Harless Wade
East Texas State University
(Texas A&M – Commerce)
Harless Wade began his journalism career at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce), where he was editor of The East Texan before graduating in 1950 with a degree in speech and journalism. After three years at the Abilene Reporter-News, he joined The Dallas Morning News in time for the 1956 football season. While at The News, he earned more than 50 national, regional and state writing awards, including the Lone Star Conference Sportswriter of the Year and the Northern Texas PGA Media Award four times. He retired from The Dallas Morning News in 1994. (deceased)
Donna Darovich
University of Texas – Arlington
A Texas author, humorist and, as she puts it, a “recovering, but never retired journalist.” Donna Darovich won a TIPA first place for column writing, more than 100 state and national awards at the Arlington Citizen-Journal and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, was the first (and only) Star-Telegram writer to win first for feature writing from the AP Managing Editors two consecutive years. She was twice the Most Outstanding Woman Journalist in Texas by the Texas Press Women. For 20 years, she wrote the “Texas Gridiron Show” in Fort Worth, a musical comedy performed by areas journalists. She was the public affairs director for The University of Texas at Arlington and editor of her college newspaper.