Anita Blanton M.C. for Black Caucus’ Hamlin awards


Oklahoma City reporter Anita Blanton will serve as mistress of ceremony for the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus’ 19th Biennial A. C. Hamlin Awards Banquet on April 25.


 “The Legislative Black Caucus is honored to have Anita Blanton participate in this year’s awards banquet,” said state Rep. Jabar Shumate, a Tulsa Democrat who chairs the Black Caucus. “She is an outstanding local talent and a positive role model for the youth of our community.”

 Blanton joined Eyewitness News 5 as co-anchor of Eyewitness News 5 In The Morning in 2008. Previously, she was a morning anchor and reporter at WRIC-TV in Richmond, Virginia.

 Blanton began her journalism career at KTXS-TV in Abilene, Texas, before working at KWTX-TV in Waco.

 While in Texas, she frequently covered former President George W. Bush and visiting world leaders during many headline-making visits to Crawford, Texas. While in Virginia she was part of team coverage of several high profile stories, including NFL player Michael Vick’s federal trial for involvement in dog fighting and the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech University.

 Blanton is an alumna of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism and political science from the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

 Organizers of the event previously disclosed that state Sen. Judy Eason-McIntyre, who is leaving the Legislature next year, will be honored at the gala.
 
 Also sharing in the evening’s tributes will be women who have achieved “firsts” in Oklahoma, including Governor Mary Fallin, U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, and Yvonne Hovell, the  owner and general manager of Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Tulsa, who was the first female in the State of Oklahoma to own a dealership. 

 The caucus consists of Rep. Shumate, Eason-McIntyre, Sen. Connie Johnson of Oklahoma City, Rep. Anastasia Pittman of Oklahoma City, Rep. Mike Shelton of Oklahoma City, and Rep. T. W. Shannon of Lawton.

 The A. C. Hamlin Awards Banquet will begin with a 6 p.m. reception followed by a 7 p.m. dinner on Monday, April 25 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 Northeast 63rd Street in Oklahoma City.

 Those wishing to attend should contact Shumate’s office at (405) 557-7406 or jabarshumate@okhouse.gov for further information. Tickets, priced $50 apiece, must be purchased by Monday, April 18.