Touchstone Awards ceremony returns to the Valentine Theatre Thursday, Sept. 25

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The Press Club of Toledo will celebrate the best in local journalism this fall when it hosts the 2025 Touchstone Awards at the Valentine Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 25. The ceremony marks 27 years of honoring area journalists and communications professionals.

Touchstone Nominations

To be eligible for a 2025 Touchstone Award, work must have been produced or published between May 15, 2024, and May 14, 2025. There are 20 categories across print and online, television, audio production and communications. Nominations will be judged by a panel of journalism professionals from outside the Toledo region.

Touchstone nomination fees are $10 for students, $25 for Press Club members and $75 for nonmembers. Nonmembers can also submit a nomination and become a first-time individual member for $50.

The 2025 ceremony will debut an Emerging News Media Professional Award. The award recognizes new voices in journalism who exemplify integrity and public service. Nominees must have fewer than five years of professional news media experience. Submissions for this award will be judged by a panel of past Press Club presidents and former board members.

Nominations for Touchstone and Emerging News Media Professional awards will be accepted between May 15 and July 15. Visit toledopressclub.com for the online nomination forms.

Community Award Winners

In addition to recognizing excellence in journalism and communications, the Press Club of Toledo honors individuals and organizations for their service and contributions to the greater Toledo community. The 2025 honorees are:

  • Robert Smith, founder of the African American Legacy Project of Northwest Ohio, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the community in business, public service and philanthropy.
  • Diane Larson, retired 13abc news anchor and journalist, and Paul Kwapich, retired WTOL photojournalist, will each receive the Golden Touchstone Award, recognizing lifetime achievement in journalism in Northwest Ohio.
  • The John Henry Eldred Jr. Foundation will receive the Contributor Award, honoring outstanding contributions to the community, specifically significant impacts on quality of life in Northwest Ohio over the past year.

Press Club Scholarships

The Touchstone Awards is a fundraiser for the Press Club of Toledo’s scholarship fund. Two scholarships are awarded annually at the ceremony to students from The University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University who epitomize service and dedication to the profession of journalism. The scholarships are named in honor of two longtime Blade employees:

  • Kurt G. Franck, a former executive editor, general manager and vice president at The Blade and Block Communications Inc., who passed away in 2024. Franck was also a former Press Club board member and strong supporter of the club.
  • Bernard F. Judy, a career journalist who served The Blade for more than 40 years, including as editor-in-chief before retiring in 1989. Judy was also a Press Club founder and board member.

Tickets for the 2025 Touchstone Awards are on sale now at toledopressclub.com, with discounts available for Press Club members, nominees and students.

April 17, 2025 – Meet the Press Event

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PRSA – Northwest Ohio Chapter, Press Club Toledo, and AAF Toledo are partnering to host a Meet the Press panel discussion with local media talent. This event will provide attendees with valuable insights on how to best pitch stories and connect with local journalists. The discussion will feature prominent local media professionals who will share their expertise on what makes a compelling story and the best practices for building relationships with journalists. The event will be hosted by Communica on Thursday, April 17, starting at Noon.

Networking will begin at 11:30 AM, giving attendees the chance to connect with other professionals in PR, sales, marketing, and media before the panel discussion begins. This event is ideal for public relations professionals, marketers, business owners, and anyone interested in learning how to effectively engage with local media.

https://www.ticketleap.events/…/meet-the-press-1105928160

PRESS CLUB OF TOLEDO SCHOLARSHIPS

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Application LInk: https://forms.gle/EHnU1VU4kUGCyHZx5

The Press Club of Toledo offers the Kurt G. Franck and Bernard F. Judy Scholarships, awarded annually to a student from the University of Toledo and a student from Bowling Green State University who epitomize the service and dedication to the profession of journalism. 

Kurt Franck was a long-time executive at The Blade, where he began his tenure as managing editor in 2000. He later served as executive editor, general manager and vice president of newspaper operations for Block Communications Inc. before he passed away 2024. Kurt Franck was a former board member and strong supporter of the Press Club of Toledo. 

Bernard Judy was a career journalist at The Blade. He began his career in 1948 and served in many positions including general assignment reporting, editorial writing, associate editor, editorial director, editor and finally editor-in-chief before retiring in 1989. Bernard Judy also was a board member and founder of the Press Club of Toledo.

APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS

  • From Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan
  • A journalism, communications or related major
  • Involved as journalist with campus media and/or local professional journalism organizations
  • Desire to focus your career in journalism

Please complete this application form by the deadline of 5 p.m. Sunday, May 11, 2025 to be considered for the 2025 scholarship award. 

Two $500 scholarships will be awarded. The $500 Kurt G. Franck Scholarship will recognize a UToledo student journalist, and the $500 Bernard F. Judy Scholarship will recognize a BGSU student journalist. 

The 2025 scholarship recipients will be recognized in person at the Touchstone Awards on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 at the Valentine Theatre.

Contact Scholarship Committee Chair Nicki Gorny at nicole.gorny@utoledo.edu with any questions. 

Speed Networking – January 23, 2025

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The Press Club of Toledo and Communica are hosting a members-only event to help communications professionals connect: Speed Networking. We want to give our members the opportunity to spend time with leaders in their field, whether they are looking for contract work or to find a full-time position in the communications field.

The event will be held on Thursday, January 23rd, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Communica (31 N. Erie St., Toledo). Appetizers and drinks will be available, along with the chance to mingle with other participants. The actual roundtable speed networking aspect of the event will begin at 6 p.m. For those who have never attended such an event, it is an opportunity to meet with many different professionals through timed interactions so that you can meet everyone in the room. Make sure to bring business cards and/or resumes.

If you are not yet a member, you can pay the membership fee before the event or the night of. Annual membership fees are as follows:

Student Membership: $10 – For current students in any discipline.

Retired Membership: $10 – For retired media professionals.

First Year Membership: $25 – For brand new members.

Professional Membership: $40 – Active member who is an employee or contract worker for a newspaper, radio station, television station or news magazine and involved in the direction of or gathering, dissemination, solicitation or photographing of news or other material for publication or broadcast. Also includes those whose principal occupation is in the field of public relations,

promotion, advertising or communication materials.

Associate Membership: $90 – Persons not eligible for active membership but are considered news sources or news makers. It’s an opportunity for professionals who are not in the communications field to join.

Corporate Membership: $500 – If your business pays for a corporate membership, all employees and freelancers who work for that business receive membership benefits, like access to this event!

For questions about membership or the event, reach out at info@toledopressclub.com.

Holiday Mixer

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🎄✨ You’re Invited to the Toledo Press Club Holiday Mixer! 🎉

📅 Date: Wednesday, December 4
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM
📍 Location: Mancy’s Steakhouse

Get into the holiday spirit with an evening of good company, festive cheer, and great food! Enjoy complimentary appetizers while mingling with fellow media and communications professionals. A cash bar will keep the holiday spirits flowing. 🍸🍴

Let’s celebrate the season together at one of Toledo’s iconic spots. Don’t miss out—mark your calendar and spread the word!

Local journalists and community leaders honored at the annual Touchstone Awards ceremony

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Press Club of Toledo also announced a new scholarship named in memory of former Blade president and general manager Kurt G. Franck

Members of the media and public relations professionals gathered at The Valentine Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 for the Press Club of Toledo’s annual Touchstone Awards ceremony. Throughout the evening, guests paid their respects to media groundbreakers who had passed in 2024, celebrated the best in local journalism from the past year, honored leaders in the community and awarded scholarships to area journalism students.

Shaun Hegarty, investigative reporter with 13abc, served as master of ceremonies for the event.

The program began with a remembrance of several individuals who made an indelible mark on Toledo’s media landscape: Kurt G. Franck, former president and general manager of The Blade; Rico Neller, founder and editor of La Prensa, Ohio’s longest-running bilingual newspaper; Jim Weber, Toledo Mud Hens longtime play-by-play announcer; and W. Charles “Charlie Chuck” Welch, creator of The Juice FM 107.3 (WJUC), Ohio’s first radio station to be founded by an African American.

“While the Press Club takes this moment to recognize the considerable contributions Kurt, Rico, Jim and Chuck each made to the Toledo community,” said Press Club of Toledo Board President Stephanie Elton, “we can find comfort knowing that their legacies continue in newsrooms and recording studios across the Toledo region.”

Twenty-two Touchstone Awards were given throughout the evening across print, digital, television, radio, photojournalism, social media and public relations categories. This year’s award categories were judged by a panel of journalists and media professionals from the Denver and South Texas areas.

The Press Club also presented its Community Awards to four individuals who exemplify public service, dedication to the field of journalism and the principles of the Press Club. The 2024 Community Award honorees were Barbara Hendel, Ambrea Mikolajczyk, Debbie Monagan and Mark Zaborney.

The evening concluded with the Press Club announcing that one of its two scholarships had been renamed in honor of Kurt G. Franck.

“Kurt was a staunch advocate for journalism and an avid supporter of the Press Club of Toledo,” said Elton. “Naming a college scholarship in his honor is one way the Press Club can show its appreciation of Kurt and his contributions to journalism and to Toledo.”

The Kurt G. Franck and Bernard F. Judy Scholarships are awarded annually to students from The University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University who epitomize service and dedication to the profession of journalism. This year’s scholarship recipients are Autumn Vasquez, a media communications student at the University of Toledo and Allison McVicker, a journalism and photography student from Bowling Green State University.

The 2024 Touchstone Awards were supported in part by The Blade, Adams Street Publishing, Communica, Nuestra Gente Community Projects, Owens Corning, SSOE Group, the Toledo Free Press and media sponsor BCAN/BCSN.

2024 Touchstone Award Winners

  • Digital/Print (Daily) Hard News: Melissa Burden and Luke Ramseth, The Blade
  • Digital/Print (Daily) Feature: Maddie Coppel, The Blade
  • Digital/Print (Daily) Sports: Andy Wolf, The Blade
  • Digital/Print (Daily) Arts and Entertainment: Jason Webber, The Blade 
  • Digital/Print (Non Daily) Hard News: Leslie Anne Shore, MLiving News
  • Digital/Print (Non Daily) Feature: Riley Runnels, MLiving News
  • Digital/Print (Non Daily) Sports: Jason Buchanan, MLiving News
  • Digital/Print (Non Daily) Arts and Entertainment: Tanner Wertz, MLiving News 
  • Photojournalism Videography: Philip Kaplan, The Blade
  • Photojournalism Digital/Print: Jeremy Wadsworth, The Blade
  • Radio Daily: Brad Cresswell, WGTE
  • Radio Long Form: Mary Claire Murphy, WGTE
  • Digital Video/Television Hard News: WTOL
  • Digital Video/Television Feature: BCAN
  • Digital Video/Television Sports: Joel Sebastianelli, BCSN
  • Digital Video/Television Arts and Entertainment: Shane Potgieter, WGTE
  • Use of Social Media: Thread Connected Marketing
  • Blog/Website: Kendahl Plank, Destination Toledo
  • Podcast: Chris Peiffer, WGTE
  • Public Relations Campaign: Kelsey Rader, Toledo Lucas County Public Library
  • Student Digital Video/Television: Autumn Vasquez, University of Toledo
  • Student Digital/Print: Autumn Vasquez, University of Toledo

2024 Community Award Winners

  • Barbara Hendel, society editor at The Blade, is the recipient of the Norm Cartwright Award, which is named after a founding member of the Press Club of Toledo and honors outstanding efforts to promote the Press Club’s principles.
  • Ambrea Mikolajczyk, real estate developer and owner of ARK Restoration and Construction, is the recipient of the Contributor Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the community, specifically someone who has made a significant impact on the quality of life in Northwest Ohio over the past year.
  • Debbie Monagan, president ex officio of Communica, is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the community in all aspects, including business, public service and philanthropy.
  • Mark Zaborney, retired reporter from The Blade, is the recipient of the Golden Touchstone Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in the field of journalism in Northwest Ohio.

2024 Scholarship Recipients

  • Kurt G. Franck Scholarship: Autumn Vasquez, University of Toledo
  • Bernard F. Judy Scholarship: Allison McVicker, Bowling Green State University