Great news! We are happy to announce that the 2021 Touchstone Awards will be held on October 21, 2021! More details to come…we’ll be announcing our speaker and community awards in the coming days and entries for the journalism awards will be open soon.
Last night’s Pressing Issues was a huge success. More than two dozen members of the local media were on hand to hear from Van Applegate of Fox5 TV in Washington and Jim Provance of The Blade as they described their experiences on the front lines of the unrest in our country over the past year. Increasingly, it is becoming impossible for journalists to avoid being part of the story. We thank them both for telling the story of a year that we hope will be unlike any other.
The Press Club held a virtual cocktail event with Toledo Spirits. Dan Phillips, the head bartender at Toledo Spirits, taught Press Club members and guests how to make three cocktails…as well as the history behind Toledo Spirits and their distilling methods.
At its annual meeting in January, the Press Club of Toledo elected Matt Schroder as its new President and Candice Harrison as its Vice-President.
Matt Schroder is currently a Communications Leader on the Corporate Affairs team. In this role, Matt has responsibility for connecting and engaging Owens Corning Roofing employees by elevating the employee and other stakeholder experience with impactful communications.
Candice L. Harrison is the External Communications Manager for the Toledo Public Schools. A native Toledoan and proud graduate of Central Catholic High School, Harrison received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo in 2001 and earned her master’s degree in communications in 2014 from Spring Arbor University. She most recently served as Director of Communications at Toledo Museum of Art and Senior Communications Manager for the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium.
Charlie “Mack” Welch, is the Program Director for the Juice 107.3 and a Realtor at Key Realty.
Charles Welch is a proud native Toledoan. Charles loves what the area has to offer. After living in Atlanta for a few years he moved back home to join his father in starting the new family business – The Juice 107.3. Besides being Program Director at The Juice, he has also hosted the morning drive and afternoon drive. He currently limits his on-air duties to Saturday mornings.
After losing his daughter, Sydney, to leukemia at the age of 11 months he began volunteering at The Toledo Children’s Hospital where Sydney’s Playroom is now located in her honor. Besides focusing on his career as a Real Estate Agent, Charles is also a Minister, a husband and a father.
Erin Marsh fell in love with books and writing as a little girl, and her professional career is evidence that her passion never died. She studied English literature and French at Miami University of Ohio, graduating magna cum laude, and moved to New York City to join AmeriCorps upon graduation.
Once her AmeriCorps fellowship ended and her Master’s degree was complete, Erin continued her career overseas, working as Director of Student Activities for Miami University Dolibois European Center in Luxembourg. She then returned to the States, teaching high school English for almost ten years, before she transitioned to writing as her primary career.
Erin has been writing for Adams Street Publishing Company since 2012 and became the Assignment Editor for Toledo Parent in 2019. In addition to her journalism work, Erin is the social marketing manager for local nonprofits and undertakes freelance writing and editing jobs for small businesses and individuals as needed.
When Erin isn’t writing, she spends her time teaching yoga, biking, hiking, and exploring Toledo with her family.
Well, it wasn’t the event we expected to have at the beginning of the year, but we put the 2020 Touchstone Awards into the books nonetheless.
Thank you to the 82 people who attended our virtual event. We appreciate your support so much.
Also, we thank our generous sponsors who supported the event. Because of their support in these unusual times, we were able to increase the scholarships to $1,000. We were happy to give the good news at the event to Kennedy Ellison of the University of Toledo and Shayne Nissen of Bowling Green State University.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Bob Savage, Sr.
Golden Touchstone
Dick Berry
Mary Alice Powell
Contributor Award
Dr. Romules Durant
Wendi Huntley
Print Daily Hard News
Blade Corona Virus Coverage
Print Daily Feature
Precious Fondren, The Blade
Print Daily Sports
Dave Briggs, The Blade
Print Non-Daily Hard News
The Press Newspaper
Print Non-Daily Feature
Jason Webber: Dooley Noted, Toledo City Paper
Photojournalism Videography
Todd Gaertner, WTVG
Photojournalism Print
Kurt Steiss, The Blade
Television Hard News
Brian Duggar, WTOL
Television Feature
Alexandra Kruger BCAN
Television Sports
Claire Dau, BCSN
Radio, Single Report
Brad Creswell WGTE
Radio Show/Series
Brad Creswell WGTE
Podcast
Haley Taylor, WGTE
Social Media
In the Loop WTOL
Digital Media
WTOL Instagram
Student Television
Chase Bachman
Student Print
Riley Runnels
Public Relations Campaign
Thread Marketing Group