Six former editors will be inducted later this year into The Chart Hall of Fame as part of Homecoming 2022 festivities.
The Chart was founded in 1939 by student editor Kenneth McCaleb at Joplin Junior College. The inaugural Hall of Fame class was named in 2012, with a new class inducted every five years.
The 2022 class is headlined by Tony Feather, who served as the national political director for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign. Sports editor and political editor for The Chart in 1973-75, he is currently a partner at FLSConnect, a voter targeting and advocacy firm.
Clark Swanson, the only three-time editor-in-chief in Chart history (1978-81), started OrangeBoy Inc. with his wife, Sandy, in 1996. Today, the firm is a global provider of analytical services for public institutions and NGOs through its software as a service (SaaS).
Susan Campbell, managing editor of The Chart in 1978-79, has worked across the media landscape, first at The Joplin Globe, then The Wichita Eagle-Beacon, and eventually at The Hartford Courant. She has been a regular commentator on WNPR, and a guest on CBS’ “Sunday Morning,” the BBC, and multiple news and radio stations in Connecticut, where she lives.
Chris Clark, who served two terms as Chart editor-in-chief (1989-91), spent the bulk of his journalistic career with the Associated Press. He eventually became news editor for the AP’s bureaus in Salt Lake City and Kansas City and quickly earned a reputation as one of the AP’s most well-traveled “parachute” news editors – a trusted newsroom leader called to edit and guide breaking-news coverage of page-one journalism across the United States.
Noppadol Paothong, a 2002 MSSU graduate, transferred from North Idaho College to become director of photography for The Chart in 1998. After working for The Joplin Globe and the Springfield News-Leader, he joined the Missouri Department of Conservation in 2006 as a wildlife photographer. Much of his time has been spent documenting rare and endangered species, primarily grassland grouse and their fragile habitat. He was selected as Outstanding Alumnus in 2020.
T.R. Hanrahan, who served two terms as Chart editor-in-chief and as adviser from 2006-11, will be inducted posthumously. One of the most beloved figures in the newspaper’s history, Hanrahan died on Oct. 20, 2021, at the age of 57. He was also an instructor of journalism at Missouri Western State University and managing editor of the Brownwood (Texas) Bulletin.
Further details about The Chart reunion and Hall of Fame induction – set for Oct. 8 – will be coming soon. Follow MSSU Chart Alumni on Facebook for updates.