By Samantha Pak
Former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, a 2004 Hall of Fame member, gave the keynote at this year’s Communication Alumni Hall of Fame event, held October 25th at the University of Washington Club. The Department welcomed six new members.
Referring to the “daunting” task of being keynote speaker to such a distinguished group, Rice told the new inductees that he was “honored to be [there] in good company.”
The new members had similar things to say about being honored. Overwhelmed, gratified and humbled were words they used when describing how they felt.
Spanning the years from the class of 1952 to the class of 1987, inductees were introduced by current Hall of Fame members.
Jody Nyquist, a 2004 honoree, spoke about Peter Clarke. Clarke, a 1958 graduate of the Department, is a professor at the University of Southern California in preventive medicine and communication. He co-directs a program called From the Wholesaler to the Hungry, which, after 16 years, has launched almost 150 programs to distribute fresh food to Americans with low-income. Nyquist called it an idea of “absolute brilliance” because it has truly made a difference in the world.
David Marriot and Neil McReynolds, also 2004 honorees, spoke about 1957 graduate Mike Peringer. Peringer founded Artworks, a program that has worked to clean up the streets of the Sodo (South of Downtown) area of Seattle, by having young people in the area paint murals where there used to be graffiti. There are now about 1,500 murals in the area.
Eric Nalder, another 2004 Hall of Fame member, spoke about Bryan Monroe, a 1987 graduate. Nalder called Monroe a “jack of all trades” in journalism because he does everything from writing and editing, to photography and design. Although Monroe knew how to handle covering disasters such as the Grand Forks flood and Hurricane Katrina, he also believed that students should have a good time. Nalder cited the time when Monroe was editor of The Daily and printed a map of the school for freshmen with all wrong labels on buildings.
Pat Foote and Jean Godden, both 2005 Hall of Fame members, spoke about David Boardman, The Seattle Times executive editor. Godden spoke of her admiration for Boardman; Foote said that as good as he is, he is not perfect — he works too hard. Boardman has overseen investigative coverage of abuses in the federal tribal-housing program (1997) and the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its aftermath (1990), both of which won Pulitzer Prizes. He graduated from the Department in 1983.
Ted Van Dyk, a 2006 honoree, spoke about Frank Garred, who graduated in 1958. Garred is a community newspaper leader and was a longtime publisher of the Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader. Van Dyk said Garred is modest; he does not like to talk about himself even though he has been a “big shot.”
Assunta Ng and Ron Chew, 2004 Hall of Fame members, spoke about 1952 graduate Dolores Sibonga. Sibonga attended law school at 40 and was the first Filipina lawyer in the state. She later became the first minority woman on the Seattle City Council and first Filipina woman council member in the country.
“She has been a pioneer all her life,” said Ng.
Chew pointed out that Sibonga graduated 50 years before he did and that she made it in a difficult time. Whenever he has a problem, Chew said he thinks of Sibonga and how she would handle it because he is constantly inspired by her.
“For her, all things are possible,” he said.
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(Samantha Pak is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)
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