AAJA-LA Wins Chapter of the Year Award

By Alana Cho – AAJA-LA Intern

From the 20 different AAJA chapters throughout the world, AAJA-LA’s stellar work this year stood out. Chapter President Teresa Watanabe and her fellow board members’ hard work was recognized on December 11 at the National AAJA Holiday Party as they were awarded the prestigious National Chapter of the Year award.

Through the highs and lows of 2020, AAJA-LA did not miss a beat. When COVID-19 hit, they hit back with an eclectic variety of innovative programs designed to teach, inspire, and aid their members and community during the chaos and instability of this unpredictable pandemic.

Where many organizations saw meeting over Zoom as an unfortunate setback, the AAJA-LA chapter saw it as an opportunity to grow. They hosted their Annual Trivia Bowl over Zoom and instead of limiting it to local chapters, they opened this entertaining and engaging event to participants around the world. More than 40 teams with over 350 participants joined in the fun this year.

This year, the AAJA-LA Board sought to not only help their chapter thrive but also to use their experience and influence to guide colleges such as Cal State Los Angeles, Northridge, and Fullerton to successfully start their student AAJA chapters. In addition to mentoring and helping groups of students at nearby colleges, AAJA-LA wanted to provide more opportunities for rising young journalists. They awarded two $1,000 California Reporting scholarships to support student journalism projects and contributed $15,000 for three 10-week internships at the Pasadena Star News, Orange County Register and CalMatters.

AAJA-LA also hosted some extremely memorable workshops, panels, and virtual events this year. Among these were the “Town Hall on Anti-Asian Bias & COVID-19,” a “Sports Journalism Workshop,” “Internship & Career Mixer,” and a practical “Cover Letter, Clips, Resume, & Reel Workshop” followed by a Mentorship Program to help students improve their applications for internships.

AAJA-LA served the community as a shining source of light during the dark pandemic by putting a spotlight on relevant issues, as well as establishing a COVID-19 Reporting Relief Fund to award five $2,000 grants to journalists professionally impacted by COVID-19. The chapter also purchased $1,400 worth of gift certificates from longtime supporters that have provided food and beverages for many of the AAJA-LA’s events over the years but have been struggling under the pandemic.

This much deserved National Chapter of the Year award was awarded to AAJA-LA, a chapter full of extraordinary journalists helping the Asian American community with their talents, hard work and passion.