Nick Clooney named Great Living Cincinnatians

Nick Clooney, Bob Castellini named Great Living Cincinnatians

Pediatrician Dr. Beatrice Lampkin, Federated James exec Zimmerman also honored
5:14 AM, Dec. 11, 2011

His son George may grab the headlines now, but Nick Clooney is a star in his own right, having made a name for himself in radio, television, journalism and entertainment for decades.

His star power has earned him a spot in the 2012 class of Great Living Cincinnatians, highest honor of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

Clooney’s career spans decades and genres. He started in radio at age 16, hosted a morning talk and variety show on WCPO-TV, a game show on ABC, and most prominently, was a news anchor on WKRC-TV in the ’70s and ’80s. He wrote a popular column for the Cincinnati Post and hosted American Movie Classics, for which he earned an Emmy nomination.

Three others will join the 126 honored since 1967:

• Robert Castellini, principal owner and CEO of the Cincinnati Reds. Castellini turned a relatively small family business into one of the largest fresh produce distributors in the country and expanded it into trucking and real estate. He chaired the Banks Working Group, which moved that riverfront development from a dream to reality. He’s chaired and served on many boards, including the Cincinnati Business Committee, TriHealth and Good Samaritan Hospital.

• Dr. Beatrice Lampkin, a pediatric specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who expanded that department and helped create a home away from home for families of children being cared for at the hospital. She helped lead a $1.3 million fundraising effort to open the Children’s Family House, later renamed the Ronald McDonald House. The facility in Avondale has provided a supportive home for 22,000 families over 20 years and is third-largest of 310 Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide.

• James Zimmerman, the executive who laid the foundation for Cincinnati’s top department store chain to survive and thrive in an era of consolidation. Zimmerman was a top executive at Federated Department Stores and guided it through a sea change in the world of retailing. He steered it through a bankruptcy and then helped oversee the high-profile acquisition of Macy’s department stores in 1994. He was named chairman and CEO in 1997, as the company rebranded all its stores under the Macy’s banner and dove headlong into online sales. His community involvement includes chairing the Success by 6 initiative to improve the prospects of at-risk preschoolers.

“Members of the class of 2012 enjoyed terrific success in business, medicine, sports and entertainment, and also made an indelible impression on the community,” said Ellen van der Horst, CEO of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

The awards will be presented at the the Chamber’s annual dinner Feb. 16 at the Duke Energy Convention Center’s grand ballroom. The cost is $150 for an individual or $1,400 for a table of 10. Reservations can be made by visiting [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or by calling 513-579-3111.

Link

bravo! so hope to see some pics
or better a video!

Awesome. Congrats to Nick!

Yay Nick!

you so fast
Mel!

haha It's Me! I try!

sadly G doesn't ....

This is great! Congratulations Nick!

Good for Nick. I'm sure the family would be proud.

Well done Nick! At least he's trying to keep up with George!!!! Let's hope they book a table, so all the family can go.

George should really go to this event, even if he must wear a disguise so that he doesn't attract attention.

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Great Living Cincinnatians Honored
Video

Four of the greatest Living Cincinnatians were recognized on Thursday evening by the Cincinnati U.S.A. Regional Chamber.

Journalist Nick Clooney and Cincinnati Reds Owner Bob Castellini were among this year's honorees. The dinner was held at the Duke Energy Center tonight. A group of current and former Local 12 employees attended the dinner to honor Nick.

Glad House Founder Doctor Beatrice Lampkin and former Federated President James Zimmerman round out the 2012 class.

There are 126 members of this elite group of people who have done so much for our part of the country.

Thanks for that Merlin. Nick looked well in the video.

congrats Nick !

I've seen it on FB (Rosemary Clooney House) this morning

what?

Yes nice to see Nick looking fit and well...

I'm glad Ada was there too. If George was to attend something like this, it would be "all about George", as he has stated. I think that's what he kind of means in that THR article when he says he's "alone at big gatherings". He doesn't WANT it to be about him, so he isolates himself out of the limelight.

I feel kind of sad for GC that he feels he can't be there for family moments....

ja

Bummer for G. But, he could have gone there incognitio: wearing a wig, full beard, and eyeglasses. No one would recognize him with him wearing that disguise.

LOL I bet we would off! I understand why he doesn't go it was his father's big moment and he cares enough not to take the spotlight away from him. He has gone to some Rosemary events in the past and I think there was something that honoured his dad a few years back.. I'm sure his family understands and are fine about it.

me 2!

link

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The Chamber held its Annual Dinner at the Duke Energy Center Grand Ballroom on Thursday, February 16, 2012. This major business event celebrated the best Cincinnati has to offer in a room filled with top Cincinnati business and government leaders.
Outgoing Chamber chair George Vincent, managing partner of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, was honored for his efforts leading the Chamber Board during 2011, and incoming chair Julie Janson, president of Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. and Duke Energy Kentucky, Inc. was installed for the coming year.

The 2012 Class of Great Living Cincinnatians that were honored at the event are:

Robert H. Castellini
Nick Clooney
Beatrice C. Lampkin, M.D.
James M. Zimmerman

Watch their inspirational stories and see all they've done to make Cincinnati USA the successful region it is today.

Link

Great Living Cincinnatians

Nick Clooney Awarded in 2012

While Nick Clooney’s career has not followed any traditional path, he made a difference at each stop.
Born in Maysville in 1934, Nick grew up listening to famous journalists like Edward R. Murrow and William Shirer and dreamed of becoming a reporter. He got his first opportunity when he was 16 on a local radio station. The first assignment, appropriately, was to read the news.
But for years, Nick learned broadcasting on the entertainment side of radio and television. By the late 1960s, he hosted his own morning talk and variety show, first in Columbus and then in Cincinnati on WCPO-TV. In 1974 he was the host of the ABC network game show, Money Maze. When ABC canceled Money Maze, Nick returned to Cincinnati as the news director and anchor of WKRC-TV and, in this role, found his niche.
Clooney built an outstanding staff of reporters and anchors, some of whom still work at the station.
He demanded that the station invest in the latest technology, including the capability to broadcast live from remote sites. Just two days after the technology became operational in 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club caught fire resulting in 165 deaths and 200 injuries. Because of Nick’s unrelenting demands, WKRC was the only station that could report live from the scene of what remains one of the region’s major stories. Within five years, WKRC overtook Al Schottelkotte and WCPO, which had dominated the local ratings for almost two decades.
In the late 1980s, Clooney returned to radio and contributed commentaries—often shot in the study of his home in Augusta—on social trends and history for WKRC. And beginning in 1989, he wrote a column for the Cincinnati Post three times a week until the paper closed in 2007. He also gained a reputation as the host of American Movie Classics, for which he won a national Emmy nomination.
Nick’s love of American history, respect for the political process and his deeply-held principles also led him into two high-profile forays into public service. In 2004, he made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in the Kentucky Fourth District. Two years later, he joined forces with his son George in an effort to throw a spotlight on the unfolding tragedy in Darfur.
As Clooney has lived a lifetime in the public eye, two primary themes emerge. First, no matter where his work took him, Nick was rooted in Ohio River Valley. Nick and his wife Nina could never imagine straying too far, for too long, from their home in Augusta, just a few blocks from the ferry that connected them to the world.
Second, Clooney’s greatest asset has always been his ability to connect with people. Whether it is reporting a story on the evening news or speaking to a room full of people, Nick communicated that he cares deeply about people. And the people, in turn, responded and reciprocated.

Lovely video...thanks for posting it laetval

3 at week
for 18 years

we enjoyed them
soooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!



water
in front of their house too!


don't want to seem exaggerate
but
he has gained
plenty gained
some kind of majesty
due IMO to his age
and moral sense

Wow! Could you imagine anyone nowadays letting a 16 year old trainee read the news?

A poster on IMDb share with us links on Mr. Nick Clooney... WOW!!! Was elated, inspired, touched and awed... all at the same time, watching those video clips Truly Glorious!!!

share here too, please!!!!