For those who make, cover, influence and consume the news.
The St. Louis Press Club is for those who make, cover and influence the news. Our mission is to raise awareness and funding for student journalism scholarships to help ensure the future of quality media. We serve our members through professional development activities to bolster their skills to address the changing needs of the global communications profession and to offer social activities that build a vital media community.
To contact the Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis office, call 314-449-8029, or, mail to P.O. Box 410522, St. Louis, MO 63141.
What is the Press Club?
People On the Move
The Press Club is a professional, social and charitable organization of people who make, cover and influence the news. Our members are reporters, editors, news directors, anchors, columnists, professionals in advertising and public relations, and others who may be sources of news. It is a true “umbrella” organization for those in the communications professions. Seminars and meetings are held at various locations in the metropolitan area.
Our Origins
 |
By Rick Stoff The current Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis began in 1956 when our founders filed registration papers with the Missouri Secretary of State. Our official history states that previously there were"at least 10 different demises and resurrections" of the club. In 2004 a series of historical chapters were written for the club's Courier newsletter by a long-time member (and dear friend), the late Verna Green Smith. Her research showed that a St. Louis Press Club was incorporated in Missouri in 1882 but "dissolved a dozen years later." But wait! There's more! An earlier predecessor was formed just after the Civil War. While doing research for one of the many books I probably won't actually write, I acquired a copy of the "Stranger's Guide to St. Louis" printed in 1867 by "G.B. Wintle, Publisher, No. 610 Washington Avenue." "The Press of St. Louis" are listed on page 51 of the pocket-sized (4-by-6-inch)
hardbound publication. Following the names and addresses of 11 newspapers is this paragraph: Our ancestral home, therefore, is memorialized as part of the Gateway Arch National Park lawn. The Hyatt Regency St. Louis, at 315 Chestnut Street, now marks the eastern end of the street, across the interstate highways from the Arch grounds. The Stranger's Guide provides histories of St. Louis and its civic features -- after a page of "Advice to Strangers" on avoiding fleecing while in the city by confidence games, keno halls, gambling dens, pickpockets and unscrupulous operators of hackney carriages and baggage wagons. Dozens of pages list hotels, amusements, libraries, schools, convents, hospitals, churches, asylums (eight for orphans and infants), passenger railways, banks, cemeteries and 386 sidewalk fire alarm locations. Among the options available to the faithful of 1867 was a weekly service of The Society of Spiritualists. There were two pages of halls operated by social organizations including the Masons, Good Fellows, Odd Fellows, Good Templars and the Workingmen's Assembly. There was a Temperance Hall at 3rd Street and Washington and four halls welcoming Druids. Display advertisements were printed in the back pages for establishments such as De Bar's Opera House, D.C. Jaccard & Co. clocks and watches, Wesley Fallon Carriage Manufacturer, Dr. Storm's Celebrated Scotch Cough Candy and Prof. Wm. Henry's Fashionable Dancing Academy. Would it be politically incorrect to say that a favorite haunt of the press gang may have been the Laclede Parlor Saloon? "A fine saloon fitted up in a very beautiful style, where is kept constantly on hand the finest assortment of wines and liquors. This saloon is constantly open day and night." Click Here to read the history of the press club by Verna Green Smith. |
 |
|---|
Why Should I Join?
Networking
Joining the Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis is a great way to meet people who share your goals. Through stimulating forums and meetings, you network with other communication leaders in the area, debate professional issues, exchange ideas and make valuable contacts.
Current Events
Stay on top of issues, trends and techniques—while gaining valuable networking opportunities. Other benefits include our comprehensive Media and Community Resource Guide, a guide to the region’s media, newsmakers and communication businesses, and The Courier, our monthly newsletter, which highlights club activities.Social ActivitiesSocial activities for members and guests have included concerts, nights at the theater, weekend trips, tours of foreign lands, golfing, tours of new attractions, sporting events and after-work events at various places. Members are interesting people, who are interested in their work and communityHow Can I Make A Difference?Community Involvement
The Press Club sponsors the Media Person of the Year dinner every spring. The dinner roast is one of the biggest Press Club events of the year and has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for scholarships, internships and other worthy causes. The St. Louis Library’s Media Archives were started and are maintained by the Press Club.
Mission
Our mission is to raise awareness and funding for student journalism scholarships and enterprise grants for working, independent journalists to spotlight under-reported topics in our region. We serve our members through professional development activities to bolster their skills to address the changing needs of the global communications profession and to offer social activities that build a vital media community.
Apply/Renew Your Membership
Can I Donate?
Questions?
Call our Executive Director at: (314) 449-8029
or e-mail her at execdir@stlpressclub.org
Bylaws of The Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis Charitable Fund Inc.
- Name and Location:
The organization and its fund shall be formally known as the Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis Charitable Fund and shall conduct its business at locations in greater St. Louis, Missouri deemed appropriate and proper by its Board of Directors.
- Membership:
Active members: The active memberships shall be limited to persons, whose primary source of income is or has previously been from the public media, including newspapers, magazines, wire services, television and radio stations or professions that work closely with the media.
Corporate member: The corporate membership shall be available to corporations that desire memberships. The Board of Directors (as defined in Section IV below) shall have authority to define the number per corporation.
Special member: The special membership shall consist of those who reside outside the metropolitan St. Louis area or those who might fit into any of the categories above but are retired and would have qualified as active.
Student member: The student membership shall consist of any persons enrolled in a college or university with focus on journalism and/or communications programs.
Friends: Friends of the press Club are considered non-voting members of the Club and their membership rate is to be decided by the Board.
The Board of Directors shall have full authority to rule upon the qualifications and number of members in each category of all applicants for membership in any classification through the membership committee. The board's decision shall be final.
Only members in good standing shall have the privilege of voting in any election or on any proposal to amend the constitution or bylaws. The exception is the Friends category, which has no voting rights.
- Membership Dues:
The Board of Directors has the authority to set the dues.
The Board of Directors has the right to offer a trial active membership of up to 12 months at no cost or at a reduced rate.
Memberships shall include a subscription to the fund's official publications and reduced rates at selected fund activities.
Contributions for membership shall be payable for a term of one year and shall be renewable at the beginning of the calendar year.
The Board of Directors shall have the authority to waive contributions for membership for any individual for services rendered to the fund.
Effective 2007, the President and past Presidents shall be awarded honorary lifetime memberships.
- Officers and Directors:
The Board of Directors shall consist of no more than 36 members. The
election of one-third of the directors shall be held during the month of December either at a meeting for that purpose or by mail ballot sent to all members of the fund. The ballot shall list the persons recommended by the nomination committee for elections to the Board of Directors. This mail ballot should also include space for write-in candidates for persons other than those selected by the nominating committee.
All newly elected board members shall serve a three-year term from the January after their election until the January after their successors have been elected.
Each Director shall be elected and hold office for a term of three years and until his or her successor shall have been elected and qualified. A Director may be elected to succeed himself or herself. No person shall serve as Director who is not a member of the organization in good standing.
Immediately following a term in office, a President shall serve upon the Board of Directors as immediate Past President and shall remain on the board in that position until a new President is elected.
In the case of a vacancy on the Board of Directors, the President shall appoint, with the approval of the board, a new director to fill the unexpired term.
OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Members of the board shall elect officers for the fund during the month of December.
The officers to be elected shall be President, President-Elect, Vice President of Membership, Vice President of PR, Vice President of Programs, Vice President of Education/Scholarships, Vice President of Fund Raising, and Vice-President of Enterprise Journalism, Vice President of Nominations, Secretary and Treasurer. In addition the immediate past President serves on the Board.
The Board also shall consist of President Emeriti – who – with the exception of the Immediate Past President – shall have no Board voting rights.
The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers – including the Immediate Past President – but not the President Emeriti – and the Executive Director shall be an ex-officio member.
The Executive Committee shall review matters for recommendation to the Board, to bring any matter directly to the Board for its consideration.
An Advisory Council shall be appointed to aid the President in his/her work. It shall consist of all Past Presidents. The term on the advisory committee for the Past Presidents shall be lifetime and for other members of that committee two years and follow the terms of the President.
The terms of the Officers
The President and all the officers shall serve for a term of two years. Each officer can succeed himself or herself for additional two-year terms.
The number of Board meetings
A minimum of nine (9) Board meetings shall be held each calendar year, at the discretion of the President
To retain membership on the Board of Directors, a Board member should attempt to attend a minimum of two-thirds of the Board meetings held or at the most eight meetings within a 12-month period and be an active member of at least one working committee. Exceptions to these requirements are at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
- Duties of Officers:
The President shall preside at all meetings of the fund, and with the secretary, shall attest to official actions of the Club, as documents pertaining to the fund's business, except such financial reports and other papers as may be within the responsibility of the treasurer and such routine correspondence and other documents as may fall within the responsibilities of other officers. In the absence of the President, the President-Elect will preside at meetings of the fund. In the absence of the President and the President-Elect, the President shall appoint a replacement from theExecutive Committee to preside at the meetings.
The President-Elect shall in the absence of the President, or in the event of his or her inability or refusal to act, perform all of the duties of the President and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time. These duties include, but are not limited to presiding over Board and Annual and other membership meetings. The President-Elect shall assist the President with management of the Organization. The President-Elect shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the President.
The Secretary who shall be a member of the Board of Directors and who shall attend all meetings of the Board of Directors, shall, in collaboration with the Executive Director, keep the roster and records of the Club, notify members of meetings, keep and maintain minutes of meetings of the fund and of the Board of Directors, be the custodian of the corporate records and seal, and assign other duties as assigned by the Board of Directors.
These tasks can, with the approval of the president, be modified per agreement between the Secretary and the Executive Director.
The Treasurer shall be custodian of the assets of the fund; report to the Board of Directors regularly as to the status of these assets, and shall pay all expenditures properly authorized and approved by the Board of Directors, collect contributions and issue membership cards; and shall otherwise act as the chief fiscal officer of the fund.
The Vice President of Membership shall chair the Membership Committee and make recommendations to the Board of Directors about membership strategy and engage the board in the process of adding members to the Press Club roster. He or she shall also select (in consultation with the President) the members of Membership Committee.
The Vice President of PR shall select (in consultation with the President) the members of and chair the PR Committee. The VP of PR shall execute and oversee all Marketing, PR and Publicity activities including the Courier Bulletin and the Web Site, in cooperation with the Executive Director.
He or she shall provide proper notice to membership and community at large of services and programs being held in or sponsored by the Press Club.
The VP of PR shall generate press releases or other publications in a timely manner and work closely with the leadership, and professional staff, and all committees.
The Vice President of Fund Raising shall select (in consultation with the President) the members of and chair the Fundraising Committee. He or she shall make recommendations to the Board about fund raising activities and events and shall, in conjunction with such ad hoc committees as may be appointed by the Vice President and/or the Board, oversee the planning and implementation of such activities and events as are approved by the Board of Directors.
The Vice President of Programs shall select (in consultation with the President) the members of and chair the Program Committee. The VP of Programs shall recommend to the Board of Directors program activities for the Club. He or she shall report to each Board meeting about upcoming programs and get the Board’s approval.
The Vice President of Education/Scholarship shall select (in consultation with the President) the members of and chair the Education/Scholarship Committee. The VP of Education/Scholarship shall be responsible for all Education activities of the Club. He or she shall recommend education activities to the Board of Directors and get the Board’s approval. The Vice President of Education/Scholarship shall, in conjunction with the Executive Director and the President, administer, advertise and select recipients of the Press Club scholarships.
The Vice President of Enterprise Journalism shall solicit members of the media to submit proposals for stories that will promote progress and reform in the St. Louis Metropolitan region. Once submitted, she/he shall present these proposals to a selection committee and guide its vetting processing. The Vice President of Enterprise Journalism shall also organize publicity efforts to promote this program with journalists and to shine a light on the good works that result.
The Vice President of Nominations shall chair the Nominating Committee. In consultation with the President and the President-Elect, the Nominating committee shall suggest Members of the Board and Officers of the Club. The Vice President of Nominations shall present a slate of Directors and Officers at the November meeting of the Board of Directors and election shall take place at the December annual meeting of the Members. In addition, the Vice President shall suggest to the Board names to fill vacancies on the Board and among the Officers.
- Funds:
- Investment of fund assets may be authorized only by the Board of Directors of full membership.
- No money of the fund shall be used for any other than fund purposes.
- No officer, member, or employee of the fund shall create any liability on the Club unless the same be authorized by the Board of Directors.
VII. Committees:
- The Committees shall be Membership, PR, Programs, Education/Scholarships, Fund raising, Nominating and any other committee designated by the Board.
- The Vice President of Membership, Programs, PR, Education/Scholarships, Fund raising, and Nominations shall – in consultation with the President – select members for their respective Committees and shall chair said Committee during their terms as Vice President. The Committee members must be members of the Press Club but not necessarily members of the Board.
- The President may appoint other committees for purpose of advancing the mission of the organization.
VIII. Quorum for Board Meetings and for Membership meetings
- Board quorum shall be the lesser of either 33% of the Board of Directors or 8 Board members.
- A quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the voting membership shall consist of not less than 10 percent of the members in good standing.
IX. Methods of voting for the Board of Directors
a) Voting on motions at a Board meeting can take place with a quorum, as defined in § VIII a,
Voting can also take place ia electronic mail vote per § IX b in the By-Laws:
b) Voting by electronic mail (e-mail) is permitted under these Bylaws.
This may arise, for example, in the event a quorum is not present at a formal meeting, or in the event that Board action is considered desirable at a time between regularly scheduled meetings.
In such cases, all Board Directors have the right to submit a vote within a specified time period (no less than 48 hours, no more than 7 calendar days).
Vote by e-mail will be conducted in the following manner:
i. The President or any three (3) Directors may request a vote via e-mail.
Directors shall have 3 options regarding their vote:
a. Vote to pass the motion
b. Vote to reject the motion
c. Abstain
ii. If no objections are received, a simple majority of all Board Directors is required to pass the vote.
iii. It is the responsibility of each director to inform the Executive Director of the correct e-mail address for purposes of correspondence and e-mail voting
X. Meetings:
a. The Board of Directors shall hold business meetings at a minimum of nine times per year.
b. The President may call a special meeting of the fund or of the Board of Directors at any time.
c. "Robert Rules of Order" shall apply to parliamentary procedure at meetings of the fund and the Board of Directors, except insofar as they are in contravention of the constitution and bylaws of the fund.
d. The order of business at all regular meetings of the membership and the Board of Directors shall be as follows:
1. Roll. 2. Reading and approval of the minutes.
3. President's report. 4. Treasurer's report. 5. Executive Director's report.
6. Committee reports. 7. Unfinished business. 8. New business.
The order of business may be altered as deemed necessary by the President.
e. Special business meetings of the membership may be called by the Board of Directors at any time, upon written request of 50 active members in good standing, addressed to the Board of Directors and submitted at least 30 days in advance of the date for which the meeting has been called and shall state the purpose therefore.
XI. Employees:
All employees shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors.
XII. Amendments to the Bylaws:
These bylaws and any amendments thereto shall be in full force and effect from and after their adoption by an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members attending a meeting duly called for that purpose or by mail as long as all voting members are notified of an impending vote at least 30 days prior to a count of votes.
§