The 2024 VPC Spring Conference will take place Saturday, April 20, at the Library of Virginia in downtown Richmond. In addition to recognizing the winners in the annual VPC communications contest, we will honor this year’s Newsmaker of the Year, Sandra G. Treadway, who recently retired after an impressive career as the Librarian of Virginia.

Registration will open at 9 a.m. with coffee and pastries, giving members and guests time to network before the program begins at 9:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided. When the conference concludes mid-afternoon, feel free to explore the Library of Virginia and its exhibits, such as one running through August: Indigenous Perspectives.

Corinne Geller, the longtime public relations director at the Virginia State Police, and Bonnie Newman Davis, managing editor of the Richmond Free Press and author of “Truth Tellers: The Power and Presence of Black Women Journalists Since 1960,” also will speak.

The library is located at 800 E. Broad Street. Parking in the library’s public garage is free and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If the lot is full, you can park on the street or in nearby lots or garages. We encourage members and guests to carpool.

Please be aware that the Monument Avenue 10k is Saturday morning and could affect traffic around the Library. This link shows the course. Taking the interstate may be your best option for avoiding road closures and race traffic. The Library’s website provides directions from each of the interstate highways.

The conference will take place on the first floor of the Library in Conference Rooms A & B. VPC members will be in the lobby to greet you and show you where to go.

Questions? Contact VPC President Pam Stallsmith at: pstallsmith@verizon.net.

AGENDA

9-9:30 a.m.

Coffee, registration, and networking

9:30 a.m.

Presidents Welcome: Pam Stallsmith, Sande Snead

9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: “OK, I’m on my way”

Corinne Geller’s children know when she receives a work call and will have to leave home: “OK, I’m on my way.” For the past 23 years, she has responded to nearly every major criminal or traffic incident in Virginia, including the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. A former broadcast journalist, Geller will discuss her vast experiences in crisis communications.

10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: Truth Telling

Bonnie Newman Davis became managing editor of the Richmond Free Press, a Black-owned weekly newspaper, in 2022. As her book title suggests, she seeks the truth whether it’s in a newsroom, college campus, or the community. Her extensive career includes serving as a journalism professor and a business and features editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as writing her highly acclaimed book. A book signing will follow.

11:45 to 12:30 p.m.

Lunch

12:30 p.m.

Newsmaker of the Year, Sandra G. Treadway

Communications Contest Awards