Dina Weinstein, editor and publisher of RVA on the Cheap, will serve as the next president of the Virginia Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Weinstein, who also writes for Richmond Magazine, the Henrico Citizen and other publications, was chosen in an online election that the chapter held over the past week. SPJVA members also elected:
- Bonnie Newman Davis, a journalist, journalism educator and media consultant, as vice president.
- Brett Hall, a reporter for WAVY-TV in Norfolk, as secretary.
- Five members to its board of directors: Chuck Jackson, editor of The MadRapp Recorder; Desiree Montilla, a reporter for NBC12 in Richmond; Fadel Allassan, an associate editor at Axios; Logan Bogert, a reporter for The News Virginian in Waynesboro; and Caroline Cardwell, a public relations strategist for the Virginia Retirement System.
In addition, the chapter re-elected Brian Eckert, an independent communications consultant, as treasurer.
Davis and Hall are current directors of the SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter. Cardwell is the current vice president, and Bogert is the current secretary.
Jeff South, a journalist and journalism professor, is the chapter’s current president. He will remain on the board as the immediate past president.
The chapter extends its gratitude and appreciation to the SPJVA directors who are leaving the board as their terms expire on June 30: Mike Szvetitz, managing editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch; Greg Gilligan, business editor at the RTD; and Clissa England, a freelance editor and writer.
The newly elected officers and directors will take office on July 1.
Directors generally serve three-year terms. Continuing on the board are Elliott Robinson, news editor of Charlottesville Tomorrow; Nicole Livas, an anchor and reporter for 13News Now (WVEC, the ABC affiliate in Hampton Roads); Frank Klimko, associate editor of Best Week Insurance; and John Hopkins, an independent writer and editor.
Also in the election, SPJVA members updated the chapter’s bylaws. The changes include:
- Explicitly authorizing online ballots for holding elections and authorizing the use of email and social media for meeting announcements and other official communications.
- Specifying that the chapter president may serve no more than two consecutive years. This had been an unwritten rule for SPJVA.
- Stating expressly that the chapter’s financial records and minutes of all meetings shall be open for inspection by any member.
- Creating a position on the board for “a representative from an SPJ student chapter at a Virginia college or university.” The student-chapter representative will have full voting rights. The position will rotate among the state’s institutions of higher education.
SPJVA members approved the amendments of the bylaws and elected the incoming officers and directors by unanimous or near-unanimous votes.
Here is the makeup of the chapter’s board:
| Position | 2020-21 officeholder | 2021-22 officeholder |
| President | Jeff South | Dina Weinstein |
| Vice president | Caroline Cardwell | Bonnie Davis |
| Secretary | Logan Bogert | Brett Hall |
| Treasurer | Brian Eckert | Brian Eckert |
| Director 1 (expiring 2023) | Elliott Robinson | Elliott Robinson |
| Director 2 (expiring 2023) | Nicole Livas | Nicole Livas |
| Director 3 (expiring 2021/2024) | Bonnie Newman Davis | Chuck Jackson |
| Director 4 (expiring 2021/2024) | Greg Gilligan | Desiree Montilla |
| Director 5 (expiring 2023) | Frank Klimko | Frank Klimko |
| Director 6 (expiring 2021/2024) | Mike Szvetitz | Fadel Allassan |
| Director 7 (expiring 2022) | Clissa England | Caroline Cardwell |
| Director 8 (expiring 2022) | Brett Hall | Logan Bogert |
| Director 9 (expiring 2022) | John Hopkins | John Hopkins |
| Past president | — | Jeff South |
| Student chapter representative | — | TBA |
SPJVA Today 