Huntington — Two local retired broadcasters will be honored this month at a Leadership Tri-State event.
Leadership Tri-State’s annual Community Service Awards luncheon will honor Bos and Dotty Johnson at noon March 25 at Marshall University’s Don Morris Room.
“We are thrilled to be honoring Bos and Dotty Johnson,” said Tyson Compton, president of the Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau. Compton is acting as chairman for the event.
“Both of them absolutely epitomize what Leadership Tri-State’s Community Service Award represents. For many years, they have been actively involved in the community, not just through their professional endeavors but making a commitment of their personal time to be involved in numerous causes.”
Sharon Walker, director of Leadership Tri-State, agreed. “Bos and Dotty are community treasures,” she said. “It is a privilege for us to have them as our CSA recipients.”
Mrs. Johnson’s involvement in West Virginia broadcasting, higher education and community service began when she arrived in the state in 1949 to teach broadcasting at West Virginia University. She taught at Marshall for 28 years, including 16 years as chair of the Department of Speech (now Department of Communications). Following retirement from Marshall in 1991, she spent nine years as a tax preparer for H&R; Block.
Mr. Johnson retired in 2005 after a 53-year career in communications. His first 28 years were spent in commercial broadcasting, 24 of those with WSAZ-TV Charleston-Huntington. For 12 years, he served as an associate professor of broadcast journalism in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University. During his academic career, he had also served as senior consultant for the Charles Ryan Associates public relations company, conducting media workshops nationwide. In 1988, he left Marshall to become a vice president of the Ryan firm, moving to part-time work in the early 1990s.
Leadership Tri-State’s Community Service Award was first awarded in 1997 to recognize outstanding men and women in the Tri-State region who demonstrate the qualities of leadership in community service. Past honorees include Bill Dingus, Mike Perry, Marshall Reynolds, Guy Spriggs, Drs. Joseph and Omayma Touma, Dianne Clement, Tim Mosher and Judy Jennings.
Corporate tables for the noon luncheon are $1,000 each. Individual tickets are $125. Seating is still available. Reservations can be made by calling Walker at (606) 324-1787.
