The Big Island Press Club is celebrating 50 years of service to the community with a 50th anniversary dinner from 5:30-9 p.m. Sept. 21 at Nani Mau Gardens, 421 Makalika St. in Hilo.
The Big Island Press Club is celebrating 50 years of service to the community with a 50th anniversary dinner from 5:30-9 p.m. Sept. 21 at Nani Mau Gardens, 421 Makalika St. in Hilo.
For five decades, BIPC has actively advocated for freedom of the media and the public’s right to know, holding government and those elected to serve the public accountable. It encourages and grants scholarships to the upcoming and future generations of would-be newspeople and media supporters, and seeks to improve local and global communities.
The keynote speaker is Civil Beat reporter Kirstin Downey, who covers the federal government and how it affects the lives of people in Hawaii. Downey, a local girl who went to Kailua High School, was part of the Washington Post metro staff that won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the campus massacre at Virginia Tech University in 2007.
Downey was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2000-01 for her extensive coverage of sexual harassment in the workplace. She also is the author of the historical books “The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins” and “Isabella: The Warrior Queen.”
The celebration also will feature music reminiscent of BIPC’s “Imu” shows and a brief presentation of the Press Club’s history and accomplishments.
The evening will begin with no-host cocktails at 5:30 p.m. with buffet dinner and the program to follow.
Tickets are $30 for members, $35 for nonmembers and $20 for students, available online at Eventbrite.com. Tickets also will be available through BIPC board and 50th anniversary committee members.
The BIPC invites all to come celebrate and meet members of the media in the community.