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
2005 Leonard Downie, Jr., Washington Post, executive
editor
2006 David Broder, Washington Post, columnist
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