Coming this Saturday: a sure-to-be-memorable salute to area media giants via the North Texas Legends awards

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The seventh annual North Texas Legends awards event, sponsored by the Press Club of Dallas, is fast-approaching and not to be missed if you’d like to be in the company of some true media giants.

Complete information is at pressclubdallas.com, with all 12 living honorees confirmed to attend. Plus, the first-ever posthumous award will go to pathfinding KXAS-TV (Ch. 5) meteorologist Harold Taft, who is set to be inducted by his son, Rafael (now a Grand Prairie police officer), and two former colleagues, David Finfrock and Scott Murray.

Admission tickets ($25 for Press Club members, $30 for non-members) include food, wine, beer and soft drinks. And we’re talking more than toothpick-pierced cocktail wieners. Catering is by Cafe Momentum, which is headed by chef Chad Houser and dedicated to changing lives as well as serving great food. Many of their services at the event have been donated by the restaurant.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings also will make an appearance and spoon out a few remarks. Plus you’ll get a nice souvenir program with biographies and pictures of all the honorees.

Your friendly content provider is the principal chair of this year’s event and also a member of the Legends voting committee. So if you enjoy unclebarky.com and would like to blow a little air kiss this way, be sure to get your tickets now. Last year’s event sold out, and only about 35 tickets remain for Saturday night’s festivities at the downtown Dallas Sixth Floor Museum.

In alphabetical order, the 12 living honorees are:

Mike Blackman
Bill DeOre
Yolette Garcia
Dale Hansen
Byron Harris
Norm Hitzges
John Jenkins
Tom Joyner
John Lumpkin
Bill Mack
Janet St. James
Jeffrey Weiss

A record-setting total of 22 sponsors also have contributed $250 apiece to help defray expenses, support college journalism scholarships and salute various honorees (or the event itself).

Many thanks to all. And here they are in alphabetical order:

Allison+Partners (supporting the event)

AMS Pictures (supporting the event)

Ed Bark/unclebarky.com (supporting the event)

Cumulus Media (owner of KTCK-AM & WBAP-AM, and supporting Norm Hitzges, Bill Mack)

The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (supporting the event)

The Dallas Morning News (supporting Bill DeOre, Jeffrey Weiss)

David Finfrock (supporting Harold Taft)

Tom and Jan Hopkins (supporting Dale Hansen)

KERA (supporting Yolette Garcia)

John and Eileen Lumpkin (supporting the event)

John McCaa (supporting WFAA’s Dale Hansen, Byron Harris, Janet St. James)

Medical City Healthcare (supporting Janet St. James)

Mind-Set Branding+Marketing, LLC (supporting the event)

Murray Media/Scott Murray (supporting Harold Taft)

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/Lone Star Chapter (supporting the event)

NBC5 (supporting John Jenkins, Harold Taft)

Tracy Rowlett (supporting WFAA’s Dale Hansen, Byron Harris, Janet St. James)

The Bob Schieffer College of Communication (supporting John Lumpkin)

Southwest Airlines (supporting the event)

The Star-Telegram (supporting Mike Blackman)

The Tom Joyner Foundation (supporting Tom Joyner)

The Tom Joyner Morning Show/Reach Media (supporting Tom Joyner)

Did I mention you’ll also get a chance to meet Uncle Barky? But please don’t let that dissuade you.

Hope to see you there!

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net