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| Tom Beres |
The Press Club of Cleveland will honor Fox 8 photojournalist Herb Thomas, WKYC's Tom Beres, and four others at its 2011 Chuck Heaton Award to be presented at the Club's annual Journalism Hall of Fame Awards Dinner and Induction Ceremony.
They will be honored October 28 at at LaCentre, 25777 Detroit Road, in Westlake. Thomas will receive the Chuck Heaton Award. The others will be inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland Hall of Fame.
The Chuck Heaton Award honors an individual who best exemplifies the qualities of Hall of Fame reporter Chuck Heaton, a long-time sports writer and columnist at The Plain Dealer.
Heaton, who passed away in February 2008, was known for his lifelong dedication to journalism, his fairness, his concern for community and helping others.
The Hall of Fame inductees to be honored are WKYC's Beres, The Plain Dealer's Tom Feran and Philip Morris, NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell, and Bob Paynter, Principal, of Investigative Communications.
Beres has served as a general assignment reporter for WKYC TV3 since July, 1979, and was promoted to senior political reporter in May of 1998.
In 1989, he won a local Emmy for Investigative Reporting for his coverage of ticket abuse by Cleveland police officers.
In 1984, he accepted the award for "Best Broadcast Writing" from the Ohio Associated Press. He is a graduate of Westlake High School and Northwestern University and holds a bachelor degree and a Masters in broadcast journalism.
Beres serves on the Board of Camp Ho Mita Koda, a camp for diabetic children, and the local chapter of AFTRA.
With more than 30 years at WJW TV-FOX 8, Thomas has worked in numerous capacities, from maintenance and set building, director of print operations, studio camera crew to photojournalist and news videographer. Herb created and produced the TV8 sign-off programs "Meditation" and "Celebration."
He was the creative force, photographer and co-producer of the public affairs series "Neighborhood." He was featured on the Big Chuck and Little John Show in the portrayals of "Soul Man and Mr. Mean." He also toured with the O'Jays as a percussionist and is founder and president of the performing arts choir "Prayer Warriors."
Previous Heaton Award winners include Terry Pluto and Margaret Bernstein of The Plain Dealer and John Telich of WJW FOX 8.
Click on the video to go behind the scenes at the ceremony on 10/28/11:
