FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  December 31, 2008
Contact: Bobbie Fisher, Chief Communications Officer, 757.889.9107

WHRO TO HONOR MORISON AND HORNSBY
WITH 2009 PIONEER AWARD

Norfolk: WHRO announced today that John R. Morison of Norfolk and Lois S. Hornsby of Williamsburg, will jointly be honored at the 6th Annual WHRO Pioneer Awards to be held on February 28, 2000, at the Williamsburg Lodge.  Established in 2004, the Pioneer Awards are given by the public broadcaster to honor individuals or organizations who have made significant and lasting contributions in the fields of public broadcasting and educational telecommunications, and who have improved the quality of life in the Hampton Roads community.
Morison is the former President and General Manager of WHRO, having retired in 2001 after 26 years at the helm of the organization’s broadcast and educational services.  Hornsby is a lifelong community activist who has focused on breaking down racial barriers among young people, pushing for better schools and more parental involvement, and promoting arts, culture and citizenship.
 Morison and Hornsby are both honored for outstanding leadership, vision and philanthropic support of the greater Hampton Roads community, including public broadcasting, education, the arts, and the environment.
Former Norfolk Mayor Vincent J. Thomas and the late Senator Hunter B. Andrews, who were instrumental in the founding of WHRO in 1961, were recipients of the first Pioneer Awards in 2004; former Virginia governor Gerald L. Baliles and former congressman G. William Whitehurst received the honor in 2005.  In 2006, David and Susan Goode received the Pioneer Award; in 2007, it went to Dr. Robin M. Rubin, Dorothy Rouse-Bottom and Raymond Bottom.  In 2008, ACCESS College Scholarship Foundation was honored.

The event will include special musical performances by The Harris Simon Trio and the College of William and Mary’s Wam Bam Big Band, a gala dinner, and a grand silent auction. All proceeds from the Pioneer Awards benefit WHRO.