{"id":598,"date":"2018-08-02T16:19:31","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T21:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/?p=598"},"modified":"2023-08-01T11:37:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T16:37:59","slug":"nabj-notables-excited-to-see-convention-come-to-fruition-in-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/nabj-notables-excited-to-see-convention-come-to-fruition-in-detroit\/","title":{"rendered":"NABJ notables excited to see convention come to fruition in Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ANFERNEE PATTERSON<\/span><\/p>\n

NABJ Monitor<\/span><\/p>\n

DETROIT \u2014For Detroit native Jemele Hill, columnist for ESPN\u2019s Undefeated, the 2018 convention \u201cis the most ideal and ultimate homecoming I could ever have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hill and her honorary convention co-chair Rochelle Riley, a columnist for the Detroit Free-Press, launched the 2018 Opening Ceremony on Wednesday night, alongside President Sarah Glover and other members of the NABJ board of directors. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the convention to be here in Detroit is remarkable,\u201d Hill said. Detroit \u201cgave me my toughness, the chip on my shoulder which helped me become a successful journalist.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

NABJ notables and journalists from the host city welcomed a joyful crowd to the conference in a ceremony Wednesday that lasted well over an hour. <\/span><\/p>\n

Marlon A. Walker, NABJ vice president for print and a native Detroiter, said in an interview after the ceremony that he was ecstatic when he found out the convention would be hosted in Detroit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been about five years or more in the making,\u201d said Walker, an education reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who is running for re-election to his NABJ position.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been looking forward to this since 2015,\u201d Walker said. \u201cTo be able to have my extended family come to my hometown and do what I do in the environment I am comfortable in, in a city that does not get the credit it deserves is amazing.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

During the ceremony, newly hired executive director Drew Berry said that this year, NABJ officials are anticipating one of the best conventions ever, in both revenue and attendance. <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to welcoming remarks, several awards usually distributed during the Salute to Excellence awards show and gala were handed out, including the Student Chapter of the Year, which went to North Carolina A&T State University. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cameron Dinkins, a rising junior and next president of the North Carolina A&T student chapter, accepted the award on the chapter\u2019s behalf. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big honor having this award,\u201d Dinkins said, adding that his chapter focuses on keeping people involved and underscores the importance of NABJ to its members\u2019 careers. \u201cWe are really big on retention and making sure that students come back to our organization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some first-timers to the convention said the networking and on-site learning they expect is key to their excitement about the next few days. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my first NABJ reception, and people have told me how NABJ has helped enhance their careers,\u201d said Josh Mikkel, a senior Florida A&M University student attending the convention for the first time. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the workshops to enhance my networking circle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Christian Crittenden, a first-time attendee and also a rising junior at Georgia State University, said he\u2019s thinking about his future job options. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am looking forward to the career fair,\u201d he said. \u201cI look forward to meeting major sports reporter recruiters from places such as ESPN.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By ANFERNEE PATTERSON NABJ Monitor DETROIT \u2014For Detroit native Jemele Hill, columnist for ESPN\u2019s Undefeated, the 2018 convention \u201cis the most ideal and ultimate homecoming I could ever have.\u201d Hill and her honorary convention co-chair […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-archives"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":613,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions\/613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}