VCU news

By Lauren Stewart
Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture

The distinguished careers of seven Virginia media professionals will be honored this spring at the 2015 Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. The April 9 event is the 28th Hall of Fame Ceremony to honor significant achievements in the fields of Virginia media.

The inductees are:

• Anne Adams, editor and publisher of The Recorder, a weekly newspaper serving Bath and Highland counties and the Allegheny Highlands. Under her leadership, The Recorder has received the VPA Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service seven times since 1999, more than any other newspaper in the state, and she has been honored with the D. Lathan Mims Award for Editorial Leadership three times. She is also vice president of the Virginia Press Association board of directors.
  
  
• Pamela DiSalvo Lepley, vice president of Virginia Commonwealth University's Division of University Relations, serves as chief communications officer for the university and the VCU Medical Center. Before joining VCU she was vice president at Siddall Inc., a Richmond-based advertising and public relations firm, where she developed and directed award-winning strategic marketing programs for a variety of national business and government clients. She also previously worked for more than a decade in broadcast journalism. Lepley is the 2011 recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence in Public Relations.
  
  
• Beth Macy, an author and Virginia journalist whose work has appeared in national magazines and The Roanoke Times – where her reporting has won more than a dozen national awards, including a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. Her debut book, the New York Times best-selling "Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local – and Helped Save an American Town," was published in 2014.
  
  
• Cheryl E. Miller, anchor of the “CBS 6 News at Noon” and co-host of "Virginia This Morning" in Richmond. Miller, who has been an anchor and reporter with CBS 6 since 1984, has worked in broadcasting for more than four decades. Since 2003, she has hosted "Battle of the Brains," Central Virginia's longest-running high school academic quiz show. She has also taught broadcast journalism at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond.
  
  
• Jeff Schapiro, a political columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, who has covered Virginia elections for almost 35 years. His column appears in the newspaper's Tuesday and Sunday editions, and it is also carried by other Berkshire Hathaway-owned newspapers across the state. His video column appears Thursdays on the Times-Dispatch's website. He also appears Friday mornings on the Richmond public radio station WCVE.
  
  
• Diane Walker, an anchor for both WWBT/NBC 12 and "Fox News at Ten" WRLH in Richmond. She has also served as NBC 12's “12 On Your Side” reporter for 20 years, investigating consumer issues and solving problems. She previously worked as a reporter covering Chesterfield County, Richmond City, politics, the courts and general assignments. She is also a mentor for college students aspiring to become journalists, and lends her time as a role model supporting programs that motivate students towards reading and academic excellence in public schools.
  
  
• Francis Eugene Wood, general manager of Colonial Broadcasting Company Inc., which includes WFLO AM/FM in Farmville. He joined WFLO in 1971 and hosts a daily music and information show, as well as his "Lunchbreak Show" where he spins the hits of the ’60s and ’70s. He is also host of the award-winning "Call Flo Radio Show" heard daily on WFLO. He has taught courses on radio at Longwood University and is an advocate for the broadcasting industry. He is a former president of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters. He is also the author of 27 books, including "The Wooden Bell," which led him to form Tip-Of-The-Moon Publishing Co. in 1997.

 

The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame recognizes communication professionals with exceptional careers in advertising, journalism, public relations and other media fields. This newest class of inductees will bring the total number of this elite group to 158.

“The Hall of Fame is a signature event hosted by VCU,” said Hong Cheng, Ph.D., director of the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. “We are proud to host this distinguished event and to honor the outstanding careers of those inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

These seven media leaders will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Thursday, April 9, at the John Marshall Ballrooms in Richmond. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony at 7 p.m. The Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University will host the ceremony.

Tickets are $125 each and can be reserved online at https://www.support.vcu.edu/event/HallofFameTickets, or by contacting Lauren Stewart at the Robertson School of Media and Culture at stewartla@vcu.edu or 804-827-3761. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Hall of Fame scholarship fund at VCU.