BY ANDY TAYLOR

A Coffeyville native has been chosen to lead one of the most-heralded media organizations in the United States.

Last Friday, Mark Hamrick, the Associated Press business editor for broadcast, was elected president of the National Press Club, which is based in Washington, D.C. Hamrick will assume his leadership duties on Jan. 29, which, also is the 150th anniversary of Kansas’ statehood. His inauguration as president of the National Press Club will be based on the theme “We’re Not In Kansas Anymore” and include two Montgomery County natives as emcees: Independence native and television broadcaster Bill Kurtis and Coffeyville native and film/TV director Chuck Bowman.

Hamrick graduated from Field Kindley High School in 1978, where, at the time, he was an aspiring young journalist as a staff writer for the Tornado Times newspaper. His father, Dan Hamrick, was the editor of the Coffeyville Journal during the mid-1970s.

The young Hamrick actually was ushered into the world of broadcast journalism at local radio station KGGF at the age of 15. He persistence at trying his hand with the radio microphone prompted station general manager Bob Pratt and operations manager Bill Miller to give him a tryout. The young teenager’s chemistry on the station airwaves allowed him to be put on the station payroll — at a time when he barely had enough age to warrant a driver’s license.

“Bill Miller and Bob Pratt were responsible for allowing me to volunteer at first and then move to the staff,” Hamrick said in a Facebook interview following his election on Friday. “I was only 15 years old at the time. Getting hired like that is something that probably couldn’t happen today.”

After attending the University of Kansas, Hamrick joined WBEN in Buffalo, New York, where he reported on traffic from a helicopter. He also worked as an anchor at the public, all-news WEBR radio, where he garnered top national and state awards for newscasts and documentary work.

Hamrick joined the Associated Press in Dallas, Texas, in 1986, serving as a reporter for AP Radio throughout the Sunbelt region. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1987 where he anchored hourly newscasts for AP Radio and transitioned into business news in 1994.  He writes, produces and hosts the ever-popular Tax Break feature.

Hamrick is no stranger to the National Press Club, having served on the board of governors and serving in various officer capacities including membership secretary and vice president.

The National Press Club has been a Washington institution for more than a century. It has a world-class conference and meeting facility that hosts thousands of events each year. Weekly meetings include heads of state, media moguls or celebrities who offer their insights into the world in which they live. Many of those meetings are broadcast on C-SPAN.

Hamrick lives in Potomac, Md., with his wife Jeanne Hamrick.