Mentoring Our Way to a Fabulous Future

Veteran National Press Club members -- listen up! This opportunity is for you!

Your Club needs you. We want you to share your experience with the next generation of journalists and communicators through our NPC Mentorship Program.

At the Club, we are fortunate to be able to marry our rich history with our cutting-edge programs. Is there a better way to connect the wisdom of our past with the vibrancy of our present than the NPC Mentorship Program?

In decades past, mentoring occurred informally at the Club. It happened in our lounges as journalists relaxed between morning and afternoon print deadlines.

Today, the pace of 24-hour news cycles has changed the dynamic. Our members get to the Club when it fits in their tight schedules. Inter-generational connections don't happen as much by accident. We need to make sure they occur through our planning.

This year, it has been a priority of mine to bring back the mentorship program we had in our recent past. Thanks to Club members, including Paul Merrion, Jen Judson, Rod Kuckro, Julia Pyper and Mike Soraghan, along with others, the goal is becoming a reality. A task force of Club members from the Professional Development and the Young Members committees has been working to lay the groundwork.

The response has been fantastic from the ranks of our young members -- 30 have signed up already! But we need many more more mentors in order to get this program up and running this month.

If you think this is too big of a commitment -- don't worry. There is no schedule as to how often mentors and mentees meet. Participants will set their own schedules.

Sign up here, where you also can find more information about the program. Or, drop a line to Paul Merrion, co-chair of the Professional Development Committee, at [email protected].

Remember, being a mentor is our chance to give something back. We have enormous talent and wisdom among our 3,100 members. Let's harness that and move forward together -- for the good of our wonderful Club.