AAJA-Asia named Chapter of the Year

AAJA-Asia was named AAJA’s 2012 Chapter of the Year at the UNITY Convention in Las Vegas recently. The chapter — which covers Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong and regions in Southeast Asia — has seen exponential growth in the past year. Here’s the rest of the announcement:

AAJA-Asia President Ken Moritsugu has been an innovator in repositioning the chapter’s vice presidents to have regional footholds in Hong Kong, Seoul and Beijing. And the chapter has been nimble at meeting member needs. When members said they wanted more professional training opportunities, the chapter delivered a regional conference in Hong Kong. Asia has also made its mark in reporting breaking news. Numerous members in Japan provided firsthand accounts of last year’s triple disaster, and members in Seoul were on top of covering Kim Jong-il’s death and its worldwide ramifications. The chapter isn’t all business, though: Regular meet-ups are scheduled in a variety of cities to increase camaraderie and facilitate networking (journalists in Beijing recently had an exclusive reception with Ambassador Gary Locke). AAJA-Asia is raising the bar for our other 20 chapters. AAJA’s national officers commend Ken and all our Asia-based members for being our 2012 AAJA Chapter of the Year.

Pictured: AAJA-Asia Advisory Board representative Chi-Chi Zhang of CNN and Chapter President Ken Moritsugu of the Associated Press in Bangkok receive the award at UNITY.