An Evening with Helen Thomas

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.¿Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas and WOOD-TV8 anchor Suzanne Geha have more in common than a combined total of nearly 90 years of covering, analyzing, and reporting the news. Thomas, the trailblazing and feisty UPI reporter who has covered Capitol Hill through nine presidents, is Geha's aunt. Grand Valley State University will bring these two remarkable women together for a featured event in this year's inaugural Fall Arts Celebration.

'An Evening with Helen Thomas and Suzanne Geha' is presented at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28, at the Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, 401 W. Fulton St. in Grand Rapids. Conversation with the two newswomen will be moderated by Chris Barbee, director of GVSU Alumni Relations. The discussion will then be opened for audience questions and comments. A book-signing reception will follow.

The event is free and open to the public. No reservations will be taken; seating is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parking is available off Winter Avenue, west of the DeVos Center. For more information, call (616) 331-2180.

Thomas was born in Kentucky and grew up in Detroit, where she attended public schools and graduated from Wayne State University. In 1943 she joined United Press International and the Washington Press Corps, eventually becoming correspondent and White House bureau chief for UPI ¿ a relationship she maintained for 57 years. Thomas became famous ¿ many on Capitol Hill would say notorious ¿ for her tough questions and tradition of closing every presidential press conference with the words 'Thank you, Mr. President.'

Thomas has covered every president since John F. Kennedy and traveled around the world several times with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush, Jr., during the course of which she covered every Economic Summit. Referred to as 'the First Lady of the Press,' Thomas is credited with breaking into the once-all-male world of Washington journalism ¿ becoming the first woman to be named White House bureau chief of a major wire service, the first woman to become president of the White House Correspondents Association, and the first woman member of the Gridiron Club, at that time a 90-year-old institution (she became president in 1993). The World Almanac has cited her as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in America.

Thomas resigned from UPI in 2000 and joined Hearst Newspapers as a syndicated columnist. She has written three books, including the 2002 Thanks for the Memories Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House.

Suzanne Geha, anchor of WOOD-TV8 in Grand Rapids, has long been a news leader in West Michigan. A graduate of Western Michigan University, Geha was the first woman to anchor the evening news in West Michigan, in 1976 at WOOD-TV. After working for three years at WXYZ-TV in her hometown of Detroit, Geha returned to WOOD-TV as a news anchor in 1981, and has been a familiar face in West Michigan ever since. Her awards include the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), Michigan Chapter, for more than 25 years in broadcasting, an Emmy from the Detroit Chapter of NATAS for a five-part series she produced and reported, and Best On-Air Personality in West Michigan from American Women in Radio and Television.

'An Evening with Helen Thomas and Suzanne Geha' is the first of three academic lectures presented as part of Grand Valley's Fall Arts Celebration. Upcoming lectures feature Stephen Murray, medieval art and architecture expert, on November 5, and well-known theologian and author Martin Marty on November 12. All academic lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the Loosemore Auditorium of the DeVos Center. The Fall Arts Celebration is sponsored by MassMutual Financial Group, with support for the academic lectures contributed by Clare F. Jarecki.

Thomas' and Geha's appearance is also sponsored by Grand Valley's School of Communications, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special events scheduled throughout 2003 and 2004.