Milwaukee Press Club

Gridiron Awards Dinner 2010

Event Details

Sat, April 24, 2010
5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Cost: $65.00 Per Person / $500.00 Table of Eight / $25.00 Student / $750.00 Corporate Table Sponsor of Eight(logo printed on program)
Location: Italian Community Center, Inc.
631 E. Chicago St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Map / Driving Directions


Nationally Syndicated Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.
Named Milwaukee Press Club’s 2010 Sacred Cat Honoree
Appeals Judge Kitty Brennan and
Growing Power founder Will Allen to be honored as Headliners

MILWAUKEE, WI—The Milwaukee Press Club today announced that nationally syndicated columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts Jr. will be the Club’s 2010 Sacred Cat Award honoree. The award, which has been given annually since 1973, recognizes excellence in journalism at the national level. Pitts will accept the award at the club’s annual Gridiron Dinner, April 24 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee. The event also will honor 2010 Headliners Kitty Brennan and Will Allen, and the winners of the 2009 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism competition.

Leonard Pitts Jr. joined The Miami Herald in 1991 as its pop music critic. Since 1994, he has penned a syndicated column of commentary on pop culture, social issues and family life. The column appears in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His book, Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood, was released in May 1999 and was reissued in paperback in 2006. In March of 2009, he published his first novel, Before I Forget.

Pitts was awarded the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.

"We are excited to have Leonard Pitts Jr. as this year's Sacred Cat honoree," said Jim Nelson, Milwaukee Press Club president. "I'm looking forward to having this insightful journalist join us."

The Headliner Awards are bestowed annually to people who are in the news and are making a positive difference in Wisconsin.

Headliners for the Gridiron will be chief executive officer of Growing Power, Will Allen, and First District Court of Appeals Judge and 2006 Judge of the Year Kitty Brennan.

“In very different ways, these two leaders have done wonderful things to improve life in our community,” Nelson said. “We look forward to recognizing their achievements at the Gridiron.”

Tickets for the Gridiron Dinner are available by contacting Joette Richards at (262)894-2224 or at milwaukeepressclub@gmail.com. To order online, go to www.milwaukeepressclub.org. The cost is $65 per individual or $500 for a table of eight.  Corporate sponsorship levels are also available.  

Founded in 1885, the Milwaukee Press Club is the oldest continuously operating press club in North America. Its 300-plus members represent a diverse community of media-focused professionals representing nearly every local media outlet, and with a strong constituency of public relations and marketing professionals and individuals with an interest in the press.

To view a list of past Sacred Cat Awards, visit:

http://www.milwaukeepressclub.org/honors/sacred-cat-award.php

To view a list of past Headliner Award winners, visit:

http://www.milwaukeepressclub.org/honors/headliner-award.php