Videography is not a skill Arkansas Press Women (APW) member Catherine Nolte lists on her LinkedIn page. But that did not stop Nolte, who is the marketing coordinator for the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, from submitting an entry in the Video for Web Category in the 2024 APW Professional Communications Contest.
The 67-second video, “How Food Insecurity Impacts Your Health,” won first place in the nonprofit or government organization category in the state contest. A third-place award in the national contest followed.
“I was absolutely surprised that my video placed in the national contest,” said Nolte, who manages the Food Bank’s social media footprint across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok. “Being a writer, videography is an area I’ve challenged myself to grow in. I’m excited to see how it’s paying off.”
Nolte plans to enter the 2025 APW contest, which is accepting entries through an initial deadline of noon on Jan. 29. Entries should consist of work published, posted or broadcast in calendar year 2024. For entries submitted after the initial deadline, a one-time processing fee of $25 is charged in addition to entry fees. The final deadline for books is noon on Feb. 5; for all other entries, noon on Feb. 19.
Information is posted on the contest page of the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) website. This link is to the Arkansas contest home page, from which entries can be submitted in the professional or high school contests. There is information on this page about entry fees and deadlines, which differ in the two contests.
Professional contest categories and rules have been reviewed and updated for the 2025 competition, with new opportunities to enter in several categories, including Books, Short Stories and Verse, Photography, Radio/Television and Collegiate/Education.
The categories and category requirements are described on this page of the NFPW website. Helen Plotkin, an APW member who is national director of the professional contest, said entrants are allowed discretion to choose their categories. Questions are encouraged, however, to minimize the possibility of an entry having to be moved to a different category.
An entrant in the Arkansas professional contest does not need to be a member of Arkansas Press Women, but entry fees are lower for APW members. Individuals with entries that place first through third – or that earn honorable mention – in the Arkansas contest will be recognized at an APW event in spring 2025. Results will be posted on the APW website.
“There are so many benefits to entering the state contest,” Nolte notes. “I really enjoy reviewing my work and selecting what I want to enter. It helps me to see all that I have accomplished throughout the year. When the winners are announced, it’s exciting to learn about the incredible work people are doing across the state and to celebrate their accomplishments.”
A first-place entry in the Arkansas contest is eligible to advance to the national tier conducted by NFPW, but the entrant must be a member of NFPW. For a non-member, the deadline to join NFPW for these entries is March 25.
For entries that place first in the Arkansas contest, an e-mail will be sent asking the entrant to reimburse APW for the national fee of $20 per entry. APW is charged for national entry fees but requests reimbursement from entrants advancing to national rather than increasing entry fees for all contestants.
Individuals with entries that win awards in the national contest will be notified in June 2025. Awards in the national contest will be presented during a banquet on Sept. 13, 2025, at the annual NFPW Conference in Golden, Colorado.
Co-directors Kristin Netterstrom Higgins at zesty_krstn@yahoo.com and Richard S. Plotkin at rsplotkin@conwaycorp.net are available to answer questions about the Arkansas professional contest and to provide other assistance.