Vol. LIV, No. 40		Thurs., Nov. 18, 2004

In This Issue NPC LUNCHEONS Club Newsmakers Meeting of Affiliates, Associates on Dec. 15 Don't Forget to Vote MEET YOUR 2005 NPC CANDIDATES Cancer Survivor Heads For Another Mountaintop MPA Focuses on Movie Makers' Rights, Piracy Domingo: 'Stellar Cast' Ready for WNO Anniversary COMING EVENTS Previous on-line Records Luncheon Reservations: 202 662-7501 BANQUET ARRANGEMENTS: 202 662-7515 News Conference Arrangements: 202 662-7515 Fourth Estate Reservations: 202 662-7638 24-Hour Events Hotline: 202 662-7595 Employment Hotline: 202 879-6795

NPC LUNCHEONS Mon., Nov. 22, Brian Gallagher, president, United Way. . . . Tues., Nov. 23, Gen. James Jones, Commander of the U.S. European Command. . . . Thurs., Dec. 2, Bill Novelli, AARP (POSTPONED). . . . Mon., Dec. 6, Brian Lamb, president and CEO of C-SPAN. . . . Mon., Dec. 20, Hank McKinnell, CEO, Pfizer, (POSTPONED). Club Newsmakers

Gen. Jones Lamb

Mon., Nov. 22, at 2 p.m., Amb. of Mongolia Ravdan Bold, will discuss "Mongolia's Role in Northeast Asia: Opportunities and Challenges". . . . Tues., Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. . . . Former U.S. Amb. to Moldova Pamela Smith on conflict in Transnistria. . . . Wed., Jan. 12, at 3 p.m., Amb. Arlette Conzemius of Luxembourg, will discuss the presidency of the European Union. Meeting of Affiliates, Associates on Dec. 15 A meeting of affiliate and associate members will be held at NPC Wed., Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. This will be the last such meeting this year to plan strategies for gaining board voting rights for affiliate/associate members. Don't Forget to Vote Fri., Dec.10. Polls Open from 8 a.m-7 p.m Click here for sample ballot!

William Raspberry, Washington Post columnist, receives the NPC Fourth Estate Award from Club President Sheila Cherry at the awards dinner Nov. 11. PHOTO BY CHRISTY BOWE

MEET YOUR 2005 NPC CANDIDATES Rick Dunham For President: Rick Dunham is White House Correspondent for Business Week. Previous jobs: Dallas Times Herald, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Philadelphia Inquirer. NPC experience: Vice President, Treasurer, Board Chairman, Board of Governors, Lawmakers Committee Chair. Previous positions: chairman, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, chairman, Executive Committee of Periodical Reporters, Regional Reporters Association board. For Vice President: Jonathan D. Salant was elected treasurer last December after six years on the Board, including a year as chair. He chaired the Speakers, Professional Affairs and Freedom of the Press committees. He helped bring the National Writers' Workshop and Investigative Reporters to NPC. He is a reporter at Bloomberg News, covering national politics, campaign finance and lobbying. Jonathan D. Salant Jerry Zremski For Treasurer: Jerry Zremski, membership secretary for the past two years, has been Washington correspondent for The Buffalo News since 1989. He is a former president of the Regional Reporters Association and a former Nieman fellow at Harvard. He chaired the Club's Professional Affairs Committee for two years. Zremski is an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Maryland. For Secretary: Sylvia Smith has worked as a reporter and editor for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette for 31 years and is more than half way to Silver Owl status in the NPC. She has been secretary for the past four years. Last year she received the Club's top volunteer award, the Berny Krug Award. Sylvia Smith John M. Donnelly For Membership Secretary: John M. Donnelly, a defense reporter with Congressional Quarterly, has served on the Board since 2001, chaired the board in 2004 and co-chairs the Press Freedom Committee, where he is a force in the Club's fight for The First Amendment. He plans to improve membership recruiting by marketing the value of professional development events. For Board of Governors (Three-Year Term): Joe Anselmo has been active in the NPC for a decade. He served on the Board of Governors from 1998 to 2004, including one year as chairman. Before that he was chairman of the Forums committee. Anselmo is the Washington-based business editor at McGraw Hill's Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine. Joe Anselmo Maureen Groppe For Board of Governors (Three-Year Term): Maureen Groppe is a reporter with Gannett News Service. An NPC member since 1997, Groppe is a former chairman of the Awards Committee, and has received a Vivian Award for service to the Club. She's also a long-time member and past treasurer of the Regional Reporters Association. For Board of Governors (Three-Year Term): Ron Kuckro, a 23-year member of the Club, is a chief editor with Platts, the energy publishing division of McGraw-Hill. He began working in Washington in 1976 for Gannett News Service and as a correspondent for the Oakland Tribune and Cincinnati Enquirer. He chairs the Forums Committee. Ron Kuckro Alan Bjerga For Board of Governors (To Fill Two Years of an Unexpired Three-Year Term): Alan Bjerga is Knight Ridder's regional correspondent for The Wichita Eagle. The chairman of the Young Members Committee, Alan has organized professional development and new member recruitment events. He's also hosted the Club's popular Pub Quiz and karaoke nights. He'd like to attract members while maintaining Club traditions. For Board of Governors (To Fill Two Years of an Unexpired Three-Year Term): Keith M. Hill, has worked for the Bureau of National Affairs for 15 years. He is an editor/writer for the BNA's Payroll Library publications. He covers federal tax issues, including the IRS and SSA, international taxation. Keith is a member of the Communications/ Marketing, Events/Entertainment, Newsmakers, and Lawmakers Committees. Keith M. Hill Lou Priebe For Board of Governors (Non-Voting, Two-Year Term): Lou Priebe, 33-year NPC member, earned five Vivian Awards. Co-chairman: Membership Recruitment Subcommittee. Member: House Marketing and Communications and Speakers committees, National Capital Public Relations Hall of Fame, Public Relations Society of America. Distinguished Alumnus, University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Sean Swarner PHOTO BY JOHN METELSKY

Cancer Survivor Heads For Another Mountaintop

"There is life after cancer," declares Sean Swarner, and he's going to great heights to prove it. Swarner, diagnosed with two life-threatening forms of cancer as a teenager, appeared at a Club Newsmaker Nov. 10 to announce his next mountain-climbing venture, in Antartica in January. His goal is to scale the highest peak on each continent. He's already conquered Everest, the only cancer survivor to do so. He's also planted flags on behalf of fellow cancer patients atop Kilimanjaro and Elbus. By next June he plans to climb peaks in South America, Australia and then Mt. McKinley. He's 30 now, six feet tall, handsome and living in Boulder, CO. He's beaten heavy odds against survival and says "I'm incredibly grateful for the life I have. I just want to spread a message of hope to people suffering from cancer, to realize that nothing is impossible." To learn more about his crusade, contact the International Spirit of Life Foundation at (301) 585-4870.
— DON KNIGHT

MPA Focuses on Movie Makers' Rights, Piracy

Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Assn. (center) participates in a power luncheon with his predecessor, Jack Valenti. Club member Gene Grabowski (at left) organized the event. PHOTO BY MARSHALL H. COHEN

Dan Glickman, president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, emphasized legal and economic issues facing the movie industry at an NPC Luncheon, Nov. 11. The Association aims to end intellectual piracy, whether it consists of illegal online movie trading or illegal copies made on camcorders in theatres. He noted that the Constitution empowered Congress to protect authors' and inventors' rights to their work. Significant economic interests are at stake: the movie industry has a positive balance of trade with every country in the world. The average film costs $143 million to make and market, but six out of ten do not recoup their costs. If intellectual piracy further reduces returns, fewer movies will appear. They are important, Glickman said, because "a lot of people get the great joy of their life out of going to movies." — LORNA ALDRICH

Placido Domingo, second from left, renowned tenor, hit a high note with President Sheila Cherry, second from right, Vice President Rick Dunham, and Marilou Donohue, who organized the Domingo luncheon and who also sings opera. PHOTO BY JOHN METELSKY

Domingo: 'Stellar Cast' Ready for
WNO Anniversary

The Washington National Opera celebrates its golden anniversary next year and General Director Placido Domingo says he has assembled a stellar international cast for seven productions beginning Sept. 17, 2005. The famed tenor, addressing the Club Luncheon Nov. 10, said the coming season "very much reflects the company's adventurous past and sophisticated audience that has developed here." Domingo said he will sing Act IV of Verdi's "Otello" as part of a special celebratory "triple bill" over five nights starting at the Kennedy Center Sept. 24. Included in the current schedule ending in June, 2005 will be the beginning of Wagner's Ring Cycle and the company's first production of "Porgy and Bess." Obviously upbeat about the celebration to come, Domingo flashed his wide smile and closed with, "There's no business like opera business!" He did not sing that last line. Too bad.
— DON KNIGHT