By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - A panel of political leaders in the Commonwealth of Kentucky will lead a Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy (KHIPP) discussion on “Election 2010” at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 in the Banquet Hall of the Badgett Academic Support Center at 110 University Drive, Campbellsville.

Everyone is invited to the event, which is free.

Featured speakers include: Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky; Lowell Reese, founder of The Kentucky Roll Call Inc., a Frankfort-based governmental affairs publishing company and “The Kentucky Gazette”; and Ron Ellis, a Frankfort Bureau reporter for the CHNI News Service in Frankfort, Ky.

John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, who founded KHIPP, said, “We are pleased to have these three journalists for our Election 2010 Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 19. They have previously participated in similar KHIPP sessions, and they are among the most astute political journalists in Kentucky and the nation.

“The November 2 election cycle is shaping up to be one of the most significant mid-term election cycles in recent decades, and Kentucky's races are among the most pivotal in terms of the national outcome.

“We will also touch on the Kentucky gubernatorial election cycle in 2011 and touch briefly on the 2012 presidential election. This should prove to be a very informative session.”

Chowning said he hopes everyone will take advantage of the event to learn more about the upcoming elections.

Cross became director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues in August 2004 after more than 26 years as a reporter at The Courier-Journal, the last 15½ as the Louisville newspaper's chief political writer. His coverage ranged from presidential to local elections and included all facets of state government.

He is also a political columnist for The Courier-Journal.

Cross is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky, where the institute is based. His awards include a share of the Pulitzer Prize won by The Courier-Journal staff in 1989 for coverage of the nation's deadliest bus crash. He was co-recipient of an honorable mention for environmental reporting in the Southern Journalism Awards for a 1987 series on strip mining. He has received many awards for reporting and column writing.

He is the longest-running panelist on KET's weekly “Comment on Kentucky,” has appeared on C-SPAN and “Washington Week In Review,” and has been quoted in “The Almanac of American Politics.”

Cross is a graduate of Clinton County High School and Western Kentucky University, where he was chief reporter, editor and advertising manager of the award-winning College Heights Herald.

Cross was born in Knoxville, Tenn., and grew up in Albany, Ky. Cross is married to Patti Hodges Cross.

Lowell Reese

Reese grew up in rural Kentucky in the 1940s and 1950s. He earned a history degree at Berea College and second lieutenant bars at Fort Benning. He served as an infantry officer in Vietnam.

After military service, he worked as an executive in the Chamber of Commerce for 17 years, as well as the Chamber of Commerce in South Carolina and Arizona Chamber of Commerce.

He is the founder of Kentucky Roll Call Inc., a Frankfort-based governmental affairs publishing company. Among his various publications include “Who's What in Kentucky Government,” “Second Circle,” and “Mr. Butler's Classic Quotations.” He lives with his wife, Carol, in Frankfort.

Ellis is a political writer for the CNHI News Service in Frankfort, Ky. He has covered state government, the General Assembly, politicies for Kentucky papers and produced a weekly column.

He was born in Glasgow and is a 1975 graduate from Western Kentucky University with a bachelor of arts in English and journalism.

 

Ron Ellis

Ellis has worked for more than 20 years as photographer, reporter and columnist with a couple of stints outside news business working for United Way. He has worked for Glasgow Daily Times as well as Henderson Gleaner.

Among his accomplishments include various awards for photography, reporting, editorial writing and columnist. For three years he has covered politics, both local and state, from campaign coverage to topics of the General Assembly. He has two children, a daughter, Scottie, and a son, Jack.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 63 undergraduate programs, 17 master's degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.