Charlie Wittmack
Internationally renowned explorer
Charlie Wittmack, an Iowan and internationally renowned explorer, is best known for being the first person to complete “The World Triathlon,” an 8,000-mile triathlon that stretches from rural England to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. In 2010, Wittmack became the first American to complete the “Peak & Pond,” a sports-double composed of swimming the English Channel and climbing Mount Everest. Wittmack is also the first American to have swum the length of the River Thames in England. He is also a lawyer with Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines.

Session:
Committed to the Core
Wittmack has stood atop peaks on dozens of expeditions to the Andes, Alps, Africa, Alaska and the Himalaya. He has trekked across East Africa with the Maasai tribesmen, sailed the Indian Ocean in a handmade boat, and completed numerous ocean marathon swims around the world. He has experienced some of the highest highs -- and lowest lows -- of anyone you’ll ever meet. Attend his Friday lunch session to hear his inspirational story. Past Presidents' Awards Luncheon, Friday at noon

For a sneak peek of his inspiring journey check out ESPN’s profile of the adventurer at http://tinyurl.com/wittmack.

Freedom Sings
Freedom Sings,® a program of the First Amendment Center, is a critically acclaimed multimedia experience now in its 11th year of touring the country. The presentation features music that has been banned or censored or has sounded a call for social change, and it invites audiences to experience the First Amendment in a new way.

This entertaining, irreverent and inspiring program is packed with live music, video and narration, and showcases hit songwriters, engaging performers and Grammy Award winners. Friday, 9:00 a.m.

Freedom Sings® is sponsored in part by Faegre Baker Daniels.

Stephen Berry
University of Iowa; 1993 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting
Stephen Berry currently serves as an associate professor at the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Berry was a journalist for 33 years, having worked last at the Los Angeles Times for seven years before joining the University of Iowa in 2003. In addition to the Pulitzer, he has won numerous other honors for investigative and daily reporting.

Session:
Achieving Excellence: A Panel of Pulitzer Prize Winners
In this inspirational session, three journalists with Iowa ties who have won Pulitzer Prizes will share their stories, offer advice and answer questions relating to their personal experiences in making it to the top. Thursday, 3:00 p.m.

Mary Chind
Des Moines Register; 2010 Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography
Mary Chind worked in Arizona for The Sierra Vista Herald and The Tucson Citizen as a photojournalist before joining The Des Moines Register in 1999. Chind’s assignments have taken her to Mexico, Ireland, Finland, Mali, Canada, Uganda and across the U.S. She has received numerous state and national awards from Associated Press, INA, Society of News Design and National Press Photographers Association.

Session:
Achieving Excellence: A Panel of Pulitzer Prize Winners
In this inspirational session, three journalists with Iowa ties who have won Pulitzer Prizes will share their stories, offer advice and answer questions relating to their personal experiences in making it to the top. Thursday, 3:00 p.m.

Rick Farrell
Tangent Knowledge Systems
Rick Farrell has nearly 25 years of experience helping companies of all sizes optimize their performance by assessing their sales people, sales processes, management structure and strategies.

Sessions:
Reposition Your Sales Strategy for More Revenue
In this session, Farrell will explain why selling has nothing to do with selling. He will share valuable advice including how to reposition your sales strategy to meet the realities of the information economy. Friday, 10:50 a.m.

Generating New Advertising Revenue
Overcome common advertising obstacles by learning how to qualify new opportunities, have a compelling value statement, handle stalls and objections and how to sound different to gain attention. Friday, 2:00 p.m.

Max Heath
NNA Postal Chair
Max Heath is in his 28th year as chair of the Postal Committee of the National Newspaper Association. He is a semi-retired postal consultant for Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc. and for Publishing Group of America. He is the nation’s top expert on postal issues affecting community newspapers today. He writes a monthly Postal Tips column in Publishers’ Auxiliary.

Sessions:
Breaking News Postal Update
This session will cover the latest US Postal Service issues that may affect you, such as what to do about post office and plant closings that affect service, BME consolidations, rules change allowing simplified address mail on city routes, possible end of 6-day delivery and much more. Friday, 10:50 a.m.

Best Practices to MAXimize Postal Savings
Heath shares a detailed list (with DMM citations) of postal rules that teach best practices in maximizing postage savings for in-county mail, drop shipping to save money and speed delivery, getting mail out of sacks to save time and improve delivery, and sharing additional money-saving tips for Periodicals and Standard Mail. Friday, 2:00 p.m.

Ken Paulson
First Amendment Center
For the past 32 years, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states, including most recently USA Today, and as the executive director of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

Session:
Paid content and a free press: A matter of dollars and democracy
An exploration of emerging business models designed to drive revenue in a “culture of free” and how critical they are to preserving journalism’s watchdog role. Thursday, 1:30 p.m.

Kevin Slimp
Institute of Newspaper Technology
Slimp is director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology, a training program for newspaper designers and managers. He is best known for developing the PDF remote printing method.

Sessions:
Photo Editing and Color Correction Tips & Tricks
Slimp has been a leading Photoshop instructor for many years and keeps finding tips and tricks to improve the quality of photos in every newspaper. Over the past year, he has worked with some of the top photographers in the industry to make their pictures look better on the page. Perfect for users of any version of Photoshop. Friday, 10:50 a.m.

Staying on Top of New Technology
An overview of the latest technology related to the newspaper industry. Learn the latest about hardware, software and workflow issues from a leading name in newspaper technology. Friday, 2:00 p.m.

Finding and Fixing Problem PDF Files
Since developing the PDF printing method back in the 1990s, Slimp has been at the forefront of this technology so important to our business. With all the advances in design and printing, understanding how to find and fix PDF problems before they land on the page is invaluable. Friday, 3:45 p.m.

Chris Snider
Drake University
Snider has spent the past ten years encouraging newspapers to embrace innovative and creative ways to tell and present stories in print and online. He’s currently an instructor of practice in multimedia journalism at Drake University.

Session:
Writing to Attract the Online Reader
Writing for the web is very different than writing for print. Readers are coming to our content in different ways - including social media and search engines - while getting to interact with our content. Find out how to drive traffic to your site using search engine optimization and how to write content that readers want to read online. Friday, 10:50 a.m.

Greg Swanson
ITZ Publishing
Swanson’s company is a leading strategic consulting partner for online media. Before launching ITZ in 2005, he spent seven years as corporate director of interactive media sales for Lee Enterprises.

Sessions:
Selling Digital... Beyond Banners
The digital product options for small businesses have expanded beyond banner ads and websites to include Facebook, and Twitter, search engine optimization and marketing, mobile devices and so much more. This session will focus on how to wisely allocate budgets across the myriad of choices. Friday, 10:50 a.m.

Going Mobile... Engaging Audiences & Advertisers
What does “going mobile” mean for your business? This session provides current trends and clear steps on how to get started as well as new, traditional and nontraditional means of making money in the mobile arena. Friday, 2:00 p.m.

Transforming Your Sales Strategy to Embrace Digital
Advertising in local markets is increasing every year. Advertising in print is decreasing. Where is the money going? Is there a way for you to capture those dollars? This session will review recent research that asked small business owners how they are advertising, marketing or promoting their businesses. Friday, 3:45 p.m.

Christine Willmsen
Seattle Times; 2010 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting
Christine Willmsen, a Simpson College alum, has won multiple national and regional awards for reporting and has been a part of investigations that have resulted in laws being enacted in Washington state to better protect students and document employees’ misconduct. She was a finalist for Pulitzer Prizes in 2004, 2003 and 2002 and her investigative articles have won multiple national awards. Willmsen was a reporter at the Dayton Daily News in Ohio for three years. She also was a reporter for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. She was born and raised in Marion, Iowa.

Session:
Achieving Excellence: A Panel of Pulitzer Prize Winners
In this inspirational session, three journalists with Iowa ties who have won Pulitzer Prizes will share their stories, offer advice and answer questions relating to their personal experiences in making it to the top. Thursday, 3:00 p.m.