King receives 'Order of the Owl' at Hoot

Rod Kuckro

December 18, 2024

Rod Kuckro, left, presents the ‘Order of the Owl’ to Llewellyn King at the Dec. 13 Owls' Hoot. Photo: Nancy Shia

More than 60 National Press Club members and their guests shared a rollicking evening at the Owls’ Hoot on Friday evening Dec. 13.

The highlight of the Hoot was awarding the "Order of the Owl" to Llewellyn King, a member of the Club since 1966 who is still an active journalist as producer and host of "White House Chronicle."

For many years, as founder of King Publishing and a stable of acclaimed newsletters, King hired, trained and mentored dozens of journalists, many of whom were in attendance to honor him.

King spoke of the importance of and challenges posed by technology to the profession as it evolves into the age of artificial intelligence.

It was a highly relatable topic given the immense and powerful changes that have occurred in journalism since members who’ve reached Owl status began their careers.

The dinner was preceded by a cocktail hour that featured two roaming magicians who amazed even the most skeptical guests with riveting feats of legerdemain. One was Danny Selnick, a Club member who marked his 25^th year of Club membership as he became a Silver Owl. The other was Dwight Redman, who over the years has been a regular entertainer at Club inaugurations and holiday parties.

Outgoing Club President Emily Wilkins welcomed the Owls, congratulating and thanking them for the years of membership and service to the Club.

Wilkins was followed by Darren Samuelsohn, who is leading the Club mentoring program and who encouraged the veteran journalist and communicator members of the Club to consider giving back as a volunteer mentor. If you’re interested, contact [email protected].

A number of new Silver and Golden Owls were in attendance to receive certificates marking the milestone of their membership in the Club: 25 years for Silver, 50 years for Golden.

Mary Kay Quinlan, who served as Club president in 1986 when she was with Gannett News Service, came all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska, where she is professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Now that’s dedication to the Club!