hailed
as "a crack newspaperman" who inspired trust in those
about whom he wrote.
The Creason wit and humor,
his friendly manner and his love for Kentucky always showed through
his writings for The Courier-Journal (Louisville) and
The Courier-Journal Sunday Magazine .
He was a Kentuckian --
a native of Benton ("The only town in which I was born").
A graduate of the University of Kentucky (Class of 1940)
and a rabid booster of his Alma Mater, he was national president
of the UK Alumni Association in 1969-70.
People who knew Joe Creason
number in the thousands in every county of the state. From
his column, "Joe Creason's Kentucky," in The Courier-Journal,
his two books, a radio series started before his death and his speech-making,
he is remembered as a man who was never too busy to enjoy people.
At the time of Joe Creason's
death, an anonymous mourner left a note on the door of his Courier-Journal
office. It said simply, "So long Joe -- and thanks,"
and was signed "Kentucky."
Creason Lecturers
with affiliations at the time of their speech:
1977
James J. Kilpatrick, Washington Star , syndicated columnist
1978 No lecture given
1979 James Reston, New York Times ,
columnist
1980 John F. Day, CBS News, former director
1981 Thomas G. Wicker, New York Times
, associate editor
1982 William Safire, New York Times
, Washington Bureau
1983 Harrison E. Salisbury, New York
Times , associate editor
1984 David Dick, CBS Television News, correspondent
1985 Charles McDowell, Richmond Times-Dispatch
, syndicated columnist
1986 Eugene Patterson, St. Petersburg Times,
Chairman & CEO
1987 John C. Quinn, USA Today , editor
1988 John Ed Pearce, Louisville Courier-Journal
, columnist
1989 Charles Kuralt, CBS News, correspondent
1990 David Kindred, The National Sports Daily
, columnist
1991 Bernard Shaw, CNN, anchor
1992 Helen Thomas, UPI, reporter
1993 Jim Squires, Chicago Tribune ,
former editor
1994 Burl Osborne, Dallas Morning News ,
publisher/editor
1995 Robert Mulholland, NBC, former president
1996 Geneva Overholser, Washington Post ,
ombudsman
1997 Michael Gartner, NBC News, former president
1998 Hodding Carter III, Knight Foundation,
president & CEO
1999 Charles L. Overby, The Freedom Forum, chairman
& CEO
2000 Clarence Page, columnist, Chicago
Tribune
2001 Bonnie Angelo, Time magazine,
contributor
2002 Angelo B. Henderson, The Detroit News
, special projects reporter
2003 Bob Edwards, National Public Radio, host
of Morning Edition
2004 Earl Caldwell, New York Times,
former civil rights-era reporter |