The Youngstown Press Club marked a successful year in 2025, according to its president.
It grew its membership as well as its outreach, Elise Skolnick says.
The Youngstown Press Club dates back to 1902 and has seen several iterations with the latest established in 2018. The Press Club hosts several speakers a year, with topics of interest to local media, communication professionals and the general public. It also holds several member-only events.
With 129 members, the club grew by 20.5%. The club completed its first year of the Scholastic Journalism Awards, a journalistic writing and media contest for high school students. Seven schools participated. The club is working to expand the awards in 2026.
Caroline Collins, formerly of WFMJ and now working at KRIV-TV in Houston and known for her digital media presence, was the keynote speaker for the 2025 annual meeting.
The club invested in the future of journalism and communication professions by awarding three $4,000 scholarships to students who are residents of Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties in Ohio, or Lawrence or Mercer counties in Pennsylvania, and pursuing careers in those fields.
It inducted five deserving professionals into the Hall of Fame, as well as presenting three excellence in media awards and a medal of merit award.
It was honored to be chosen as a recipient of WRTA’s Holiday Lights Awards alongside other wonderful nonprofit organizations.
This year, it is expanding the scholarship program, opening it to sophomores as well as juniors and seniors, and will award up to four $4,000 scholarships to students.
The Youngstown Press Club’s mission is to support journalists and communicators in the greater Mahoning Valley by honoring past excellence in journalism and communications, supporting present working journalists and communicators, and investing in the future of journalism and communications.
Institutional members provide much needed funding and support for programs, speakers, scholarships and projects. They include The Review Newspapers, WYSU, The Business Journal, Pecchia Communications, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, the Anderson Program in Journalism at YSU and the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
