At the 2021 PFWA Annual Meeting held virtually January 29, the PFWA membership elected a slate of officers and board members for the 2021-2022 seasons.
Lindsay Jones, senior writer for The Athletic, was elected to a two-year term as the organization’s 30th PFWA president. Also elected to two-year officer terms were Jenny Vrentas, Sports Illustrated (first vice-president); Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News (second vice-president) and Mike Sando, The Athletic (secretary-treasurer).
Jones succeeds Bob Glauber of Newsday, who was PFWA president from 2018-20. Glauber was presented with an award from the board for his three seasons of service (2018-20) as the organization’s leader.
The PFWA members who attended via Zoom also elected four at-large board members to two-year terms: Mike Jones, USA Today; Jeff Legwold, ESPN.com; Dan Pompei, The Athletic and Charean Williams, ProFootballTalk.com.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Senior Vice President of Football & International Communications Michael Signora visited to thank the PFWA members for their continuing coverage of the league and to preview the virtual media operations for Super Bowl LV. Signora was presented with an award from the PFWA for his work in assisting the membership during a difficult 2020 season.
NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and Assistant Executive Director of External Affairs George Atallah also attended the meeting to thank the PFWA membership for coverage of the league’s players and player concerns during the challenges of the 2020 season. Atallah was presented an award from the PFWA for his work in helping the media during 2020.
The PFWA Art Rooney Scholarship committee, chaired by Clark Judge (Talk of Fame Sports Network), announced that Jordyn Tuley, a freshman at Northern Arizona University and the daughter of Dave Tuley of VSIN.com, was selected as the 40th recipient of the Rooney Scholarship. The runner-up was Anna Gantt, a freshman at Appalachian State and the daughter of Darin Gantt, formerly of ProFootballTalk.com and currently with Panthers.com. The Rooney Scholarship is awarded each year to a child of a PFWA member who is entering his or her freshman year of college. Applications for the Rooney Scholarship are available in early summer each year from the PFWA for children who graduated high school in the spring.
Glauber used the opportunity of the Annual Meeting to present former long-time Baltimore Ravens executive VP of public and community relations Kevin Byrne with an lifetime achievement award in appreciation of his dealings with football media during his time with the Ravens and previously with the Cleveland Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals. Byrne remains a good friend of many in the PFWA.
PFWA PRESIDENTS: 1964-65 — George Strickler, Chicago Tribune; 1966-67 — Lewis “Tony” Atchison, Washington Star; 1968-69 — Edwin Pope, Miami Herald; 1970-71 — William Guthrie, New Haven Journal-Courier; 1972-73 — Larry Felser, Buffalo News; 1974-75 — Larry Fox, New York Daily News; 1976-77 — Bob Roesler, New Orleans Times-Picayune; 1978-79 — John Steadman, Baltimore News-American; 1980-81 — Dick Connor, Denver Post; 1982 — Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated; 1983-84 — Cooper Rollow, Chicago Tribune; 1985-86 — Vito Stellino, Baltimore Sun; 1987-88 — Glenn Sheeley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; 1989-90 — Don Pierson, Chicago Tribune; 1991-92 — Ira Miller, San Francisco Chronicle; 1993-94 — Vic Carucci, Buffalo News; 1995-96 — Len Pasquarelli, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; 1997-98 — Steve Schoenfeld, Arizona Republic; 1999-2000 — John Clayton, ESPN; 2001-02 — Adam Schefter, Denver Post; 2003-04 — John McClain, Houston Chronicle; 2005-06 — David Elfin, Washington Times; 2007-08 — Alex Marvez, FoxSports.com; 2009-10 — Charean Williams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; 2011-12 — Mark Gaughan, Buffalo News; 2013-14 — D. Orlando Ledbetter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; 2015-16 — Jeff Legwold, ESPN.com; 2017 — Jim Trotter, ESPN; 2018-20 — Bob Glauber, Newsday; 2021-22 — Lindsay Jones, The Athletic.
ABOUT THE PFWA: In its 58th season in 2021, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams daily. Lindsay Jones, senior writer for The Athletic, is the organization’s president for the 2021-22 seasons and the PFWA’s 30th president. Jenny Vrentas (Sports Illustrated) is the PFWA’s first vice-president, Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) is the second vice-president and Mike Sando (The Athletic) is the secretary-treasurer. At-large members include Mike Jones (USA Today), Jeff Legwold (ESPN.com), Dan Pompei (The Athletic) and Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk.com). Follow the PFWA at ProFootballWriters.org and on Twitter at @PFWAwriters.
