At the WHSSPA March meeting, the Board voted to extend the deadline for the WHSSPA Journalist of the Year award to March 17, 2010.

• The portfolio must be in the hands of Executive Director Dawn Knudsvig by that date in order for it to be judged and the winner sent on to the national JEA contest.

           The mailing address is:   Dawn Knudsvig
                                                      1601 Meade Avenue,
                                                       P.O. Box 125  
                                                      Clearmont, WY  82835-0125

• ·After convention expenses there are no monies available, so for this year there will be no stipend attached. The journalist will be honored as Wyoming Journalist of the Year which makes the student eligible to compete at for the National JEA Journalist of the Year.

• The portfolio will be judged by March 24 and the winner will be forwarded to the national contest.  In order to be considered, the portfolios submitted for the state contest must meet the guidelines of the national contest.

          The guidelines for JEA Journalist of the Year can be found at:                                                                                                        http://www.jea.org/awards/journalist.html

Two $500 scholarships are available in January to graduating seniors who have served on a newspaper, a yearbook, or on a broadcast journalism (Journalist of the Year only) staff.  One scholarship is funded by Walsworth Publishing Company (The Jimmie Joe Johnson III: Friend of Journalism Scholarship) and the Journalist of the Year Scholarship, sponsored by the WHSSPA.  Watch for a mailing from the WHSSPA for information on these scholarships .  The Friend of Journalism scholarship is an appreciation award, and the Journalist of the Year scholarship is only for a student pursuing a career in journalism.

The adviser of the student must approve the application and applicants must submit a portfolio that illustrates examples of the student's work, a transcript of the student's grades, and three letters of recommendation.  These materials must be received by the WHSSPA's Executive Director by the first Friday in February.  Scholarship checks will be mailed directly to the registrar of the institution that the student plans to attend.