2016 APSE Summer Conference Recap

The flight to Charlotte was easy and pleasant, thank goodness. As soon as I touched down, I was greeted with sports talk from my Uber driver. He was a Philly sports fan, as his car’s interior décor made it quite obvious.

I had a few hours to relax, enjoy my own space in the hotel room, and take in a new city before the opening reception. When the time arrived, though, I ventured on foot for about 10 minutes to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the site of the reception. There, every one mingled. They caught up with acquaintances, people they worked with, and met new ones.

I was almost immediately approached by a man that would be like a mentor to me throughout the remainder of the trip. His name was Don Shelton, sports editor of the Seattle Times. “Ah, University of Maryland, eh?” he said with a sort of exuberant curiosity. He eased the nerves I was feeling and reaffirmed everything I understood I needed to do to take full advantage of this opportunistic event. “Don’t be afraid to sell yourself, but don’t forget to have fun.” I carried those words with me during every encounter.

The first full day of the conference was also the first day of workshops. Matt Pepin of The Boston Globe presented a host of media tools, including Giphy and KnightLab through Northwestern University, to use for sprucing up websites and social media campaigns.

Michael Giarrusso of The Associated Press, along with ESPN’s Mary Byrne, gave a presentation on what every journalist attending the Rio Olympics should know. Though I’m not traveling to Rio for coverage, I still found it thought-provoking to hear of all the preparations, not just made for the Olympics, but more so for this year’s location. The precautions before arrival, protecting personal items, transportation and lodging options, it all put covering a major event and other factors surrounding it into perspective.

Paul Finebaum also stopped by for the keynote luncheon and it was interesting to witness him outside of his journalistic element. Though he was not working, he still displayed passion for the craft and implored conference attendees to never lose theirs. “I know you’re concerned about the speed of change in the industry, but stay true to your principles,” he said.

Another notable time was at the Red Smith Award Luncheon held on the second day of the conference. The recipient was Leigh Montville of The Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated. Montville was modest in receiving his award, but what he was mostly was a very witty, funny guy.

Besides the intense, yet fun 3-on-3 basketball tournament on the last day of the conference, probably my favorite time during the trip was at the session that covered how to overcome limited access. The panel was sincere in their thoughts and expressions, which made me feel like I wasn’t just sitting in a lecture. They were personable. And the vibe they gave off was what they emphasized for all of us in that room to do when speaking to our subjects. Keep your cell phone in your pocket and engage in conversation.

Be a human being. That is where trust is built.