Texas Managing Editors

TAPME must-know conference details

Conference attendees:
• Did you do your video? AP’s Dale Leach (dleach@ap.org) is asking editors to send in their video (no longer than four minutes) showcasing why journalism matters. It’s an opportunity for you to show your colleagues a sample of the excellent work your newsroom has done over the past year. Please let Dale know today if you have one in the works.

• Start shopping now for the Saturday, March 27 auction at the Bush Presidential Conference Center: Buster Haas auction items are posted at www.txapme.com.

• Missed the deadline to book the Hilton for March 26 and 27? Try one of these hotels. Look for one along University Drive; it’ll be within a mile or two of the Hilton. www.visitaggieland.com/Where-to-Stay/Hotels-Motels-Inns

• Details to follow on what’s going on around town if your spouse/significant other/kids join you: Quick preview includes an Easter Egg hunt on the lawn of the Bush Presidential Library, free winery tour (why not take the kids? It’s a learning experience) and/or a physics festival for adults/kids (seriously, it includes the Bubble Guy this year).

• Did you forget to sign up to fight a fire at the largest fire school in the country? We need 20 people to make this happen. So far, we have five. Contact kelly.brown@theeagle.com by 5 p.m. today or we have to cancel it.

• How to get to the Lucky B Bison Ranch for dinner Friday evening (Remember to RSVP to either kelly.brown@theeagle.com or pcollins@ap.org): http://www.luckybbison.com/map_directions.htm

A look at this year’s auction items

The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors will hold its annual fundraiser during the Jack Douglas Award dinner on Saturday, March 27. All proceeds from the silent and live auctions fund the Buster Haas Minority Internship program, which provides stipends and scholarships for minority journalists who serve a 10-week internship at newspapers with general circulation of less than 30,000.

We at the TAPME hope that the preview below will whet your appetite and help convince you to attend or at least have those in attendance place bids for you.

 Some items for both the live and silent TAPME auction

  • 2 Continental Tickets, donated by the San Antonio Express-News – Estimated value: $1,700
  • A weekend getaway in San Antonio that includes a weekend stay at a hotel, pair of Sea World tickets, dinner for two on the River Walk, plus other items. Donated by the San Antonio Express-News. Estimated value: $1,000
  • Donnis Baggett’s three-bedroom Ruidoso cabin perched on the side of a mountain among pines and firs. Donated by Donnis Baggett, editor of The Eagle, Bryan-College Station. Estimated value: $1,000
  • Dale Leach’s chalet for four in Washington State on the edge of Olympic National Forest. Donated by Dale Leach, Texas Associated Press Bureau Chief. Estimated value: $1,000
  • Two night stay for two at Palo Alto Creek Farm (The Barn) www.paloaltocreekfarm.com, a Fredericksburg B&B in the Hill Country. Plus a $50 gift certificate to The Fredericksburg Brewing Company – restaurant and brew pub – and a $20 gift certificate to Clear River, ice cream, cookies, sandwiches, etc., and 2 tickets to the National Museum of the Pacific War. Donated by the San Antonio Express-News. Estimated value: $500.
  • Weekend night at the Joule Hotel in downtown Dallas, donated by The Dallas Morning News. (Details to come)
  • Two nights at Embassy Suites Downtown/Town Lake in Austin. This includes the manager’s reception (cocktails, snacks and popcorn) and cooked-to-order hot breakfast. ($400) Plus two passes to Esther’s Follies ($40), Texas’ premier magic & musical comedy troupe since 1977. A dining card for Threadgill’s restaurant, ($25) (good for food only), Southern cooking in a warm, music-and-musician-loving setting. Sunday brunch is always good. And two passes to Alamo Drafthouse movie theater ($16), keeping Austin weird with food & drink and Badass Cinema (passes good for admission to movie only). Donated by the Austin American-Statesman. Estimated value of the package: $481
  • One night at an Austin Holiday Inn. You will get the Heart-To-Heart Package – a one-night stay in a Lake View room, with chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne delivered to the room upon check-in. Also included are breakfast coupons for two people for the following morning. ($300) Plus a dining card for Threadgill’s restaurant, ($25) (good for food only), Southern cooking in a warm, music-and-musician-loving setting. Sunday brunch is always good. And two passes to Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, ($16), keeping Austin weird with food & drink and Badass Cinema (passes good for admission to movie only). Donated by the Austin American-Statesman. Estimated value of the package: $341.
  • 2 registrations to the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference plus one free hotel night with each registration. Donated by Mitch Land, Director of the Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism at UNT, and George Getschow, Conference Writer-in-Residence and by The Dallas Morning News. Estimated value: $450 for each one.
  • A one-night’s stay at the Gruene Mansion Inn, dinner for 4 at the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar, 4 passes to the Natural Bridge Caverns and 4 passes to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. Donated by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Estimated value: $500.
  • Autographed color photo of two golf greats: Ben Hogan and Bryon Nelson, by Dallas Morning News photographer David Woo. Donated by David Woo and The Dallas Morning News. Estimated value: $1,000
  • A Poynter-quality one-day training session by Thomas Huang, Sunday and Enterprise Editor at The Dallas Morning News. Tom also is the Ethics and Diversity Fellow at The Poynter Institute. Donated by Thomas Huang and The Dallas Morning News. Estimated value: $1,500 to $2,000
  • A box of wine from Messina Hof, donated by the winery. Estimated Value: $400.
  • Two Aggie football tickets for the fall season, donated by The Eagle, Bryan-College Station. Estimated value: $150
  • A 10-pound slab of milk chocolate from Blommer which also makes chocolate for Godiva. Donated by The Dallas Morning News. Estimated value: $50
  • A certificate for Hudson’s on the Bend restaurant/cooking school in Austin and two signed cookbooks by the chef/owner, Jeff Blank, donated by Mr. Blank. Estimated value: $200
  • Two historic photos, one with JFK and Jackie, the other with JFK, LBJ and John Connally in Fort Worth before they came to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. To go with the Jackie photo, a new, autographed book about the thousands of “Letters to Jackie” after the assassination. Photos courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Estimated value: $250 each.
  • A photo of Obama in a Stetson; a photo of Bush in a Stetson, donated by The Associated Press. Estimated value: $100 each.
  • Six great Ranger tickets (15 rows behind home plate) and two parking passes to just about any game, donated by the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Estimated value: $500
  • Four tickets to Texas Motor Speedway for the Saturday, April 17, NASCAR Nationwide Series. Donated by the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Estimated value: $256.
  • Two seats in the Austin American-Statesman’s box at Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium for a University of Texas football game next fall. Includes food and drink. Donated by the Austin American-Statesman. Estimated value: $250
  • A round of golf at Lufkin’s Crown Colony Country Club, a top rated course in the state, donated by Greg Shrader, publisher of The Lufkin Daily News. Estimated value: $160
  • Two tickets to the UT-Wyoming football game next fall in Austin, donated by Wanda Garner Cash, School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin. Estimated value: $150
  • A two-night stay at the La Copa Inn on South Padre, a beachfront Best Western, donated by The Brownsville Herald. Estimated value: $250
  • Four great Ranger tickets (about 3 rows up, down the first base line) with parking, donated by The Dallas Morning News. Estimated value: $200
  • Dinner for four at the Kreuz Market in Lockhart, proclaimed by the Texas Legislature as “the barbecue capital of Texas” and soon to be seen (March 23) on the Travel Channel. Donated by owner Rick Schmidt. Estimated value: $60
  • An autographed copy of Dallas Morning News photographer David Woo’s book “Top Dogs and Their Pets.” Estimated value: $30
  • A selection of photos from photographer David Woo’s book “Top Dogs and Their Pets,” some signed. Donated by David Woo. Estimated value: $100 each.
  • A bicycle tour for two, led by Brett Thacker, managing editor of the San Antonio Express-News, along the historic Mission Trail with a stop for lunch. (bikes and helmets provided if needed) (Details to come)
  • Framed photo from El Paso Times of Mt. Cristo Rey, a place Texas Monthly listed as one of 50 must-see places in Texas. Estimated value: $100
  • A commemorative Hurricane Ike photo essay hardcover book with a one-year anniversary magazine plus an Ike related photo, donated by The Galveston County Daily News. Estimated value: $100
  • 2 San Antonio Spurs tickets, donated by the San Antonio Express-News. Estimated value: $150
  • Raft trip for 4 with Rockin R outfitters, passes for four to Wurstfest with drink tickets, two passes to Sophienburg Museum, four Passes to Texas Ski Ranch, dinner for two at Mozie’s in Gruene, donated by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Estimated value: $400.
  • Four Houston Astros tickets on the club level. May 8 game vs. the San Diego Padres. Includes coupon that entitles bearer to one copy of Astros Magazine for the month., donated by the Houston Chronicle. Estimated valued: $220
  • Four Houston Astro tickets on the club level. July 24 game vs. the Cincinnati Reds. Includes coupon that entitles bearer to one copy of Astros Magazine for the month, donated by the Houston Chronicle. Estimated value: $220
  • iPod Touch, 32GB, donated by the Houston Chronicle. Estimated value: $299
  • iPod Shuffle, 4GB, donated by the Houston Chronicle. Estimated value: $99
  • A collection of T-shirts from Texas college newspapers, donated by Lloyd Goodman at the University of Texas at Arlington.
  • Youth football autographed by Earl Campbell. Donated by the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
  • Four VIP tickets on the Texas State Railroad. Donated by the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
  • A handmade pair of child’s beaded moccasins. Donated by the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
  • Wine from Kiepersol Winery and a Tyler gift basket. Donated by the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
  • Lots of books and other items.

Hotel deadline extended until Monday, auction items needed

The window to reserve a hotel room at the conference rate has been extended once again until Monday, March 8. This is your last chance to get a room at the discounted TAPME rate so call 1-800-445-8667 or check out the 2010 convention page for more details.

Also, we’re only a few weeks out from the Texas APME convention and we need your books, photos – framed and otherwise, bottles of wine, bosses’ summer homes and anything else you can think of to auction off in either the silent auction or better yet, the live auction.

Think of all the good we do, providing a paid internship to deserving students at newspapers of 30,000 circulation or less. It’s a great cause. Let’s get some items.

If you get some big-ticket items you think are live auction worthy, let Dino Chiecchi know at Chiecchi@express-news.net. He is compiling a slide show
to highlight the live auction items and will need art to show on the big screen.

If you don’t want to carry your items with you this year, mail them to Kelly Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle, 1729 Briarcrest Drive, Bryan, 77802.

Submit 2025 contest entry fees here.