Remembering Jan Dilbeck...
a note from the President, Debra Fraser

**We'll have a Memorial Celebration for Jan on Thursday, May 6 at 6 pm at The Harp.   We'll remember the laughter and take up a collection for a scholarship in her name.

Please join us to raise a glass to Jan Dilbeck

Jan Dilbeck, our Houston Press Club Manager, passed away April 28, 2004.   As I write this, it's been two days and I still believe I'm in shock.  We worked so closely together daily through the years that I feel unprepared to move forward.  She was my right hand, or I was hers...

She worked as the Club manager for about 8 years and it wasn't for the money.  She truly cared about the organization, its mission and its members.  If you knew her, you knew that.  Jan really didn't "fake" anything.

Her responsibilities for the Club over the past year have grown to include, editor of the newsletter, Gridiron Committee Chair, Co-Chair of the Lone Star Committee and keeper of all other Club business.  Believe me, there is a lot of it and she felt personally responsible for every bit of it, from membership and sponsorship to taking daily phone calls for the Club and assisting Clubs around the country with their awards competitions.

She loved to tell the story of how many folks called and asked if the "Houston Press Club" needed any bartenders!  Every now and then, she felt compelled to interview them before admitting that we weren't really a nightclub.  She had a great sense of humor!  You know all about this if you attended any of our Happy Hours at The Harp.  That was the best place to find her "holding court," because at any other Club events she was so busy working, there was no time for stories.

Jan held the highest respect for journalist and anyone who worked with us, including PR folks.  She knew that we all faced challenges, mostly because she'd been there, but also because she was an understanding and caring person who listened to our woes and then translanted them into something worth fighting for. 

She believed quite strongly in women's rights.  She served in several leadership roles on that front through the years, but quietly continued her fight even recently with editorial articles in the Houston Chronicle.  (This was, of course, as personal mission, not one on behalf of the Club as she made certain I was aware.)

She looked upon each of you, as journalists and PR communicators, as citizens with a responsibilty...a job to tell people how it is and what they can do about it.  She had the greatest respect for those roles.

All Jan wanted to do was help us.  Help all of us do our jobs better.  I tried to help her see that her role as Press Club manager did exactly that, every day, eventhough few people ever saw what she was doing behind the scenes. 

I got to see it for many years. 

I came to trust it and respect it. 

I came to depend on it. 

I came to "need" her support in order to continue to make good things happen for the Club.  She helped me "define" what the Club stands for.  I will do my best to uphold what she believed in and made me believe in. 

On a personal note, Jan and I were a team.  I think we were a good team.  She was so proud of what we could accomplish together.  She made me proud, too.

If you know me, and if you knew her, you know that we couldn't be such a strong team if we hadn't come to love each other.  We did.  We do. 

I know we're all thankful that she went peacefully, sleeping.  I also know that we will all miss her.  We'll miss her stories.  We'll miss her telling us what we can do to "better" the cause for journalism. We'll miss her stories about her cats.

I have lost one of my best friends.  As odd as it sounds, so have most of you, whether you realize it or not. 

Jan just had that way of getting inside your head and taking it beyond "professional" and making it personal...don't doubt for a minute that she didn't know that, but she'd never say so.

Cheers, to one of the best people I'll ever know,

Debra Fraser
HPC President

If you would like to make a scholarship contribution in her name, please send a check to:
Houston Press Club
PO Box 541038
Houston, TX 77254-1038
Please note in the "memo" space: Jan Scholarship
So far, the club has raised approximately $1700 for the Jan Dilbeck Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Thank you to all who have helped!