SOUTH POINT — MSNBC reporter Chris Jansing will be this year’s guest speaker for the Second Spotlight Dinner and Auction for the Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

The event will be April 8, at South Point High School.

“We are delighted and thrilled that Ms. Jansing will be a major part of our next Spotlight Dinner and Auction,” Chamber Director Bob Smith said. “Ms. Jansing brings a wealth of talent and experience plus a heart for community service.”

Jansing currently hosts “Jansing & Company from 10 a.m. until noon weekdays on MSNBC.

Jansing joined NBC News in June of 1998 as a correspondent and anchor for MSNBC. She covered the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 as the events unfolded.  Jansing reported on the Pope’s March 2000 pilgrimage to the Holy Land live from Jerusalem for MSNBC and extensively covered the 2000 election from Tallahassee, Fla. Jansing’s other duties include work as a correspondent for “Dateline NBC” and as a substitute anchor for “Weekend Today” and the Sunday edition of “NBC Nightly News.”

Jansing has been the recipient of numerous awards including an Emmy for her coverage of the 1996 Olympic Bombing in Atlanta and a “Best Documentary” recognition for “The Land of Plenty,” a report on hunger in New York State. More recently she has covered the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 and the war in Afghanistan.  The award-winning news anchor has also received many community service awards for her commitment to children.

One of her favorite things to do is to speak to aspiring young journalists and she has traveled across the country to do just that at a wide selection of colleges and universities. Jansing is a native of Fairport and is the youngest of 12 children. She graduated from Otterbein College.

The Spotlight Dinner and Auction is the major fund-raising event for 2011 for the Lawrence County Chamber.  Proceeds will fund scholarships at the eight Lawrence County High Schools as well as the Collins Career Center.  A silent auction will also be conducted featuring a huge variety of attractive items. Table sponsorships are priced at $800 and provide preferred seating for eight people.  Potential sponsors are urged to get in touch with Bob Smith at 740-377-4550.

Individual tickets will also be sold.

The Chamber’s first Spotlight Dinner was held two years ago and featured former Marshall University football star and current NFL quarterback Chad Pennington.

The evening will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. and then dinner at 6:30 p.m.