History
Our Beginnings Date Back To 1949The History of APW
On June 16, 1949, Arkansas Newspaper Women organized as an auxiliary to the Arkansas Press Association.
Roberta Fulbright, publisher of the Northwest Arkansas Times, invited women journalists from around the state to attend a session in conjunction with the annual APA meeting to discuss forming a women’s newspaper group. Alita Tidrow of Smackover presided at the first meeting, where the group voted unanimously to organize.
Charter Members
Lessie S. Read
Maude Duncan
Isabel France
Edith Sweezy
Esther Bindursky
Mrs. John Troutt
Gladys Edwards
Marian Love
Mrs. W.L. Love
Mrs. C.H. Rice
Mrs. Guy Phillips
Eloise Castleberry
Mrs. Walter Raney
Mary Louise Wright
Marjorie Crabaugh
Mrs. C.A. Verbeck
Kate Gillespie
Alita Tidrow
Mrs. C.C. Elrod
Mrs. Max Hampton
Mrs. Val Zachariah
Ethel Hale Cox
The First Officers Were:
- President: Mrs. M.P. Jones Jr. of Searcy
- First Vice President: Esther Bindursky of Marked Tree
- Second Vice President: Mrs. Ray Kimbrell of DeQueen
- Secretary: Mrs. Ells L. Huff of Newport
- Treasurer: Kate Gillespie of DeValls Bluff
- Board members: Mrs. Tom Allen of Brinkley and Mrs. Walter Raney of McCrory
The first official meeting of the Arkansas Newspaper Women took place Jan. 14, 1950 in Little Rock. The organization had 75 members. The association became an affiliate of National Federation of Press Women in 1954 and officially changed its name to Arkansas Press Women on Jan. 16, 1954. APW incorporated Jan. 13, 1975. The first male members of APW were admitted in 1977 – Terry Hawkins and Melvin Schexnayder of Dumas.
Presidents of Arkansas Press Women
1949 – Jamie Jones, Searcy
1950 – Esther Bindursky, Lepanto
1951 – Dorothy Allen, Brinkley
1952 – Eunice O’Baugh, Pocahontas
1953 – Dorothy Stuck, Marked Tree
1954 – Josephine Carroll Jones, Batesville
1955 – Charlotte Schexnayder, Dumas
1956 – Margaret Woolfolk, Marion
1957 – Craig Lovesy, Russellville
1958 – Louise Hampton, Booneville
1959 – Mattie Causey
1960 – Roberta Martin, Little Rock
1961-62 – Mary Louise Wright, DeWitt
1962-63 – Margaret Larimer, Green Forest
1965-66 – Betty Magie, Cabot
1967-68 – Maude Halley, Stuttgart
1969-70 – Janet Weisner Perry, Springdale
1971-72 – Maudine Sanders, Springdale
1973-74 – Louise Boyette, Carlisle
1975 – Lola Ross, Glenwood
1976-78 – Carol Griffee, Little Rock
1979-80 – Kay Powers, Little Rock
1981-82 – Brenda Blagg, Fayetteville
1983-84 – Julie Longnecker, Marion
1985-86 – Janet Nelson, Oakland
1987-88 Carol Dawson, Monticello
1989-1992 – Eva Marie Pearson, Pine Bluff
1993-94 – Linda Webster, Monticello
1994-96 – Debbie Miller, Batesville
1996-98 – Carol Sanders Reiner, Little Rock
1999-2000 – Helen Sheffield Plotkin, Little Rock
2001-02 – Jennifer Fulford, Fayetteville
2004-05 – Audrey Lott Watkins, Jonesboro
2005 – Helen Sheffield Plotkin, Conway
2007-2008 – Helen Sheffield Plotkin, Conway
2009-2012 – Mary Hightower, Little Rock
2013-2017 – Debbie Miller, Bentonville
2017-2023 – Kristin Netterstrom Higgins, Bryant
2023-Current – Angelita Faller, Little Rock
APW Communicator of Achievement (formerly known as Woman of Achievement)
1960 – Bobbie Forster*
1970 – Charlotte Schexnayder* (2000 Woman of the Millennium)
1973 – Mary Louise Wright
1977 – Margaret Woolfolk*
1983 – Kay Powers
1985 – Anale Yarbrough
1989 – Carol Dawson
1992 – Linda Webster
1993 – Carol Sanders Reiner
2000 – Eva Marie Pearson*
2002 – Pearl Serbus
2007 – Terry Hawkins
2010 – Debbie Miller
2017 – Helen Sheffield Plotkin
2020/2021 – Tammy Keith
2023 – Mary Hightower
2025 – Kristin Netterstrom Higgins
*Also named NFPW Woman of Achievement
Important Dates in APW History
1949 – Arkansas Newspaper Women organized as an auxiliary of the Arkansas Press Association
1950 – Arkansas Newspaper Women holds first meeting with 75 members
1954 – Arkansas Newspaper Women changes its name to Arkansas Press Women and becomes an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women
1960 – Bobbie Forster wins NFPW Woman of Achievement Award (now known as the Communicator of Achievement Award), becoming the first APW member to receive this honor
1961 – Roberta Martin elected NFPW president, becoming the first APW member to achieve this honor
1970 – Charlotte Schexnayder receives NFPW Communicator of Achievement Award, becoming the second APW member to receive this honor
1975 – APW adopts a new constitution and becomes an independent organization separate from the Arkansas Press Association
1977 – Arkansas Press Women welcomes its first male members, Terry Hawkins and Melvin Schexnayder
1977 – Charlotte Schexnayder elected NFPW president, becoming the second APW member to achieve this honor
1977 – Margaret Woolfolk receives NFPW Communicator of Achievement Award, becoming the third APW member to receive this honor
1980 – APW publishes Horizons: 100 Arkansas Women of Achievement, celebrating the diverse and vital contributions of female leaders across the state
1988 – APW hosts NFPW Conference in Little Rock, with then-Arkansas First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as the keynote speaker, marking the first time Arkansas has hosted the national conference
1997 – APW Members Dorothy Stuck and Nan Snow publish biography on Roberta Fulbright, titled Roberta: A Most Remarkable Fulbright
1998 – First website launched at http://www.uark/ALADDIN/apwomen
2000 – Eva Marie Pearson receives NFPW Communicator of Achievement Award, becoming the fourth APW member to receive this honor
2019 – APW selected to host 2020 NFPW Conference
2021 – After 2020 NFPW Conference canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, APW hosts NFPW’s first-ever virtual conference, marking the second time APW has hosted the national conference
2022 – Lakeside High School student Claire Hudnell receives the Julie Hoffman Memorial Best of the Best Award, the top honor in the NFPW High School Communications Contest, becoming the first Arkansas student to receive this award
2022 – APW and community partners in Dumas establish the first Charlotte Schexnayder Journalism Internship with the Dumas Clarion through the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation’s Summer Internship Program. UA Little Rock student Joe Santana is the inaugural recipient.
2025 – Students from Bryant High School receive the Julie Hoffman Memorial Best of the Best Award, marking the second time Arkansas students have received this award
2025 – Treasurer Richard Plotkin receives the inaugural APW Distinguished Service Award
2025 – Josie Lenora of Little Rock Public Radio becomes the first recipient of the APW Investigate Journalism Mini-Grant
2025 – Debbie Miller elected NFPW president, becoming third APW member to achieve this honor