Now it's my turn.

Halfway through this term I better understand the sacrifice that this  level of NABJ volunteerism means for an individual, for a family and for a career. It means many days, nights and weekends on NABJ duty, making  telephone calls and sending emails, going to meetings, defending NABJ  members, helping them through rough patches with bad bosses, visiting chapters and members across the nation.

Why do NABJ presidents do it?

Well, I can tell you this: It's not for the glory. It's not for the  recognition. It's not for financial reward.

Being NABJ president means more sacrifice than many realize.

I do it in part because I met a guy at my first NABJ convention in  Baltimore in 1977 who stopped outside his hotel room door to review my resume and a few of my clips. He helped me weigh whether to go to graduate school or to accept a job offer to start working full time right after the  convention. Journalism, and NABJ, needed me, he said. He wanted me to get going, to have a great career and to give back to NABJ.

That guy was Chuck Stone.

Awed by his presence, commitment and energy, I followed his advice.

Some years later, as president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, I convinced a lot of area black journalists to rejoin or join  for the first time. We were rebuilding like so many chapters off and on  through the years. One of those was a talented young journalist who had  recently joined me at The Inquirer. She wanted to know why she should join. She wanted to know why she should care. She said she didn't have time to waste. Thankfully, she became a member. She went on to become the chapter president, a NABJ regional director, NABJ secretary, NABJ vice president-print and, ultimately, NABJ president.

That talented journalist was Vanessa Williams.

As I head into the second half of my term, I continue to want what is  best for NABJ and that means having a chapter-focused, market-driven association.

I ask for your support.

To be chapter focused, we must have stronger chapters. To have stronger  chapters, we must have stronger connections between national and local. We must find easier ways to be a member of both a chapter and national, to  monitor the media, to expose our young brothers and sisters to journalism,  and to provide quality professional development programs. To be market driven, we must seize the opportunities in our industry.

We must acknowledge the good that we've done in the past to make a  difference, yet see how the industry and our society are changing and change direction where necessary and imperative.

In particular, we must put greater student and professional development  emphasis on skill areas where we are needed most -- copy editing, business journalism, design, graphics, magazines, new media and photography. We must focus our resources, energy and time on what the industry needs and  where our people can have tremendous success.

It's time to refocus our efforts in those directions, as we remain committed to our fundamental goals.

Our NABJ presidents have been our leaders, but none of them got the job done alone. Behind each of us has been a national board of directors, and,  in more recent years, a national office staff. Along the way, each president relied on a broad base of members to get things done.

That will always be necessary.

Volunteering is an important part of what makes NABJ work. So much work gets done quietly, consistently. The work gets done regardless who becomes NABJ president or who leads a chapter. Volunteering often means sacrifice  for chapter members, too. The time it takes to prepare for a chapter or regional conference panel. The time it takes to mentor a younger journalist or student. The time it takes to help a colleague through a bad time. The time it takes to produce a high school journalism workshop.

I ask you: What will you do to help NABJ in the coming days, months and years? How will you help?

There are many ways.

They include paying your dues, being active in a local chapter, contributing to the scholarship endowment fund and helping us monitor the media and journalism education.

You can help a student journalist by providing feedback on his or her resume and work in the hallway at a regional conference or a national convention.

You can support your local chapter president by helping with a  committee or becoming an officer.

You can really step up to the plate and aim for a seat on the NABJ Board of Directors.

All of us can't sit on the sidelines.

Some of us must accept the challenge and do more to help NABJ continue  to push our industry toward better coverage of African Americans and our community.

A few of you must become NABJ presidents.

You, too, can be in the 50th anniversary book. I want you to help write the rest of the NABJ story.

My story.

Your story.

Our story.

Harambee!

William W. Sutton Jr. is deputy managing editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.