Nominees for officer and director positions for 2024-25

Posted bySPJ Virginia ProPosted inboard of directors, chapter business, elections

From June 20 to 27, our chapter will hold an election to fill officer positions and seats on the board of directors for the coming year. Here are the nominees, who would take office beginning July 1:

Officers 

President — Chris Tyree is a Virginia native and the senior director and co-founder of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism. For more than 30 years, his cameras and pen have carried him to report on stories on nearly every continent. His award-winning projects have helped shape policy and spur awareness of important issues. His work has been published in hundreds of the world’s leading periodicals and broadcast networks including the BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR and Deutsche Welle. He earned a graduate degree in visual communication from Ohio University and BS in journalism from James Madison University. Chris, his wife, Melanie, son, Jack, and their pups Milo and JoJo Pickles enjoy hiking the many trails along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Chris has served on the SPJVA Board of Directors since 2022.

Vice President — Susan Smigielski Acker is a freelance journalist and editor with more than 25 years of experience, including with The Virginian-Pilot. She has reported on multiple subjects including parenting, business, the arts and so much more. She is a proud second-generation Polish-American and a first-generation college graduate from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Susan and her husband, Scott, reside in Newport News, Virginia, with their cat, Astrid. They have two grown children.

Secretary — Jeff South, who served as president of SPJVA from 2019 to 2021, is an associate professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he taught journalism from 1997 to 2020. Previously, he was a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 20 years in Texas, Arizona and Virginia. Jeff continues to freelance and conduct journalism training; as a Fulbright Specialist in 2022, he held workshops for journalists in Mongolia. Jeff currently serves on the SPJVA Board of Directors.

Treasurer — Deana Meredith is the communications manager at the Virginia Press Association. She has nearly 20 years experience in newspapers having served as news editor at The Central Virginian in Louisa, Va., and was executive director of the Louisa County Chamber of Commerce for five years. Deana has served on the SPJVA Board of Directors since 2022.

Directors

Director 3, 3-year term (expiring 2027) – Chuck Jackson is editor of The MadRapp Recorder and The Greene Journal. He has worked for the Blue Ridge Independent, Culpeper Star-Exponent and other publications. Chuck has been a member of the SPJVA Board of Directors since 2021 and has chaired the chapter’s FOIA Committee.

Director 6, 3-year term (expiring 2027) – Reynolds Hutchins is editor of The Daily Progress in Charlottesville. He has been a member of the SPJVA Board of Directors since 2024. Reynolds also serves on the board of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.

We are seeking SPJ members to fill the following positions on the SPJVA Board of Directors. If you are interested, please contact Mechelle Hankerson, the chapter’s current president:

  • Director 1 (expiring 2026) — currently held by Jeff South
  • Director 4 (expiring 2027)
  • Director 7 (expiring 2025) — currently held by Deana Meredith
  • Director 8 (expiring 2025) — currently held by Chris Tyree

In accordance with our bylaws, the election will be held via an online ballot that we will send to all SPJVA members. (That means everyone who is current on their national and local SPJ dues. You can check your membership status at spj.org.)

If you do not receive an email with the ballot but you believe you are eligible to vote in the election, contact us at virginiaprospj@gmail.com.

The ballot will be distributed by email by 9 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, June 20. The deadline to vote in the election will be noon on Thursday, June 27.

The SPJVA board of directors also will include the following members who are not up for election:

  • Nicole Livas — Director 2 (expiring 2026)
  • Alix Bryan-Campos — Director 5 (expiring 2026)
  • Brett Hall — Director 9 (expiring 2025)
  • Dina Weinstein — Ex officio member as the chapter’s immediate past president
  • Robin Reed, faculty adviser to the SPJ chapter at Virginia Tech — Ex officio member as the board’s student chapter representative

Published by SPJ Virginia Pro

SPJ is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry through the daily work of its nearly 10,000 members; works to inspire and educate current and future journalists through professional development; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press through its advocacy efforts.