Hall of Fame Biographies 2007

Hall of Fame Biographies
2008

William P. Bleakley grew up in Bethany and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in political science on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He began his journalism career in the Navy during Vietnam, moonlighting for the Guam Daily News as night editor and a columnist. Returning to OU, he earned his law degree. A lifelong advocate of education, he represented the Oklahoma City school board, three educational foundations and was a co-founder of the MAPS for Kids project. He founded the Oklahoma Gazette in 1979 to promote neighborhood conservation, and the paper has grown into Oklahoma's largest general-circulation weekly. He sold his law firm in 2003, acquired OKCBusiness and formed Tierra Media Group, which includes magazine, online and wireless publishing.

Gerry Bonds earned a bachelor's degree from City University of New York and a master's from Western Connecticut University, teaching high school in New York and Connecticut. She began her journalism career at WTNH-TV in Connecticut as news anchor, winning state and national awards. Bonds moved to Oklahoma City In 1984 as prime time news anchor at KOCO-TV for nine years. After working in corporate communications, she joined OETA-TV in 1996 as co-anchor of the nightly Oklahoma News Report, the only statewide news report. She hosts the weekly Oklahoma City Metro program, which has earned an Emmy award and two nominations. She has won a multitude of awards for her journalism and volunteer activities including the 2006 Governor's Arts Award for media.

Ann DeFrange has spent her career writing about Oklahoma people and places. Born in Okarche, she graduated from Bishop McGuinness High School, where she first studied journalism. She graduated from Central State University with a minor in journalism in 1969, when she was hired at the Oklahoma City Times and The Daily Oklahoman, writing weddings and engagements. She's worked on nearly every desk in The Oklahoman newsroom as reporter, copy editor, layout editor or manager. She headed the Women's News department, created a Life and Leisure section, was layout editor for business and editorial pages, copy desk editor and feature writer for the city desk. Since 2000, she has been a reporter and community columnist for the Metro sections. Ann was a founder and a director of the award-winning Newsroom 101 program for high school students.

Donna Barron Evers, a Union City native, earned bachelor’s, master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Oklahoma, where she was Phi Beta Kappa. She began her journalism career in 1968 at the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat in between degrees. She was a director of public relations before joining the Lawton Constitution in 1970 where she was a reporter and editor. Evers began teaching at Cameron University in 1982 where she was adviser of the weekly campus newspaper, The Collegian, which consistently won top national and state honors. She taught many journalism courses at Cameron and was Professor of the Year in 1993. She retired in 2001 as an emeritus professor at Cameron. She is a voracious reader and an avid fan of women's basketball.

Bill Harper walked into a newspaper office in 1956. He's been hanging around ever since— doing everything from paper boy to pressman to writer and in between, After attending Tulsa University, he joined the Tulsa Tribune in 1964 as sports news desk editor, covered high school and college and wrote a column, becoming administrative sports editor. He went to the Tulsa World in 1992 as operations editor, overseeing production, special event coverage, computers and design. He won Associated Press awards for best sports writing and from the Oklahoma Coaches Association and the Oklahoma National Guard. He has conducted layout and design workshops for the Oklahoma Press Association, Arkansas' APME and the SNPA. A native of Claremore, he has officiated high school sports for 30 years, including state football championships and All-State baseball. He loves golf.

Lindel G. Hutson joined The Associated Press in Little Rock in 1972 as reporter and editor. He began his journalism career at the Jonesboro Sun in Arkansas while earning a journalism degree at Arkansas State University. He worked as an U.S. Army journalist in the United States and with NATO in Europe, and as city hall reporter at the Texarkana Gazette. In 1977, AP transferred him to the national editing desk in New York City. AP promoted him to news editor in Indiana in 1980, and Oklahoma bureau chief in 1989. He is a founder, former president and board member of FOI Oklahoma, and works with the Oklahoma AP editor's group, AP/ONE, in promoting and sponsoring journalism activities and excellence.

Bill Walter is a third-generation owner of The Hennessey Clipper, which has been in his family since 1904. At age 5, he delivered papers, worked as a printer's devil and by age 15 was printing the paper. He attended Okmulgee A&M Tech for Linotype, and the University of Oklahoma as journalism major, working at the Oklahoma Daily, Alva Review-Courier and the OBU Press before graduating in 1962. He worked in public relations before returning to The Clipper in 1977 as editor and publisher. He and The Clipper have won numerous state and national awards for photography, editorials, news writing and community service. He serves on Oklahoma Press Association committees and is active in numerous civic activities. He collects old cameras, and his office wall is heavy with pistol-shooting awards.

Barbara A. Walter began her journalism career as teen correspondent for the Oklahoma City Times at Giessen High School. Barb went to work for Oklahoma Press Association and became editor of the association’s Publisher. She became managing editor of The Hennessey Clipper in 1978 and later co-publisher. She was OPA president in 2002-03 and Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation president (first woman) in 2006-present. She has won first place awards in national and state competitions for column writing and government/investigative reporting. With her help, The Clipper has won more than 200 state awards and six national honors. Barb covers government, designs the paper and is bookkeeper. She is active in civic work including an organization to preserve the town's history and to make plans for its future.

Paul B. Southerland has been a staff photographer for The Oklahoman since 1975. A native of Lawton, he attended the University of Oklahoma as a McMahon Scholar in journalism. While at OU, he owned and operated a photo agency supplying news photos of students to newspapers around the nation. He has worked for the Oklahoma Daily, the Oklahoma City Times, and The Daily Oklahoman, winning more than 100 national, state and regional photo and reporting awards including Newspaper Photographer of the Year and News Photo of the Year from the Oklahoma Press Association, and Newspaper Photo of the Year from the Oklahoma Associated Press Managing Editors Association. He is a past officer In the Oklahoma News Photographers Association and a 32-year member of the National Press Photographers Association.