CHESAPEAKE, Va., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Gary T. McCollum, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Cox Communications of Virginia, has been inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. A ceremony formally inducting McCollum occurred on Wednesday, April 27. The event was held at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA.  

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/PH90101 )

McCollum oversees a telecommunications organization with nearly 2500 employees. He is a cable industry executive who figured prominently in bringing the 'information superhighway' to Virginia.  "I'm so proud to have been selected. This is a great honor for me and I am humbled by this recognition," says McCollum.

Induction into the Hall of Fame is a significant honor bestowed on notable Virginians. The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame recognizes professionals with exceptional careers in journalism, public relations, advertising and other media fields. This newest class of four inductees brings the total number of inductees to 126.  

Other 2011 inductees into the Hall of Fame include:

• Margaret Edds, once an editorial writer and reporter based in Richmond for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk whose books, most dealing with politics and civil rights in the South, have been nominated for several national book awards.

• John (Jack) H. Lindgren, Jr., CBA professor of marketing and director of the McIntire Business School at the University of Virginia, who has mentored and coached student teams to win national American Advertising Federation competitions even though his university does not offer a curriculum in advertising.

• Bill O'Donovan, publisher of Virginia's oldest newspaper, The Virginia Gazette, which dates to 1736, making it the oldest in the South, and a past president of the Virginia Press Association.

Former inductees include: Newspaper owner Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Jr.; Earl Hamner (creator of The Waltons); Frank Batten (Landmark Communications); Tom Wolfe (Author); Washington Post columnist James. J. Kilpatrick; Roger Mudd; Douglas Southall Freeman; Jeff MacNelly (Editorial cartoonist and creator of "Show" comic strip; and Willard Scott (NBC media personality).

"Induction into the Hall of Fame is a very appropriate way to recognize the contributions of excellence in mass communications that these four 'super-stars' have made," said Judy VanSlyke Turk, Ph.D., professor and associate director for special projects in the School of Mass Communications at VCU.

For more information contact Felicia Blow at (757) 222-8432 or felicia.blow@cox.com.

About Cox Communications:

Cox Communications is a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company with more than 6.2 million total residential and commercial customers.  The third-largest cable television company in the United States, Cox offers an array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet and telephony services over its own nationwide IP network, as well as integrated wireless services.  Cox Business is a full-service, facilities-based provider of communications solutions for commercial customers, providing high-speed Internet, voice and long distance services, as well as data and video transport services for small to large-sized businesses.  Cox Media offers national and local cable advertising in traditional spot and new media formats, along with promotional opportunities and production services.  More information about the services of Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com, www.coxbusiness.com, and www.coxmedia.com.  In Hampton Roads, Cox has more than 400,000 basic cable subscribers.

About VCU:

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 32,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.

SOURCE Cox Communications