The club's all-volunteer board includes working and retired journalists, an attorney, executives and other communications professionals. The new board members are:

• Andrew Conte, founding director of Point Park University's Center for Media Innovation. He also is a contributing writer at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and a best-selling nonfiction author. He has written two nonfiction books – "The Color of Sundays" and "Breakaway" – and a children's book, "All About Roberto Clemente." Conte is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and Dickinson College. He has won The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania's Ray Sprigle Memorial Award for overall best reporting at a large-circulation daily publication four times.
• Denise R. Hughes, senior communications specialist for Westinghouse Electric Co. She serves as the primary staff liaison for the Westinghouse Charitable Giving Program and Toshiba-led social initiatives. Before joining Westinghouse, Hughes served as a media relations representative for Highmark Health and Peoples Natural Gas, respectively. Hughes graduated with a master's degree in leadership from Duquesne University and a bachelor's degree in communication from Carlow University.
• Sue McFarland, executive editor of Trib Total Media. McFarland oversees the company's daily and weekly newspapers and its Pittsburgh digital edition. She began her career with the Trib after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh and held a number of reporting and editing positions in her more than 30 years with the company. She has received numerous awards for her work as a writer and editor and participated in two journalism fellowships in Brazil and Japan.

The Press Club is a nonprofit organization of journalists and other communications professionals from a 29-county area of Western Pennsylvania. It sponsors forums on current events and educational programs and presents the annual Golden Quill Awards contest, honoring the best of Western Pennsylvania journalism. This year's award ceremony is set for Thursday, May 25, at the Sheraton Station Square.

Club membership includes discounts on fees for programs and Golden Quill entries and the use of dining facilities at the Engineers' Building, Downtown. Membership is $35 per year for professionals and $15 for students. Applications for membership can be found at www.westernpapressclub.org. Student membership includes mentoring, networking and resume coaching.