The Bulletin South Texas Press Association Convention Bulletin • Laredo, Texas 2017
¡Bienvenidos a Laredo! und Willkommen By Kim Jung
The 91st Annual South Texas Press Association Convention will be on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, April 20-22, 2017. The Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau (LCVB) promises that the “Ojo Rojo” will be flowing just enough to loosen convention goers’ limbs so they can participate in their cumbia demonstration. All of this will take place at the fourdiamond La Posada Hotel, in the heart of downtown Laredo. They earned the recognition for their tradition of excellence. The convention kicks off on Thursday, April 20 with the President’s Reception, hosted by long-time sponsor American Electric Power (AEP). Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz will welcome the STPA back after a 14- year hiatus and a LCVB representative will tell STPA members what they can do while they are in the Gateway City. (See schedule of events in this bulletin for more details about Friday’s offerings.) Cocktails will be served by the mixologists from Granite Publications on Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to midnight, at the ever popular Strauss Haus in the Hospitality Suite at La Posada Hotel. There will also be a silent auction to raise funds for the internship and scholarship programs offered by STPA that ends Friday after lunch. The heart of the convention will take place Friday, April 21, with seminars, two great speakers and the 2017 STPA Better Newspaper Contest and Awards Luncheon. Friday morning after breakfast there will be two back-to-back seminars in the San Agustin Ballroom at La Posada Hotel. The first from 9:15-10:35 a.m. features a round table discussion with Laredo Morning Times Publisher Bill Green and from 10:45-11:30 a.m., Russell Viers, an Adobe Certified Instructor, who is no stranger to the
South Texas Press Association 91st Annual Convention 2017 Schedule of Events Thursday, April 20 • 2-6 p.m. – Registration desk opens • 4-5:15 p.m. – STPA Board Meeting in Hospitality Suite • 6-8 p.m. – President’s Reception sponsored by AEP by pool in courtyard (Welcome by Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz and Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau Representative) • 9 p.m.-midnight – Strauss Haus (Hospitality Suite)
La Posada Hotel, 1000 Zaragoza Street, Laredo, TX 78040; 956.722.1701; Reservations: 800.444.2099 STPA convention, will talk about InDesign. (For more details about each speaker, please read their biographies in this bulletin.) From noon-2 p.m. Chris Maher, publisher of the Kingsville Record and Bishop News, will announce the winners of the 2017 STPA Better Newspaper Contest and Awards after lunch in the San Agustin Ballroom. In the afternoon, STPAers have a chance to bask in the glory of their wins or drown their sorrow for their losses during their free time in Laredo. The LCVB representatives advise not to stay out too long because from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at the Laredo Center for Arts, 500 San Agustin Street,
there will be a shopping extravaganza or Mercadito. This shopping spree will lead convention goers into the evening dinner at 7 p.m. in the same location, where U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar-D will be speaking. Saturday morning offers a great place to nurse your hangover. At 9 a.m. there will be a STPA business meeting in the San Agustin Ballroom, followed by breakfast at 10 a.m. The Simplicity Breakfast Speaker Gerardo (Gerry) Schwebel, who is the executive vice president, of the International Bank of Commerce, will talk about international trade in Laredo, the largest land port in the United States, in the San Agustine Ballroom.
Friday, April 21 • 8-9 a.m. – Breakfast in San Agustin Ballroom • 9:15-10:35 – Seminar Session I: Round table discussion with Bill Green, publisher of Laredo Morning Times in the San Agustine Ballroom • 10:45-11:30 a.m. – Seminar Session II: Adobe Certified Instructor Russell Viers gives production “Tips & Tricks” about InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat or Bridge in the San Agustine Ballroom • Noon-2 p.m. – STPA Better Newspaper Contest and Awards Luncheon in the San Agustin Ballroom • Afternoon – Free time for shopping and sightseeing (See map of Laredo on back page.) • 5:30-6:45 p.m. – Mercadito: shopping on bottom floor of Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustin Street (Sponsored by Laredo Convention & Visitors Bureau) • 7 p.m. – U.S. Congressman, 28th DistrictLaredo, Henry Cellar evening dinner speaker at the Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustin Street • 9 p.m.-midnight – Strauss Haus (Hospitality Suite) Saturday, April 22 • 9 a.m. – STPA business meeting in San Agustin Ballroom • 10 a.m. – Simplicity Breakfast Speaker Gerardo (Gerry) Schwebel, who is the executive vice president, Corporate International Division of the International Bank of Commerce and will talk about international trade in Laredo, the largest land port in the United States, in the San Agustine Ballroom