Fall Hoot to salute Club's 50th anniversary of admission of women members, Sept. 16
The National Press Club will mark the 50th anniversary of the admission of women as members at a celebratory dinner at the Club Friday, Sept. 16. The event is being organized and arranged by the Club's Silver Owls at its Fall Hoot.
While the 50th anniversary was last year, the Press Club was unable to observe this historic event due to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
"With this dinner, we are celebrating a key moment in the history of the National Press Club -- a moment when enough male- only Club members voted to admit women as members after a dramatic and emotional tug of war with male opponents," said Molly Sinclair McCartney, a longtime staff writer for The Washington Post and the first female chair of the Silver Owls.
"We are also paying tribute to the first 24 women who were installed as NPC members within weeks of the vote, making it possible for women reporters to come down from the balcony where they had been sequestered and into the main Club premises to cover speeches and other news events," McCartney added.
The dinner begins at 6 p.m. in the Holeman Lounge and Ballroom. Tickets are $35 for a three-course roast beef dinner or a vegetarian option. Reserve tickets and get information online.
The dinner will be preceded by a cash bar and passed appetizers. The Hoot is open to all Club members and their guests.
The Club was founded in 1908 and for the next 63 years its membership remained strictly male. While women journalists were allowed into the Club to cover newsmaking luncheons from the Ballroom balcony, they were denied membership. That ended January 15, 1971, when the Club, after vigorous debate, voted 227-56 in favor of admitting women.
The 24 women admitted after the vote included 22 active journalists and two nonactive. Among the active journalists were Katharine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, and legendary White House reporters Sarah McClendon and Helen Thomas.
Gil Klein, chair of the Club's History and Heritage team and author of "Tales from The National Press Club," a detailed history of the Club, will present an illustrated account of the struggle for women to gain membership.
Eleven years after the historic vote, Vivian Vahlberg, a Washington correspondent for The Daily Oklahoman, became the Club's first female president. Vahlberg covered from the balcony the 1971 vote in which females finally were admitted to the Club. She will be at the Hoot to talk about her journey from a balcony reporter to the Club presidency. The Club's annual "Vivian Awards" presented to outstanding member volunteers are named after her.
Since Vahlberg was elected the first female Press Club president, there have been 14 others. Jen Judson, the current Club president, is the 15th woman president and the 115th since the Press Club founding. She will make welcoming remarks to the attendees.
Ann McFeatters, a celebrated author and a longtime Washington correspondent, bureau chief, and columnist, will also take part in the program. She is a former president of the Washington Press Club, which formerly was the Women's National Press Club. The Washington Press Club and the National Press Club merged in 1985.
Silver Owls are those who have been NPC members for 25 years or longer. Golden Owls are those who have been members for 50 years or more. Platinum Owls are those who have been members 60 years or longer.
Members who have reached Silver, Golden, or Platinum status since the last Hoot in 2019 will be recognized and certificates recording their new status will be distributed.
