WHYY 2010 President's Dinner

WHYY TO HONOR NPR'S CARL KASELL WITH THE LIFELONG LEARNING AWARD AT THE 9TH ANNUAL WHYY PRESIDENT'S DINNER

Photo Credit: Antony Nagelmann 2001

WHYY will honor acclaimed NPR broadcaster, Carl Kasell, with its Lifelong Learning Award at the 9th Annual WHYY President's Dinner on Monday, May 17, 2010.

Each year at the President's Dinner, WHYY encourages individual commitment and leadership by recognizing the exceptional achievements of those who have initiated positive social change and lifelong learning for all. We seek those individuals for the Lifelong Learning Award whose vision and courage inspire others to join with them in this commitment.

Carl Kasell, whose distinctive voice has informed Morning Edition listeners of the day's top stories since the show's inception in 1979, has become one of the best-known members of the NPR family. In addition to his role as the newscaster on Morning Edition, he is also the official judge and scorekeeper on NPR's popular weekly quiz show, Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!, an eclectic mixture of information, news and comedy.

After 50 years in broadcasting, Carl Kasell has retired from his daily news-casting duties on Morning Edition, having signed off for the last time at the end of 2009. For the past three decades, he has written and read seven nine-minute newscasts each morning, his soothing baritone becoming an NPR signature and an everyday ritual for millions of listeners. He will continue his role on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

"Personalities like Carl Kasell become part of our daily passage in very significant ways," says WHYY president and CEO William J. Marrazzo. "They rise above the work they do to the point that their presence becomes important to us. We are pleased to honor Carl Kasell for his significant career and commitment to public radio."

WHYY will also honor long-time supporter, Mrs. Dorrance H. Hamilton, for her generous donation to the new Learning Lab at WHYY. "Mrs. Hamilton's dedication to causes that benefit the citizens of our region exemplifies the tenets of WHYY - integrity, consistency, intelligence, and an abiding commitment to lifelong learning" said Marrazzo.

The President's Dinner award ceremony will take place at the WHYY Learning Lab with an audience including hundreds of CEOs, business and political leaders. The highlight of the gala is an on-stage interview with Carl Kasell by Terry Gross, acclaimed host of WHYY's Fresh Air, heard by five million listeners each week on NPR.

Past honorees of the WHYY Lifelong Learning Award include Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell; former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge; and public media journalists, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer, Cokie Roberts, Charlie Rose and Gwen Ifill; and filmmaker Ken Burns.