FAME's History
Veterans Organize In St. Louis

CoSIDA's 2000 Convention in St. Louis proved to be memorable in more ways than marking the millennium.

Vanderbilt's Tammy Boclair joined CoSIDA's officer rotation and in 2003-04 became only the second woman to be the organization's president. Penn State's Mary Jo Haverbeck became the 43rd recipient and the first woman to receive the Arch Ward Award.

But Haverbeck had something else on her mind when she asked 11 others to join her to discuss the possibility of establishing a support system for the women in CoSIDA. She was concerned about a research project she had read that documented a high attrition rate for women in athletic public relations.

Chris Anderson, Nebraska; Tammy Boclair, Vanderbilt; Sue Edson, Syracuse; Tam Flarup, Wisconsin; Debby Jennings, Tennessee; Ann King, College of New Jersey; Barb Kowal, Texas; and Shelly Poe, West Virginia. joined Kathleen Hessert then of Sports Media Challenge, Rosa Gatti of ESPN, John Humenik of Florida and Haverbeck at the first meeting to discuss solutnios to the problem.

The group immediately decided to invite all CoSIDA women at the Workshop to attend an impromptu meeting. FAME's existence was quickly validated when the meeting room filled to capacity and a free-flowing discussion ensued with topics ranging from how to combine a personal life with being an SID to dealing with discrimination in the workplace.

After the convention, the organizing group's next effort was to use a list of e-mail addresses gathered at the meeting in St. Louis to create a listserv which Edson offered to host and maintain at Syracuse. The listserv's purpose is to link members via e-mail and to distribute information pertinent to their interests.

One of the first questions on the listserv was a request for suggestions for a name for the group. Female Athletic Media Relations Executives was chosen from a suggestion submitted by Betsy Primo of Saint Louis University.

"Hot button" issues such as the media attention to attire worn by sideline reporter Jill Arrington while working for CBS at a college football game also were circulated and the listserv has frequently been used to gauge members' opinions on these issues.

Another listserv project began on Nov. 27, 2000, when members were asked to share their years of service. Haverbeck compiled the data and has since posted separate pages on Women Who Are SIDs and Women With 25 Years of Service.

The idea for a FAME web site began at the convention in St. Louis. Haverbeck worked with Assistant SID Heather Brocious on the initial format and content. When Brocious moved from Kent State to Rutgers, Penn State web assistant Steve Kirkland helped complete the design and text for the site.

Hessert also suggested monthly teleconferences so that those interested in FAME could exchange ideas and plan the agenda for the organization's annual meeting at the CoSIDA Workshop. The teleconferences also were made possible thanks to the use of a phone line offered by Edson at Syracuse

Several FAME veterans volunteered to write advice columns or to share their personal stories on the web site. In the first year, the goal was to have at least one column a month. Columns also were distributed on the listserv.

Another continuing project for FAME has been identifying new members and getting them on the listserv. The list includes sports information professionals from all levels in all specialties at all colleges, arena PR executives, sports broadcasting PR executives, bowl PR executives, and sports-related associations and foundation executives.