The David Stolberg Meritorious Service Award is presented by SEJ each year to honor exceptional volunteer work by a member. The Award was created by the SEJ board in 1998 and named for SEJ’s founder David Stolberg [2].

Much of SEJ’s best work is accomplished by member-volunteers: tour and panel organizers for the conference, awards program leaders, contributors to SEJournal, SEJ-talk and www.sej.org [3], freedom-of-information watchdogs, mentors and leaders in diversity outreach. Volunteers define the heart and soul of SEJ, and they expand the group’s reach and significance in ways that are not easily measured.

David Stolberg’s 38-year career with Scripps Howard included duties for the Scripps Howard Foundation’s annual Meeman Awards for excellence in environmental reporting. Stolberg always believed in “the value of networking, of the subliminal training that comes from an association with one's peers." In the 1980s, when Stolberg was assistant general editorial manager of Scripps Howard, he came up with the SEJ idea and kept suggesting it to Meeman winners until he found one who was willing to put in the volunteer time to organize with other journalists and make something happen. That person was SEJ’s founding president, Jim Detjen.

[4]Current members of the SEJ Board of Directors are not eligible for the Stolberg Award. Prior board members may qualify, but only for volunteer work done before or after their tenure on the board. Any individual, including SEJ staff and non-members, may submit nominations. The winner of the Stolberg award each year is selected by a panel of three judges drawn from SEJ board and staff. Judges are appointed each year by SEJ's current president.

The Stolberg award will be awarded every year at the annual Membership Meeting.

 

Nominations were due September 13, 2024

To nominate, send name(s) and thoughts about each nominee’s volunteer contributions to sej@sej.org [5]. Excerpts from nomination memos may be quoted by SEJ online or during presentation of the Stolberg Award, unless the nominator indicates that he or she does not give permission for this, or wishes to remain anonymous. Supplemental materials in support of nominations are welcome.

 

Past winners:

2024 — Emilia Askari [6]
2023 — Christy George [7]
2022 — JoAnn Valenti [8]
2021 — Gloria Gonzalez [9]
2020 — Robert McClure [10]
2019 — Jim Bruggers [11]
2018 — Meera Subramanian [12]
2017 — Peter Dykstra and Sara Shipley Hiles [13]
2016 — Tim Wheeler [14]
2015 — Lana Straub [15]
2014 — Beth Daley [16]
2013 — Jane Braxton Little [17]
2012 — Janet Raloff [18]
2011 — Chuck Quirmbach [19]
2010 — Elizabeth Bluemink [20]
2009 — Roger Witherspoon [21]
2008 — Margie Kriz [22]
2007 — Mike Dunne [23]
2006 — Dale Willman [24]
2005 — Denny Wilkins [25]
2004 — Ken Ward Jr. [26]
2003 — Orna Izakson and Dawn Stover [27]
2002 — Michael Rivlin [28]
2001 — Russell Clemings
2000 — Paul MacLennan
1999 — Randall Edwards