Candidates Named For NPPA National Offices
DURHAM, NC (May 25, 2007) – NPPA National Elections nominations committee chair Denny Simmons has announced the following slate of candidates for NPPA National Office to be elected by the NPPA's board of directors at the annual meeting in Portland, OR, on May 29 and 30.
President Tony Overman is standing for reelection and is unopposed for another one-year term.
Vice president Jack Zibluk, elected in April to replace Scott Utterback, will face Merry Murray for that office, which is a one-year term.
No candidates have stepped forward for the office of treasurer. During the meeting the board will seek nominations from the floor for this two-year term.
NPPA Region 6 director Bob Carey will run for the post of executive committee board representative. Nominations are traditionally taken from the floor for this position with only directors from even numbered regions eligible this year. The EC board representative is a one-year term open only to a current member of the board, and therefore cannot be held by a board member who may be voted out of office in November. Odd numbered regions will elect officers in November of 2007.
Anyone wishing to place a name into nomination from the floor should contact either Denny Simmons at den4life@yahoo.com or their Regional director, the chapters board representative, or a current national officer.
Here are the candidates' biographies and statements:
Tony Overman
NPPA president candidate statement
For the past several years, the board has debated that the president's one-year term is just too short. There have been resolutions to increase the term to two years, but have failed because that translates to a six-year commitment from vice president to president to past president. That's too much to require.
And because every president in modern memory has served one term, there has been the belief that there is a one-term limit on the office. The board even introduced a resolution to allow the president to serve more than one term. During the debate, it was learned that there was nothing stopping the president from serving for two, three or more terms.
With the retirement of our former executive director last June, I recognized the need for continuity as our new ED learned the ropes of NPPA. Instead of a change of bosses in his first months on the job, our new executive director could have much of the same leadership for another year.
With the return of the president, we also retain our past president Alicia Wagner-Calzada. secretary Sean D. Elliott has one year remaining on his term, so he returns to the executive committee. And vice president Jack Zibluk is running for reelection.
I do not take on this decision lightly. The president's job can be overwhelming at times. But I buy the old line that “By the time you figure out what you're doing, your term is over.” I think I've started to figure out what I'm doing. I have a strong circle of elected leaders, program and committee chairs, national office staff and a dynamic new executive director.
This is a crucial time for NPPA and I believe my return as president will continue taking us on the right path.
I thank you for your support.
Jack Zibluk
NPPA vice president candidate statement
In a time when just about anybody with a cell phone camera can upload an image to a major news organization, and the news organization will buy it and publish it instantly, the very definition of photojournalism is changing.
Technology, convergence, staff-position cuts, corporate mergers and other myriad issues face the profession. Whether you're primarily in print, broadcast or on-line, your job isn't the same as it was five years ago, and it won't be five years from now. Indeed our still and video jobs are merging right in front of us.
The NPPA is at a both critical and at an exciting juncture. We're the voice of the professionals and we can, should, and must take the lead in defining just what a professional photojournalist is in the new era. If we do the same old thing, we will become irrelevant.
We have unique and exciting opportunities to reach out to new professionals who desperately need our expertise in technology, professional practices and law and ethics. Many new professionals are stepping into the field with little journalism background. Even those with solid backgrounds face tremendous pressures. The NPPA can meet the needs of the new market and new world, and the growth potential is limitless.
We can't just be reactive and take on projects and causes in an arbitrary and willy nilly fashion. New executive director Jim Straight is an advocate of strategic planning, a process I have studied on the master's and Ph.D. level. I have helped my university put together its own plan, and I helped write the final document. Strategic planning, if done well, can help us set priorities and help us decide which projects to pursue and which battles to fight using our limited resources.
As an educator, former regional director, legal scholar and long-time writer for News Photographer magazine, I am in a unique position to help the organization bridge the gaps between educators and professionals, still and video photojournalists, freelance and staff professionals, large-market and small-market photojournalists and even management and labor.
Change is something I have faced since Day 1 in my career 25 years ago. My first job was with among the last hot lead newspapers in New England. I was editor of my hometown weekly. I have worked for small dailies, big metros, and major magazines. I still freelance as a writer, photographer and educator. I even did a stint covering elections for a cable TV service.
I am excited by the opportunities to continue to be involved with new leadership and new opportunities. I wish to continue as vice president of the NPPA.
Merry Murray
NPPA vice president candidate statement
My name is Merry Murray and I would like to be your vice president.
I have been a television photojournalist for 15 years and an NPPA member for 16 years.
Over the years I have worked in Wichita, Kansas; Lexington, Kentucky; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Nashville, Tennessee before moving back to my home state of Kansas.
I spent 3 years working in a bureau in my hometown of Great Bend until I was asked to move to the main station in Wichita. Which was a good move, since I was able to actually live with my husband.
When I first joined NPPA in college, I wasn’t really sure what it was all about. But over the years I’ve taken advantage of the wonderful programs like the TV News Video Workshop, the Flying Short Courses and Airborne Seminars, and I’ve only missed two of the National Convention education days (now the Summit) in the past 10 years. That doesn’t even touch on the numerous friendships that have been developed over the years.
I have been able to give back by being a contest chair for the TV Quarterly Contest for over 11 years, in three different regions and now I have taken over the TV Best of Photojournalism contest.
Even though I have spent my career as a television photojournalist, my first love is still photography and I’m excited to help all NPPA members especially in this exciting time in photojournalism.
That’s why I am running for NPPA vice president. I want to continue giving back to the NPPA for all it has done for my career and life.
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