I belong to quite a few professional organizations. As an active volunteer with AWJ since 2000, and a member for even longer, I can tell you that AWJ is special. Its enthusiasm and spirit of cooperation has kept me involved, as well as the valuable, unique and tangible opportunities is has given me, which I'll be forever grateful for. All AWJ members have access to these same great chances for professional development, but by volunteering or taking on a leadership role, these opportunities come along even faster.  

I invite all Chicago-area journalists to take advantage of what AWJ has to offer by playing a role AWJ's leadership in 2010.

Besides the opportunity to expand your network, skills and resume--and earn the gratitude and respect of your colleagues--it can be fun. For example, I enjoyed working with Leah Pietrusiak on our Chicago Journalism Town Hall follow up, made a friend and learned a lot in the process. Working with the survey committee allowed me to get into some newsrooms I'd not been to yet.

Besides board membership, we have a variety of committees that offer some interesting opportunities:

Programs
Chaired by Amy Bernstein, this is known as the fun committee. This committee oversees AWJ events like the annual meeting, picnic, the Millennials Mixer, panel discussions, workshops and trainings.  Besides members, this committee needs a vice chair. To learn more, contact Amy.

Scholarships
Chaired by Suzanne Hanney with Adriene Hill as vice chair, this committee is most active in the fall and winter. It's in charge of the process of identifying scholarship winners and oversees fundraising. To learn more, see http://www.awj-chicago.org/scholarships or contact Adriene.

Website/Communications
We update website content, manage AWJ News and work with the other committees to promote their initiatives via the website, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  A few of us manage different sections of the website. Suzanne Cosgrove is the Job Bank editor. Pat Terry just volunteered to join this group.  Besides a couple AWJ News editors and content producers, a chair and vice chair are needed. This is one of the committees that gives you an excuse to call on anyone in journalism that you like. Let me know if you want in on this.

Membership/Outreach
We oversee efforts to invite colleagues to become dues-paying members; join the listserv, our Facebook group and page and LinkedIn group; and more.  Besides more members, a chair and vice chair are needed. This committee gives its members the chance to do a lot of networking. Let me know if you want in on this.

On-going project committees include:

Young Critics Circle
Chaired by Cheryl Corley with assistance from Anitra Rowe. During the school year, AWJ members coach high school girls in writing theater criticism in collaboration with the Goodman. To learn more, see http://www.awj-chicago.org/YoungCriticsCircle. To learn more about the group's specific needs, contact Anitra.

Chicago Women in Journalism Survey
Chaired by Cheryl Corley, this committee issued a report in October 2008 that included the results of our first survey of Chicago newsroom workers. This committee is quiet now, but there's plan to do the next survey. To learn more, see http://www.awj-chicago.org/WhereWeStand.

AWJ-TV
As announced in August, AWJers are developing a yet-to-be named TV show about media. The steering committee so far includes Geri Hearne, Kim Mance, Sandra Guy, Linda Lenz, Mary Hynes, Alice Singleton, myself with others about to be named. The advisory board includes Laura Washington, Mary Elson and Jeanne Sparrow so far. Others getting involved include Felicia Oliver, Alice Horton, Lorraine Forte, Bridgette Ridgeway, Rene Edde, Anne Marie Kirby-Gerhardt, Inggrid Yonata, Carrie Kaufman and other. Things are progressing. To learn more about how to get involved, contact Alice.

If you have an idea about what you'd like to work on that doesn't fit into these committee descriptions, contact me.
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Karen Kring has been president of AWJ-Chicago since 2008 and an active member for much longer. She started AWJ's listserv in 2000.