AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Charlie Fern Ink LLC, announced that its principal, former journalist and White House speechwriter Charlene (Charlie) Fern, was inducted into the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) Hall of Fame during its 2016 annual conference in Dallas.
Ms. Fern accepted the honor and spoke to an audience of more than 500 during a conference luncheon hosted by the association.
“The recognition came as a complete surprise,” Ms. Fern said. “The TIPA Hall of Fame includes professionals whose names are known and admired the world over. Some were my mentors and role models when I was in college.”
TIPA established the Hall of Fame in 2001 “to recognize individuals from TIPA institutions who have distinguished themselves, earned recognition, established a professional reputation and upheld the highest standards in their chosen field.” The inaugural honor went to Dr. Frank W. Buckley, then the journalism department chairman at Southwest Texas State University (now TSU-San Marcos).
As the 2016 inductee, Ms. Fern joins the press association’s distinguished list of hall of famers from the past 15 years -- among them Pulitzer Prize winners, world leaders, and internationally known authors and journalists, including Bill Moyers, Liz Carpenter, Walter Cronkite, Mike Cochran, J. Frank Dobie, President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, Gloria Campos, Dan Rather, Mike Godwin, Ben Sargent, Diane Turner, Sam Donaldson, Bob Schieffer, Jim Lehrer, Jack Tinsley, Buy Berkeley Breathed, Scott Pelley, Bill Mercer, Bob St. John, Steve Blow, Sarah McClendon, Bob Ray Sanders and others.
“It’s an honor to join the ranks of such an august group of professionals, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this fine tradition,” Ms. Fern said.
The Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) is the nation's oldest collegiate press association. The organization was founded in 1909 and now includes more than 70 Texas colleges and universities. Today TIPA is among the largest and most respected collegiate associations in the country.
For more information about TIPA and the Hall of Fame, visit www.TexasIPA.org. For more information about Charlie Fern, visit www.charliefernink.com. Photo credit: Matthew Lemke.