Alabama Sports Writers Association

Association News

Letter From the President

2010 Writing Contest Rules | 2010 Membership Renewal Invoice

Feb. 1, 2010

Dear colleagues and friends,

I hope 2010 is treating everyone well so far. I just wanted to touch base briefly as we continue to prepare for the 39th annual Alabama Sports Writers Association convention this summer.

The dates for this year are June 6 and 7. We once again will be headquartered at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham. We've had a great crowd the last two years at the Sheraton, especially for our Sunday night awards banquet, and hope for continued strong participation this year. As most of you know, these two days provide a great chance to catch up with colleagues, old friends, athletes and statewide coaches and athletic officials .... on a mostly off-deadline basis for a change. The ASWA has made a tremendous difference in my professional life over the last 20 years, and it is my hope that many of you who didn't participate last year or in recent years can join us this time around.

We are still finalizing some of our plans, and I will update you on those when we have them hashed out. We do know that our annual "Sandbaggers Golf Classic" will be held June 7 at Inverness, which should be awesome. Hope to see all of you there. In addition to your room in Birmingham, your expense for the trip will include being a member in good standing (i.e having paid your dues) and the convention fee. Both are $25 before the convention starts. They can be mailed at any time to ASWA, c/o Jacksonville State Sports Information, 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

There are a couple of things to remember in the meantime. First, you should already have received rules for our annual writing contest. If you have not, they are available on our Web site (see link above). Deadline to enter is March 12. No exceptions. Non-daily folks, don't forget the two new categories we created last year.

Also, an application for our third annual ASWA scholarship is available on the site (see link above). Applications have increased each year. This scholarship is available to any child or grandchild of an ASWA member or child for whom an ASWA member is a guardian. Deadline to send in an application is April 15. Fax all applications to 256-782-5958.

Hope to see everyone in June. We'll be in touch with more details soon. Also be sure to check the site periodically for updated details. Soon, we will have a registration link for the hotel.

Ben Thomas
ASWA President