Leinwand Leger, Russo win Club’s top volunteer award

Actors Brooke Shields and Chris Evans, Chef Jose Andreas, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, five Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and filmmaker Ken Burns were among the highest-profile newsmakers to visit the National Press Club this year.

The two women who led the Club Headliners Team that brought them here -- Donna Leinwand Leger and Lori Russo – won the Club’s top volunteer honor, the Berny Krug Award.

“Their work behind the scenes to prepare for each Headliners and Newsmaker event was nothing short of outstanding,” Club President Emily Wilkins said Wednesday at the Club’s Vivian Awards reception. “I always walked into those events feeling thoroughly prepared thanks to their tireless efforts. Donna and Lori have been a constant source of support throughout my presidency.”

Leinwand Leger is a former Club president and former managing editor at USA Today who now runs her own communications consulting firm, D.C. Media Strategies. She also co-chairs of the Wire Team. Russo is president of Stanton Communications Inc. They have led the Headliners Team since 2019.

“I can say that Donna and Lori have been instrumental in an effort that will have a significant impact on the Club’s future,” Wilkins said. “Their leadership, attention to detail, tact and reporting skills will undoubtedly pay off in the years ahead. Donna and Lori, thank you for everything you’ve done, especially this year. Your continued dedication to the Club, your invaluable institutional knowledge, and your love for what we do are an inspiration to me and to us all.”

Typically, the Club president moderates Headliner events. Wilkins thanked Leinwand Leger and Russo “for bringing in some of the coolest people I will ever get to interview in my life.”

Gil Klein, coordinator of the Washington program of the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, won the John Cosgrove Award. Named after a former Club president whose name also adorns one of the meeting rooms oin the 14th floor, it is bestowed on a former Club president for continued exemplary service to the Club.

Klein, who was Club president in 1994, has been president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute for the past three years. He was instrumental in the recent establishment of the Club’s Press Freedom Center.

Klein also is the longtime chair of the Club’s History and Heritage Team. He is author of the book “Tales from the National Press Club.”

“Gil’s tenure as president of the National Press Club in 1994 was just the beginning of his legacy,” Wilkins said. “Since then, he has consistently given his time and talents to the Club, always with a singular focus on advancing its mission. His contributions have spanned many years, and they continue to shape the direction of the Press Club to this day.”

In addition to Leinwand Leger, Russo and Klein, the evening honored some of the Club’s outstanding volunteers, who received Vivian Awards. The award is named after Vivian Vahlberg, a former reporter for the Daily Oklahoman who was the Club’s first female president in 1982. She established the “Hard Work and Inspiration Award” during her presidency; its successor is the Vivian Awards.

“The Club is what it is because of the time, effort, creativity and passion you all put into it, whether it was organizing a panel to highlight the state of journalism in specific parts of the world, working to draft press release, writing for the Wire, bringing in great Headliner speakers tirelessly making calls to legislative staff to convince lawmakers to come stand up on a stage and compete with journalists in spelling,” Wilkins said.

The Vivian winners and the teams on which they participated: Angela Greiling Keane, Tara Copp (Awards); Gemma Puglisi, Lincoln Smith (Broadcast/Podcast); Aliza Bran, Maria Rodriguez (Communicators); Brittney Shammas, (Events); Edward Segal, Becky Little (Freelancers); Bill Pierce, Peter Copeland (Headliners); D.J. Caulfield, Carol Bennett (History and Heritage); Diyar Kurda, Kenneth Arnold (International Correspondents); Susan Heavey, Peter Urban (Membershp); Peter West, Joseph Luchok, Robert Braggs III (Photography); Jessica Jerreat, Dagmar Thiel (Press Freedom); Maureen Lorenzetti, Paul Demko (Professional Development); Hilary Saunders, Rohit Sharma (Scholarship); Amy Fickling, Daniel Moore (Wire); Alex Rouhandeh, Doroth Mills-Gregg (Young Members).