Six to be inducted into Virginia Communications Hall of Fame

By Lissette Linares

On April 6, six communications professionals will be inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. The 6 p.m. program will be held at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

The hall of fame, established by Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications in 1986, recognizes individuals who have shown exceptional achievement in the fields of print, broadcast, public relations, advertising and interactive media, including cable and the Internet. Inductees are nominated and selected by their peers.

This year’s inductees are Raymond H. Boone, founder, editor and publisher of the Richmond Free Press; R. Beverly Orndorf, former science writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch; Sandra Mims Rowe, editor of The Oregonian; John R. Shreves Jr., president of Jefferson-Pilot Communications television group; Joseph R. Slay, president of Martin Public Relations; and Richmond broadcasting legend, Frank P. Soden.

Raymond H. Boone, founder, editor and publisher of the Richmond Free Press. A Suffolk, Va., native, Boone formerly was an associate professor of journalism at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He served as a Pulitzer Prize juror in 1978-79, leading a drive that culminated in the naming of African-American journalists and women to the Pulitzer board at Columbia University. Boone is a former White House reporter and also has reported from Cuba, Israel, Germany and Russia. In 1991, he founded Paradigm Communications Inc., which publishes the Richmond Free Press.

R. Beverly Orndorff, retired reporter with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1957, he joined the Richmond newspaper, becoming the newspaper’s science-medical writer and science columnist in 1960, a post he held until retiring in 1992. He covered some of the nation’s earliest organ transplant operations, the emerging space program, including the Apollo moon missions, and notable developments in astronomy, biology and medicine.

Sandra Mims Rowe, executive director of The Oregonian in Portland, winner of a 1999 Pulitzer Prize. Rowe joined The Oregonian after serving as former executive editor and vice president of the Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star from 1984-93. Rowe is an advisory board member for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and the Knight Foundation, both in Florida, and the Freedom Forum Pacific Coast Center in California. A former member of the James Madison University board of visitors, Rowe is on the Medill School of Journalism’s board of visitors at Northwestern University.

John R. Shreves Jr., president of Jefferson-Pilot Communications television group since 1998. In 1970, he began working at WWBT-TV in Richmond where he has served in numerous capacities including as producer, promotions director and program and operations manager. In 1984, he was named assistant to the president and general manager of Sports Enterprises for Jefferson-Pilot Communications based in Charlotte, N.C. He returned to WWBT-TV in 1986 to serve as special projects manager and marketing and program manager.

Joseph R. Slay, president of Martin Public Relations. In 1982, he created the one-person Martin PR, which has since grown into the largest public relations firm in Richmond. Slay previously served as managing editor of the Alberta Report magazine in Edmonton, Canada and of Richmond Lifestyle magazine. In 1991, Slay and his wife, Martha, founded Andrew’s Buddies, a non-profit organization to combat spinal muscular atrophy. The organization is named for their son Andrew who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy.

Frank P. Soden, general manager and executive vice president of WRNL Radio in Richmond for 20 years. After serving as the first director of athletic public relations at the University of Richmond, Soden served as assistant athletic director for 15 years. Aside from his work as the radio’s former voice of the Richmond Braves and his career as a radio sports personality in Richmond, Soden is best known for his work in the community.

The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame induction ceremony concludes a weeklong series of events at VCU highlighting Communications Education Week in Virginia. The VCU School of Mass Communications will host a four seminars, April 3-6, with leading experts in publishing, public relations, broadcasting and interactive media, respectively. Seminars are free and open to the public and will be held in Capital Ballroom D of the University Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., from 3-4:30 p.m.

For more information or to attend, call VCU’s School of Mass Communications at 828-2660.