State Open Government Hall of Fame

Toby Nixon, president of Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) and a city council member in Kirkland, Washington, has been selected for induction into Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government Hall of Fame for 2012.

NFOIC and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) announced Nixon’s selection jointly on April 6, 2012. The State Open Government Hall of Fame, begun in 2003, was developed by national leaders of SPJ and NFOIC to recognize the contributions made by open government advocates in individual states. The deadline for nominations is the Friday of Sunshine Week.

This year’s formal induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 12, at a luncheon during the 2012 FOI Summit at the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club in Madison, Wisconsin, hosted by NFOIC and the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

Read more about this year's inductee, Toby Nixon, here.

Previous inductees

2011   John R. Finnegan Sr.  —  Minnesota
2010   Robert J. Freeman  —  New York
2009   Mitchell W. Pearlman  —  Connecticut
2008   Bill F. Chamberlin  —  Florida
2007   Frosty Landon  —  Virginia
2006   Byron M. Baer  —  New Jersey
2005   John Kuglin  —  Montana (1MB PDF)
2004   Herb Strentz  —  Iowa
2003   Michael Donoghue  —  Vermont
2003   Sue Hale  —  Oklahoma
2003   Robert Johnson  —  New Mexico

History

Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government Hall of Fame is a joint venture by SPJ and the National Freedom of Information Coalition. It was developed by leaders in both organizations as a way to recognize long-term contributions of individuals to open government in their respective states.

Specifically, induction into the Hall recognizes “long and steady effort to preserve and protect the free flow of information about state and local government that is vital to the public in a democracy.”

The formal induction is made each year at the annual FOI Summit.

Eligibility

The State Open Government Hall of Fame is open to anyone who has made a substantial, sustained and lasting contribution to open government or freedom of information within one particular state. Even if the nominee has been active in national efforts or national organizations, the judges will only consider accomplishments at the state level.

Nominees may come from government, the media, the non-profit sector, the legal profession, or any other area of endeavor that involves citizen access to government records, meetings and procedures.

Nominees may be living or dead, active or retired.

Nominations

Deadline for nominations is Friday of Sunshine Week.

All nominations should include the following:

• Cover letter identifying the nominee and the person or group making the nomination.
• Adequate support material to demonstrate the worthiness of the nominee.

Please send all nominations material to:

• Ken Bunting
• Executive Director, NFOIC
• Missouri School of Journalism
• 101E Reynolds Journalism Institute
• Columbia, MO 65211
• Phone (573) 882-3075; Email buntingk@missouri.edu

Judging

Judging takes place each year following Sunshine Week. All nominations are evaluated by a Screening/Selector Committee that includes a representative of SPJ, a representative of NFOIC and at least one additional at-large Selector. To ensure the integrity of the process, Screeners/Selectors only become known to each other in the latter stages of judging in any given year.

For more information contact SPJ Headquarters at 317.927.8000, or e-mail us at awards@spj.org, or contact Ken Bunting at buntingk@missouri.edu.