Harwood '74, Belt '72 Named to Va. Communications Hall of Fame
For the second year in a row, Washington and Lee will be well represented when the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame holds its induction ceremony in Richmond. Don Belt, of the Class of 1972, and Doug Harwood, of the Class of 1974, are among the five inductees at this year’s event on April 11 in Richmond.
Don Belt is the former chief foreign affairs correspondent and former senior editor of National Geographic magazine. His assignments have taken him from Siberia to India, from Jordan to Pakistan, 50 countries in all. In recent years, he’s specialized in the Middle East; you can read several of his stories on this National Geographic website.
For more than two decades, Doug Harwood has been editor of The Rockbridge Advocate, a monthly publication that routinely tackles controversial stories. He previously worked for the Buena Vista News and its successor publication, the Rockbridge Weekly. In addition to his newspapering, Doug continues to host the radio program on WLUR-FM that he began as a W&L sophomore in 1971. “The Anti-Headache Machine” runs for four hours every Saturday night.
The Hall of Fame honors communications professionals with exceptional careers in journalism, public relations, advertising and other media fields. Honored along with Doug and Don will be Dorothy Abernathy, of the Associated Press; Steve Bassett, of The Martin Agency; and Tom Silvestri, of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. This newest class of five inductees will bring the total to 145. Here’s the list of the Hall of Fame members.
Last year the inductees with W&L ties were Hampden H. Smith III, Washington and Lee professor emeritus of journalism and communications, and Mike Allen, of W&L’s Class of 1986 and currently chief White House correspondent for Politico, were inducted along with the late Robert Dementi, of the Class of 1940, and Jim Raper, past visiting professor of journalism and contributor to the University’s alumni magazines.
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