Press Club Hosted Reception for Mike Shannon, Media Person of the Year
Event kicked off ticket drive for annual fundraising dinner
By Richard Weiss, President
The Press Club kicked off its annual Media Person of the Year fundraiser with a reception for Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon on June 30 at Lumen Private Events, 2201 Locust Ave, St Louis 63103.
Mike was on hand to meet and greet Press Club supporters who are preparing to honor him this fall at the club's annual dinner. The reception was designed to ramp up interest and enthusiasm for the event that will feature guest toasters, Joe Buck and Tony LaRussa. The Media Person of the Year dinner will be held Sept. 29 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch.
The Press Club has honored distinguished persons in the local media since 1988 at events that are by turns charming, fun loving, rollicking and poignant.This year will be no exception, but it will also be different, says Press Club President Dick Weiss.
"There will be lots of laughs, but underlying this event is a serious purpose," Weiss said. "At a time when budget cuts have taken a toll on higher education, proceeds from the event will support scholarships and internships for collegiate journalists. At a time when the economy has forced layoffs and cutbacks at newspapers, the proceeds will also be used to support enterprise reporting through a fellowship program for professional journalists."
The Fellowship program has already borne fruit with three groundbreaking efforts on disaster preparedness; hate crimes and the machinations of an Illinois lobbyist. The stories have appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, St. Louis Jewish Light and FOCUS/Midwest. A fourth story through the program is in the works at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Press Club offers a variety of ways for Mike's fans to participate with the sale of single tickets and table sponsorship levels at $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000. Supporters can sign up online at stlpressclub.org or call Glenda Partlow at 636-230-1973.