Club Owls award Order of the Owl to Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles at Spring Hoot

Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles outlined the keys to success in his part of the journalism field at the National Press Club Owls' Spring Hoot on May 1.

Toles was awarded the Order of the Owl by the Club's Silver Owls, who are Club members who have been in the organization for 25 years or more in a row, at an event in the Club ballroom. Later in the evening, Toles and his band, Suspicious Package, performed.

The hirsute lampooner gave his remarks following his award and the induction of new Owl members.

During his remarks, Toles graphically outlined five rules of attaining success as a political cartoonist, including instructions to be funny and fair if not "fair and balanced." Toles told prospective political cartoonists that they should maintain integrity in the face of temptation.

When asked about his own success as a cartoonist, Toles said he is at his most creative in the earliest part of the day. He gets up at 4:44 a.m. to catch the first train into work. Toles said the symmetry of the number as the reason for his curious time to start the day.

Toles was introduced by former newsroom colleague and 2007 Club President Jerry Zremski, who retold tales of a Toles' signature stunt -- newsroom perambulation by unicycle. Toles once took a ride after he claimed a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.

Following his remarks, Toles took the stage with Suspicious Package, a five-piece ensemble he anchors on drums. They performed songs ranging from those by The Kinks to The White Stripes. The evening concluded with a number from The Rolling Stones played for the remaining Owls still dancing past curfew.

View more images from the Hoot.