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Communicator of Achievement

2009 Winner

"Honey, don't go into journalism. Take your talents as an artist and go work for Hallmark."

This was not an off-hand remark from a casual acquaintance to Lee Anne Peck, Colorado Press Women's 2009 Communicator of Achievement. This was advice from Helen Benedict, Lee Anne Peck's beloved grandmother and a pioneering female journalist at Iowa's Sioux City Journal. Fortunately for the profession, Lee Anne didn't listen to her grandmother.

During her career as a columnist, reporter, editor, Fulbright scholar and journalism professor, Lee Anne has worked for print and online publications across the country. After deciding she wanted to share her love of the profession with young journalists, she began teaching 20 years ago and has evolved into one of the nation's experts on journalism ethics. Lee Anne earned three master's degrees and a doctorate - the Ph.D. coming after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease.

In addition to excelling as a professor and a practicing journalist, Lee Anne is a volunteer who rarely says no. She gives time to a variety of community causes, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, student journalism groups at the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado Press Women; she currently serves as membership co-chair. In short, Lee Anne Peck epitomizes the well-rounded professional that NFPW recognizes with its Communicator of Achievement Award.

Lee Anne was born in 1954 in Evanston, Ill., into a family of communicators. In addition to Grandmother Benedict, one of the first female graduates of the University of Illinois' journalism program in the mid-1920s, there was uncle Howard Benedict, who covered the U.S. space program for the Associated Press for 37 years; aunt Joy Benedict, who wrote for a variety of Florida newspapers; dad Leo Peck, an advertising executive, and mom Connie Peck, a restaurant reviewer. Lee Anne launched her career early: As an 11-year-old, she published the Peck Daily News - from an upstairs closet "newsroom" with the help of her younger brother, Jeff, and her sister, Megan.

Lee Anne grew up in Moline, Ill., where her father worked for agricultural equipment-maker John Deere. When she was in eighth grade, the family moved to Germany when Mr. Peck became Deere's advertising director for Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. After graduating from the U.S. Army's high school in Heidelberg, Germany, Lee Anne enrolled at the University of South Dakota, her father's alma mater.

She chose to study art, but quickly found she didn't mesh with her major or the city of Vermillion. She was a flop when it came to mixing clay for pottery class or matting her drawings, and South Dakota was serious culture shock after Europe.

She dropped out, returned to Germany, and worked in a shoe store. The tedium of selling shoes quickly convinced her she did want a college education, so it was back to the States for a junior college associate's degree in journalism. While working for the Moline Daily Dispatch in 1976, her editor suggested she complete a four-year degree, so she enrolled at Colorado State University.

Two years later in 1978, Lee Anne was married, pregnant - and the proud owner of a bachelor's in journalism from CSU. After stints as a caterer, a waitress and a stay-at-home mom (with her son, Davis, now 30 years old), she went to work for Choice Magazine of the Front Range in Fort Collins and worked her way from office assistant to editor in the course of two years.

After she and her husband divorced, Lee Anne and her son moved from Colorado to Indiana to Delaware and back to Colorado. In Columbus, Ind., in 1983 and 1984, Lee Anne transformed a traditional women's section to a lifestyles section - with suggestions from her grandmother, who had been women's editor in Sioux City.

In Colorado again in 1985, Lee Anne worked as a reporter, editor and columnist for the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Lee Anne also began teaching journalism at CSU as an adjunct instructor. She earned her first master's degree in 1989 in English.

Lee Anne jokes that she was such a poor student in high school that she's atoning for her past by teaching. But in truth, she enjoys sharing her love of writing.

"I like teaching students how to write because that's important to me. I've always been a writer," Lee Anne said. Even now, in addition to her scholarly work, she writes occasionally for popular publications through Little White Dog Communications, her freelance writing business.

Lee Anne also wanted to help young journalists avoid some of the ethical issues she experienced in her early years as a professional.

"I'm just appalled when I think of some of the things I did," Lee Anne recalled. "I was young, afraid to speak up, even when I thought what I was doing wasn't right."

She remembers being sent by a Colorado editor to write about bed-and-breakfast inns; one inn paid all her expenses. And she remembers when another editor didn't like one of her leads - calling it "not sexy enough" - so the editor created a sexier uncomfortable opening.

Peck left the Coloradoan in 1993 and began working as a copy editor part-time at the Rocky Mountain News while she continued teaching part-time. In 1994, she was chosen to be a Poynter Fellow at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida. At the University of South Florida, she met Professor Jay Black, who became a mentor and got her started in her ethics research. She earned a second master's from USF in 1998 in journalism studies.

She returned to Colorado, resumed working part-time for the Rocky, and returned to teaching at CSU. Her department chair told her she needed a doctorate; her two master's degrees weren't enough. So Lee Anne set out to become Dr. Peck. She was offered a fellowship to study in a unique journalism ethics Ph.D. program in mass communications at Ohio University, and this required a master's in philosophy. So she earned both degrees simultaneously - despite the fatigue she battled daily from her multiple sclerosis, which was diagnosed in 1996. Her degrees from Ohio are the personal accomplishments of which Lee Anne is most proud.

After finishing her philosophy master's and her coursework for her doctorate in 2001, Lee Anne was offered a position at Franklin College Switzerland, a small American liberal arts college in Lugano. She couldn't pass up a chance to teach communications internationally, so she went - returning to Athens to successfully defend her dissertation in 2003.

After a two-year stint at Franklin, Lee Anne Peck, M.A., M.A., M.A., Ph.D., returned to Colorado and began teaching journalism and media ethics courses at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. But her international travels weren't over. In 2007, she received a Fulbright grant to study and teach at the University of Dubrovnik in Croatia for a half-year. With the support of Colorado Press Women members, Lee Anne brought one of her Croatian students to Colorado to work as a photo intern at the Greeley Tribune.

"It was a wonderful experience for her," Lee Anne said. "She shared what she learned about the U.S. media when she went back. They don't have as much freedom in Croatia as American media do."

In addition to honing UNC students' writing skills and teaching them ethical decision-making, Lee Anne currently advises the Public Relations Club. She also believes in helping students become socially responsible citizens - it is literally part of her job description at UNC. A few years ago, students in her PR class came up with the idea of doing a campuswide food drive for the Weld County Food Bank. They dubbed it Cans to Candelaria (the building where the journalism school is housed). Now in its fourth year, the food drive collected 4,000 pounds of food the first year, 8,000 pounds the second year and 30,000 pounds the third year.

This year, several journalism students are helping her launch a walk to benefit Zac's Legacy, a Greeley foundation that helps cover living expenses for families of children who have cancer. Since being diagnosed with MS, Lee Anne has donated many hours of her time to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and was named 2006's MS Champion for Northern Colorado for being an inspiration to others who have the disease.

Lee Anne became a member of Colorado Press Women in 2004 after her work won an award in CPW's communications contest. When CPW hosted the National Federation of Press Women's convention in 2006, she and a student-intern put together information packets to give to prospective contributors and solicited corporate donations. Lee Anne also convinced MSNBC columnist Jeannette Walls to speak at the convention - for a price that was one-fifth of what she usually charged. Lee Anne's mother and her aunt Ginnie Gleason paid Walls' fee and dedicated the journalist's appearance to the memory of Helen Benedict, Lee Anne's grandmother.

Currently, Lee Anne serves as co-membership chair of CPW, a critical job in this time of declining membership. Lee Anne also spoke at a recent CPW meeting at the University of Colorado School of Journalism about how state schools are preparing students for the new media of the 21st century. In addition, she's a tireless proponent of Press Women and always tries to bring several students to CPW meetings.

"I love CPW with its range of experiences, the range in ages, the stories that I hear," Lee Anne said. "Some of them remind me of my grandma."

Lee Anne expects to continue participating in CPW, volunteering in her community and teaching young journalists as long as her health allows. Now in her sixth year at UNC, she recently was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor. She's engrossed in the development of a Web-based ethics course with a colleague in the UNC philosophy department that's aimed at public relations professionals.

"Our research shows that a lot of PR professionals aren't getting this kind of training in college," Lee Anne said.

That's certainly not true of Lee Anne's students. She frequently hears from students who have taken her ethics lessons to heart.

"When a student writes and says, 'I quit my job because my boss wanted me to write about an advertiser' or asks me for advice about a newsroom dilemma, that's so rewarding," Lee Anne said.

And what would Grandma Benedict say about her high-achieving granddaughter? Although Lee Anne and her grandmother never talked directly about Lee Anne's decision to pursue a journalism career, Lee Anne knows her grandmother was pleased. Grandma Benedict died in 1987. Going through Benedict's home, Lee Anne's mother found a file with Lee Anne's name on it and inside, all the clippings Lee Anne had mailed her grandmother over the years.

2008 Winner

As a child, she loved to read about intrepid gal reporter “Brenda Starr” in the comic pages. In high school, she authored a weekly gossip column, “Jabbers by Judi.” As an adult, she’s covered events ranging from county commission meetings to a coup in Russia. With stellar professional credentials and an outstanding record of service to her community and Press Women, Judi Buehrer has been selected as Colorado Press Women’s 2008 Communicator of Achievement.

“We are fortunate — and the journalism profession is fortunate — to have Judi Buehrer,” says Gay Porter DeNileon, CPW president and former work colleague. “Judi is the epitome of what a reporter should be: tenacious, curious, accurate and empathetic. She’s also a strong supporter of Press Women and a delight to know.”

Few journalists have had such a varied career. Judi wore a traditional abaya to work in Saudi Arabia, interviewed Americans imprisoned in Thailand for drug-smuggling, covered “tree rustling” in Colorado and heard the name “Osama Bin Laden” in an embassy briefing long before most Americans did.

The “writing bug” bit Judi early. Judi Lee loved her first journalism course at Omaha North High School and joined the newspaper and the yearbook staffs. She majored in journalism at the University of Nebraska (and became a die-hard Cornhuskers fan in the process). She worked part-time for the daily Lincoln Journal during her senior year.

Recognizing her burgeoning talents, the editors wisely hired her after graduation in 1963. While covering county government and court cases, she wrote about the Nebraska Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the state’s century-old anti-miscegenation law.

“At the time, I don’t think I even knew what miscegenation meant!” Judi recalls, laughing.

From there, her career has taken her around the globe. Here are some highlights: After marrying Wayne Buehrer in December 1963, the couple moved to the Washington, D.C., area. Wayne worked for the U.S. Geological Survey. Judi worked for a daily newspaper until son David arrived in 1965, when she took up full-time motherhood.

Back in Colorado, son Chris was born in 1968. Judi began freelancing. Then came her first international adventure in 1970: USGS needed Wayne in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Although the Buehrers’ home in the Middle East had neither phone nor television, Judi freelanced, turning out a piece about Coloradans living in Saudi Arabia for The Denver Post. Daughter Heidi was born in Ethiopia, where the hospital was better.

Returning to Colorado with her family in 1972, Judi wrote for suburban papers in Jefferson County – and drove car pools, led Scout troops and volunteered for the PTA. In 1980, the family headed south to Albuquerque. There, Judi first joined Press Women and worked for weekly papers and later freelanced. Her most memorable piece for The Albuquerque Journal’s Sunday magazine was about a young girl mauled by a pitbull.

Judi continued to freelance when the family moved Denver in 1985; she wrote about the annual migration of sand hill cranes and Nebraska Cornhusker fans, among other topics. In 1987, she began a full-time job with the American Water Works Association, where she became expert correspondent in water issues ranging from treatment to drought.

Then 1991 brought another international move: Wayne, now a member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, was assigned to Moscow. Judi watched the tanks roll into Red Square when hard-line Communists attempted a coup and she wrote a story that The Denver Post ran on the front page. The coup failed, the Soviet Union collapsed and Judi began working at an English language weekly that became the daily Moscow Times.

After Russia, the Buehrers went in 1993 to Bangkok, Thailand, where Judi took a welcome break from daily deadlines. But writing in Thailand wasn’t all travel stories and features: Judi also wrote about Americans imprisoned for being “drug mules.”

The couple returned to Saudi Arabia in 1996. Judi doubted she’d work since women were so segregated in Saudi society, but she developed a successful freelance business. Still, she took care to wear conservative clothing and had Wayne drive her to interviews.

Returning to Colorado in 1999, Judi went back to AWWA in 2000. She retired in 2005, and cared for her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, until her mother’s death last year. Since joining New Mexico Press Women in 1980, Judi has given freely of her time and enthusiasm. In NMPW, she served as secretary and treasurer. In CPW, Judi was ExPRESSions editor, secretary, second vice president and program chair. In 2005, she was elected CPW president and agreed to extend her two-year term by a third year when CPW was chosen to host the 2006 NFPW convention.

Looking back on her career, Judi says she is reminded of the old saying, “Things are seldom what they seem.”

“I’ve learned that when you’re going to report stories about people in another culture or a setting different from ours, it’s important to understand the political and historical context and as much about the culture as you can,” she says. For example, it’s easy to say Saudi women should be allowed to drive, but when you understand the culture, you realize this involves setting up an entire parallel system of driver’s education and traffic courts that are staffed only by women since the two sexes are strictly segregated.

Judi is pleased to be CPW’s Communicator of Achievement. “This is a huge honor that humbles me beyond words,” she says.

NOTE: Judi Buehrer was named runnerup, National Communicator of Achievement, in September 2008.

2007 Winner

Marilyn Saltzman, APR, worked for Jeffco Public Schools, the largest school district in Colorado, for 20 years. Her job included media relations, crisis communications, internal and external public relations and publications.

Her publications and programs received numerous state and national awards. She managed media and internal relations during the Columbine crisis and is currently consulting on communications with the Platte Canyon School District in Bailey, Colorado, where a student was killed by an intruder on Sept. 27, 2006.

Marilyn works as a senior consultant for Schoolhouse Communications, a Denver firm that specializes in helping education clients communicate more effectively about the need for school improvement and systemwide change.

Marilyn is former president of Colorado Press Women and the Colorado Chapter, National School Public Relations Association. She is the co-author of three books, the nationally award-winning Building School Communities, Strategies for Leaders, (with B.J. Meadows, Ph.D.), Dave Sanders, Columbine Teacher, Coach, Hero (with Linda Lou Sanders) and Maybe Tomorrow: A Hidden Child of the Holocaust (with Eric Cahn).

Marilyn served as editor for The Golden Transcript and a stringer for The Denver Post. She taught English and Spanish in New York City Public Schools.

Community activities:
President, Denver Metropolitan Affiliate, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Secretary, Mountain Water and Sanitation District Board
Conference co-chair, 2006, National Federation of Press Women
2006 Chair, Good News Coalition
Volunteer, Serving Kids from the Inside Out
Volunteer, Congregation Beth Evergreen

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Communicator of Achievement

2006 Winner

Colorado Press Women has selected Fort Collins journalist Joyce Davis as the 2006 Communicator of Achievement.

Davis, assistant city editor at The Coloradoan, exemplifies outstanding professional achievement, as witnessed by her collection of award-winning stories in contests sponsored by CPW, the National Federation of Press Women, Society of Professional Journalists and the Colorado Press Association.

Davis has worked her way up in newspaper business over the past 25 years, starting as a stringer at the Longmont Times-Call in 1979 and rising to assistant city editor then the entertainment and magazine editor before moving to Fort Collins in 2005, where she was hired as assistant city editor at The Coloradoan.

A 2005 nominee for manager of the year at the 220-employee Coloradoan, Davis also was named the February 2006 Employee of the Month, recognizing her outstanding work and inspiring attitude.

The award-winning writer won CPW’s sweepstakes honor every year from 1998 to 2004 and several NFPW awards over the years. She placed first and second in column writing in SPJ’s 2003 and 2004 contests and has won top awards for columns and spot news reporting from the CPA.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Davis has been an active volunteer in Northern Colorado, inviting homeless men to Thanksgiving dinners in her home and serving on the advisory board at the Life Center, where she helped organize activities for Alzheimer’s residents.

Davis has served on the Skyline community task force to address issues facing Hispanic students and volunteered with El Comite, helping bridge the gap between city officials, police and the Hispanic community after the shooting of two young Hispanic men by two police officers.

A vocalist, Davis has supported and performed at the Festival on Main Street and helped raise funds for the YMCA Kids Camp, organ transplant patients, a child suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder who needed surgery, and friends with life-threatening diseases. When a young man from Longmont was killed in Iraq, Davis got on the phone and elicited cash and in-kind donations from several businesses and organizations to provide hotel rooms, cars and deliveries of free food for four days for the soldier’s six out-of-town family members who arrived for the funeral.

An asset to Colorado Press Women over the years, Davis has served as communications contest chair for seven years. Her attention to detail is apparent in her professional and volunteer activities, as witnessed in the extra time she takes to review contest entries and assist members in submitting their entries.

CPW recognized Davis’s exceptional contributions during the awards luncheon at the CPW May 6 Spring Conference. Davis is CPW’s nominee for the NFPW Communicator of Achievement Award, to be presented Saturday, Sept. 9, at the NFPW national conference in Denver. CPW is hosting the 2006 conference, Rendezvous in the Rockies, Sept. 7-9, at the Adams Mark Hotel.

Winners through the Years

* Also named National Communicator of Achievement

** Also named Runnerup, National Communicator of Achievement