Charlotte Hall is editor of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel and the 2008-09 president of the American Society of News Editors. Reach her via email at chall@orlandosentinel.com.

I FELL HARD FOR ASNE at my first convention in 1997. No doubt about it, it was love at first sight.

The convention was a heady - and somewhat intimidating - experience. For a newly minted managing editor, ASNE represented the big boys, the icons of our craft. And the president spoke - yes, president of the United States! All of a sudden, I felt important.

I knew almost no one, so I sat at a different table at every lunch and relentlessly introduced myself. I was proud that a woman, Sandy Rowe, was about to become ASNE's president - and she was talking about credibility. And there was a Diversity Committee, my top interest. I joined and got to work.

Now, at the end of my term as your president, an honor I would never have dreamed of 12 years ago. ASNE has become a family to me - friends, trusted colleagues, a bully pulpit for all the just causes, a font of ideas, a network of support in times of trouble - and dancing in Havana (more on that later).

So I was very sad that we could not hold our annual gathering this year, despite the innovative work of our program committee, headed by John Temple and George Stanley and the ASNE staff. It would have been a very cool and different convention - more informal (no ribbons on name badges, for one thing) and lots of practical take-homes.

Yet we had to face the hard truth: Most editors simply couldn't come this year. In the days following the officers' decision, I heard from many of you, and I want to thank you for your support and understanding. As I write this, we are busy trying to convert much of the convention program to digital format.

So where does this leave ASNE? What is our future? I believe 2009 is a turning point for ASNE, just as it is for our industry. I have faith that newspapers, online and in print, will come out on the other side - very different, to be sure, but with journalistic values intact and a new business model in place.

I have a similar faith in ASNE. We also will come out on the other side, reshaped for the digital world and with a leaner structure, but still championing our core values of credible journalism, access to information, the First Amendment, innovation, journalism education, diversity and ethics.

In fact, in this "time of cholera" (I used that term at our convention last year - little did we know then how bad it would get), these values will ensure our future. In tough times, leaders show their mettle. ASNE is about leadership, and despite the buffeting, we will emerge from the storm as leaders of journalism for the digital age.

Some of the changes will force painful choices. Just as we have given up much in our newsrooms to preserve what is core, ASNE too will need to focus its resources and energy.

We have made great progress this year, despite the disappointment of the convention. While some committees have not been active because of turmoil in news organizations, others have forged ahead. And ASNE's leadership has set a new direction.

The Innovation Committee, under the leadership of Jennifer Carroll and Milton Coleman, got us going on webinars, with the able assistance of ASNE's Cristal Williams Chancellor. The FOI Committee jumped on that bandwagon, too. If you haven't "attended" an ASNE webinar, I highly recommend them - timely downloads of the latest ideas from top presenters and lively discussion by members.

We also started a digital newsletter to keep you up to date, and you will soon see a redesigned Web site.

Most important, we set a new course for ASNE. With your approval of bylaw changes, we will broaden our membership and our mission. We will throw open our doors to the leaders of digital media and thought leaders in our universities and colleges. I believe we can be the big tent where journalism's leaders gather to invent the future. As to dancing in Havana, I'll say this: The image I recall is from a trip in 2002 - a group of ASNE women, locked arm in arm, kicking up their heels in a restaurant in Old Havana. It is about joy and camaraderie. It is also about being joined together and trusting one another. To me, that is the essence of the storied organization I fell in love with all those years ago - and it will be its power in the future. *