It’s the last call for nominations for the 2016 Access Press Charlie Smith Award, due by 5 p.m. Monday, August 15. The board and staff at Access Press, Minnesota’s disability community newspaper, await your nominations. Go to our Charlie Awards tab for details and a nomination form. Call us at 651-644-2133 or email CSAnominations@testing.accesspress.org with questions.
The award is given to an individual or group, in recognition of outstanding service to Minnesota’s disability community. The nominee and finalists are honored in the September issue of Access Press. The winner is celebrated at the annual award banquet, which is Friday, Nov. 4. Pictures and information about all nominees will be displayed at the banquet. That event includes a delicious meal, a silent auction and raffle, speeches and social time at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington. Interpretation is offered for guests. The venue offers ample parking and plenty of space for banquet guests to enjoy themselves.
The Charlie Smith Award is named in honor of the late Charlie Smith, founding editor of Access Press. He was a well-known Minnesota disability rights advocate. Being a sponsor for the Access Press Charlie Smith Award Banquet is a great way for a business or nonprofit group to enhance its visibility in Minnesota’s disability community, and to help Access Press. Sponsors are being sought for the 2016 banquet. Note that sponsorship levels have changed.
Sponsorship level names reflect past and present newsroom titles. AXIS, In Home Personal Care and NHHI are the 2016 event’s first sponsors, at the Editor-in-Chief level. AccraCare and True Friends are among Proofreader sponsors.
Keyliners Level:
The first level is the Keyliners Level, at $300. In the pre-desktop publishing days, keyliners put the paper together. The sponsor logo will be displayed on special table signs and the organization/company name will be listed in the 2016 Charlie Smith Award Banquet program. The sponsoring organization/company will be recognized in the November and December 2016 issues of Access Press with a special ad. Sponsors will receive one free website ad during the month of choice, a value of $100.
Proofreaders Level:
The second level is the Proofreaders Level, at $400. Proofreaders make sure all of the copy is correct before the newspaper goes to press. The sponsor logo will be displayed on special table signs and the organization/company name will be listed in the 2016 Charlie Smith Award Banquet program. The sponsoring organization/company will be recognized in the November and December 2016 issues of Access Press. Sponsors will receive two free rotating website ads during the months of choice, a value of $200. Proofreader sponsors will be listed on a special banner displayed at the banquet.
Editor-in-Chief Level
The third level for sponsors is the Editor-in-Chief Level, at $500. This title reflects the highest position in a newsroom. The sponsor logo will be displayed on special table signs and the organization/company name will be listed in the 2016 Charlie Smith Award Banquet program. The sponsoring organization/company will be recognized in the November and December 2016 issues of Access Press. Sponsors will receive two free rotating website ads during the months of choice, a value of $200. Editor-in-chief sponsors will be listed on a special banner displayed at the banquet. The sponsoring organization/company will be recognized by the emcee during the banquet. A table will be named in the sponsor’s honor the evening of the event. This sponsoring level also include a free Access Press subscription, a value of $30 and one Directory of Organizations listing, good for one year, a value of $60.
Anyone interested in being a sponsor or in donating to the banquet’s silent auction and pick-your-prize raffle should contact Access Press Business Manager, Dawn Frederick at 651-644-2133 or dawn@testing.accesspress.org
