As the announcement below indicates, Wendy Hoke (who blogs at Creative Ink) will be awarded the Society of Professional Journalists’ Distinguished Service Award next Thursday, 5/15 during a luncheon at the City Club of Cleveland. I’m honored and humbled to say that Wendy has asked me to embarrass introduce her. So please, all of you who know Wendy, would you kindly send me (jillzimon AT mac DOT com) your snippets of love, admiration and fun regarding this unique person of integrity, determination and enthusiasm for pretty much darn everything. I hope to see you there as well.

The Cleveland Pro Chapter of SPJ invites you to join its members at an awards luncheon May 15 at the City Club of Cleveland when it will honor two individuals for their contributions to the journalism field and also recognize the chapter’s 2008 scholarship recipient.

Attorney David Marburger, a partner in the Baker Hostetler law firm, will be recognized with a Distinguished Service Award for his continuing efforts on behalf of press freedom. “The Best Lawyers in America” has named him one of the best First Amendment lawyers in the country every year since 1995. An authority on litigating legal issues arising from the media content, he has handled more than 200 libel cases, challenged the constitutionality of more than 35 laws and court orders and sued for access more than 50 times to open government records. Before becoming a lawyer, Marburger was a journalist.

Former chapter president Wendy Hoke has served as the Cleveland Pro chapter president and also as membership coordinator for national SPJ. She was national SPJ’s first Freelance Committee Co-chair and wrote a column about the business of freelancing for Quill magazine. She has represented the Cleveland chapter as a national conference delegate. She has been an SPJ ambassador traveling to meet with Korean journalists in professional outreach, and is the recipient of several awards for her work.

The chapter will also present North Ridgeville High School senior Melissa Kory with the Phillip Porter Scholarship, which provides $1,000 a year for four years to help cover her expenses as she pursues a degree in journalism or a related field.

The luncheon will be held at the City Club of Cleveland, 850 Euclid Ave. Registration begins at 11:45 a.m. Tickets for SPJ members are $20 and for non-members $30. Tables of eight are available for $200. Lunch will be served at noon followed by the presentations beginning at 12:30 p.m. For reservations, contact Tom Moore at tmoore56@msn.com or call 440-454-3282.