The Press Club of Cleveland Board of Directors approved the Class of '18 in a unanimous vote at our August board meeting. These journalists have spent years reporting, writing, editing, designing and filming news stories that made a difference and touched people's lives. They are the embodiment of why journalism matters.
You'll be reading much more about them. And we want you to set aside Thursday, Nov. 1 as the date for our annual Hall of Fame induction banquet at the LaCentre Banquet and Event Center in Westlake. Details and ticket information will be coming your way soon.
Please join us in saluting the Press Club's Hall of Fame Class of 2018:
- Harry Boomer. A news anchor and reporter with WOIO-TV Channel 19, Harry also is host of WUAB 43 Forum, a public affairs program covering community issues. He is president of the Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists.
- Steve Gleydura. As editor of Cleveland Magazine since 2000, Steve has been a leader in championing Cleveland and the people who call it home. He oversees major projects like the annual "Rating the Suburbs" while teaching and coaching staff members to produce their best work for the award-winning publication. Steve is a longtime member and past president of The Press Club.
- David Kordalski. As creative director for Crain's, David oversees the look of both the Cleveland and Detroit business publications. He also has helped lead newsrooms and direct the visual content at The Plain Dealer, Detroit News and other newspapers.
- Denise Polverine. A pioneer in digital journalism, Denise is the director of digital strategy at WKYC-TV after working as director of digital operations for the Northeast Ohio Media Group and editor-in-chief at cleveland.com.
- Mike Snyder. Sports director at WTAM-AM Radio since 1990, Mike is half of the Wills and Snyder morning news team, with Bill Wills. He's also the studio host for the Cleveland Cavaliers and previously hosted pre-and post-game shows for the Cleveland Indians, as well as serving as the voice of the Cleveland Force soccer team.
- Vivian Witt. For 30 years, Vivian was a reporter and columnist for the Cleveland Jewish News, including award-winning coverage of the John Demjanjuk trial. She died in April at age 91.
- Leon Bibb. Winner of this year's Chuck Heaton Award, given annually in recognition of community involvement as well as journalism excellence, Leon recently rejoined WKYC-TV after a long career as an anchor at WKYC and WEWS. He was inducted into the Press Club Hall of Fame in 1999.
Congratulate these great journalists now. And join us to honor them on Nov. 1.
The Press Club of Cleveland Supports Ohio Debate Commission
The Press Club of Cleveland Board of Directors voted to put some of your Press Club dollars to work for what we think is a very worthy cause, donating $250 to the Ohio Debate Commission
The debate commission was established just a few months ago, and The Press Club of Cleveland is a founding partner along with major media outlets across the state, including Advance Ohio, the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Columbus Dispatch, the Dayton Daily News, ideastream, The Plain Dealer, the Toledo Blade, WHIO-TV, WKSU-FM, WKYC-TV, the Youngstown Vindicator and others.
The project was initiated by the City Club of Cleveland, with the goal of fostering fair and substantive debates that help inform voters, test candidates and lead to highly qualified elected officials.
The debate commission gets the deadline part of journalism. The push is on to organize debates this fall between the major party candidates for U.S. Senate and Ohio governor. Look for more news on those debates very soon.
Rest in peace, John Sheridan
The Press Club of Cleveland lost one of its all-time greats with the death last week of John Sheridan at age 78.
Sheridan is credited with helping revive The Press Club of Cleveland. He was president for several terms and is part of our Journalism Hall of Fame.
