The Joe Creason Lecture in Journalism is an annual lecture delivered by a nationally prominent journalist in a series that honors the memory of Joe Creason, an outstanding Kentucky journalist and an honored UK alumnus. The lecture series was made possible through a matching grant from the Bingham Enterprises Foundation of Kentucky and gifts donated by UK alumni and friends of Joe Creason. The Joe Creason Lecture Series Fund was established in 1975.
Joe Creason – A Kentucky Treasure
Before his death on August 14, 1974, Joe Creason had been hailed as "a crack newspaperman" who inspired trust in those about whom he wrote. The Creason wit and humor, his friendly manner, and his love for Kentucky always showed through his writings for The Courier Journal (Louisville) and The Courier Journal Sunday Magazine. He was a Kentuckian--a native of Benton ("The only town in which I was born"). A graduate of the University of Kentucky Class of 1940 and a rabid booster of his alma mater, he was president of the UK Alumni Association in 1969-1970. People who knew Joe Creason number in the thousands in every county of the state. From his column, "Joe Creason's Kentucky," in The Courier Journal, his two books, a radio series started before his death, and his speechmaking, he is remembered as a man who was never too busy to enjoy people. At the time of Joe Creason's death, an anonymous mourner left a note on the door of his Courier Journal office. It read simply, "So long Joe -- and thanks," and was signed "Kentucky."