wfn.org | Episcopalians: News teams chosen for Minneapolis General Convention

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

January 24, 2003

2003-016

Episcopalians: News teams chosen for Minneapolis General 
Convention

by James Solheim

(ENS) The Episcopal Church's Office of Communication announced 
today the appointment of the news teams that will cover the 
Minneapolis General Convention this summer, July 28-August 8, 
2003.

The Episcopal News Service (ENS)team will provide a steady 
stream of daily stories available on the Web site at 
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/. Jim DeLa, communications 
officer for the Diocese of Southwest Florida, who will head the 
ENS team, will be assisted by Jane Lantz of Minnesota as copy 
editor. Lantz  has extensive experience as a copy editor for a 
number of medical journals, including Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 

Other members of the team include David Skidmore, director of 
communications for the Diocese of Chicago; Sarah Moore, former 
director of communications at the School of Theology at Sewanee; 
Richelle Thompson, director of communcations for the Diocese of 
Southern Ohio; and the Rev. E.T.  Malone Jr., director of 
communications for the Diocese of North Carolina. A new position 
has been added to the ENS team for this convention. Giovanni 
Figueredo, a novice at the Society of St. John the Evangelist in 
Massachusetts, will edit, write and translate stories in Spanish 
for both ENS and the Convention Daily.

"This is the first General Convention since ENS became a fully 
online news service, and we're working right now to roll out a 
completely revamped and thoroughly interactive Web site in 
anticipation of Convention," said the Rev. Jan Nunley, deputy 
director of ENS, who with director Jim Solheim will be available 
to help accredited press who cover the convention. Almost 300 
journalists have applied to cover the 10-day meeting in recent 
years.

The Convention Daily staff is made up of a team of award-winning 
writers and editors, from 25-year veterans to a Northwestern 
University honors journalism student who is fluent in French. 
The Daily is produced as a special project of Episcopal Life.

The team will be led by editor Bob Williams, communications 
director for the Diocese of Los Angeles and editor of the daily 
newspaper of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. Members of the team 
will be Sharon Sheridan of New Jersey; Sally Vallongo of Ohio; 
Michelle Gabriel of California and the Rev. Mary Frances 
Schjonberg of New Jersey. Dick Snyder, a student at Church 
Divinity School of the Pacific, will be photographer on the 
team. Jerry Fargo of Episcopal Life will be in charge of 
production and design.

"Our team brings both considerable expertise and wide experience 
to the advantage of the Convention Daily</i?, which is such an 
integral part of the life of the convention, " said Williams, 
who will be working at his sixth General Convention spanning an 
18-year period. " I look forward to working with Episcopal Life 
editor Jerry Hames and my Episcopal Communicator colleagues from 
across the country."

------

--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service.