TBABJ needs your help to find sponsors for our Aug. 7 fundraiser at the Florida Aquiarium

Members and friends of the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists:

I'm writing to ask for your help in the most important event we'll undertake this year: the Aug. 7 scholarship fundraiser during the National Association of Black Journalists' national convention in Tampa.

Planned for the Florida Aquarium, the fund-raiser will serve as a showcase for the Tampa Bay area to the 3,000 attendees expected to show for the NABJ's convention -- typically the largest journalism convention in the country, period. The event will also be open to the general public, allowing for a unique mixing of local notables with journalism stars from across the country.

Past conventions have featured Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill, radio personality Steve Harvey, actors Sam Jackson and Jennifer Hudson and civil rights leaders Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton. We expect a similarly star-studded array of attendees this year.

Already, we have an amazing list of sponsors on board, including Hill & Knowlton public relations, AMSCOT financial, The New York Times Regional Media Group and Bright House Networks. But we're hoping to line up enough sponsors so that every penny of the cover charge we take in at the door can go straight to our scholarship fund.

That's where you come in.

Please contact me for information on sponsorship levels and details. I'm hoping you'll consider if you know any institutions which might benefit from placing their brand before our amazing audience. We have lots of different sponsorship opportunities -- from helping with entertainment to providing items for gift bags handed out at the event's end.

Please feel free to email or call with any suggestions or to get more information.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Assoc. of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
(727) 893-8521
www.TBABJ.com