows no good.
4. Sooner or later you get to be known for what you are.
5. The harder you work the luckier you get.
6. If you're gonna be dumb, you've got to be tough.

7. Never bet another man's game.
8. You never get paid for more than you do until you get caught doing more than you get paid for.
9. Get an "est" after your name.
10. Pee on problems before you have to call the fire department.

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