Theresa Medoff
My name is Theresa Gawlas Medoff. I have been a member of SATW since 2006, first as a freelance writer and, since 2015, as an editor at AAA Club Alliance. I am the lead editor of AAA World, our 3.5M-circulation membership magazine, and AAA Traveler Worldwise, our 160K-circulation high-end magazine for frequent travelers.
Since joining SATW, I have made many good friends and established valuable professional relationships. I have learned much from PD sessions at various council and chapter meetings as well as through SATW webinars offered by the DEAI Committee and others. From the beginning, established members of SATW have been generous with their time and their experience, and that has helped me to grow as a professional. These days, I seek to do the same for newer members.
I believe that being part of an organization also means giving back. I want to help the organization and its people to flourish. For me, that has meant serving on the Eastern Chapter Board numerous times, as Secretary, Second Vice Chair and First Vice Chair. I have planned several chapter meetings, negotiated sponsorships and arranged professional development sessions.
Now I’d like to give back at the national level as Editor-at-Large on the SATW Board. I want to help steer the organization and help prepare our members for the future as we adapt to emerging technologies and new ways of communicating. I pledge to seek out and listen to member concerns so that I can bring those back to the board for consideration and action. I pledge to represent you, and I hope that you’ll give me your vote.
David DeVoss
What does an Editor-at-Large do once elected? The editor represents every SATW active. He insists that high ethical and professional standards be maintained. And he should work to insure that SATW writing and photography awards – at both the national and chapter level – are announced in press releases and promoted on Facebook. At present, this only is done sporadically. It should be done consistently.
I presently edit the East-West News Service, a long-form travel journalism website. The site has around 30 contributors. All are members of the Society of American Travel Writers. Last year the site received a Gold Award for Best Travel Website. from judges at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, who said, “This website is rich with stories, not only about worldwide destinations, but history and culture as well. A wealth of writers keeps readers visiting time and time again.”
Prior to starting EWNS I worked as an editor on U. S. Agency for International Development programs in the Middle East. For six years I traveled around Afghanistan and, later, Iraq writing stories and producing videos about aspiring entrepreneurs who were developing successful businesses with U.S. assistance. My official title was Director of Communications, but I never saw myself as a government official. I was just a journalist looking for personal narratives and compelling photos that could help me tell the same type of stories I once reported for Time Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
My first job as an editor came in 1992 for a Thai company called the Manager Media Group. It published a monthly business magazine and a daily business newspaper. My job was to roam around North and South America looking for business features and local reporters who could write them. It was in that job I learned the value of great writers who could parachute into a city in, say, Alberta and describe a situation that would interest readers living in Bangkok and the rest of Asia.
That’s what most SATW actives do for a living. We drop into a location and then leave after four or five days with a true tale that’s colorful, informative and entertaining. A hell of a read. SATW could do a better job of systematically promoting the work of its members. If elected to the Editor-at-Large position, I would do my best to celebrate the work of our SATW members.