McCarren: 'It meant the world to me!’ Club thanks McCarren for years of leadership
People whose lives have been impacted through his press freedom advocacy and leadership over the last 15 years thanked Bill McCarren Friday evening, June 2, at the National Press Club.
Some were brought to tears while watching a video highlighting McCarren’s tenure as he retires this month as the Club's executive director.
"I'm grateful for the privilege of celebrating your incredible career," Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said in the video shown during a reception in the First Amendment Lounge.
McCarren often spoke out about the slain journalist brutally murdered in Istanbul, Turkey, at Saudi Arabia's embassy. He has been on the frontlines advocating for the safety of other journalists in countries where press freedom is curtailed.
"He is somebody who has [been] a consistent ally of journalists, journalism, especially those who are persecuted in their respective countries," Rana Ayyub, a recipient of the Club's John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award in 2022, said in the video.
McCarren has helped lead the Club’s advocacy for Austin Tice, an award-winning freelance journalist who has been wrongfully detained in Syria for more than 10 years. He also was instrumental in the Club’s efforts to free Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian from imprisonment in Iran in 2016.
Rezaian thanked McCarren for helping him make the transition from his captivity to his new life in Washington.
“Bill is without a doubt my best friend,” Rezaian said at the reception. “I spend more time talking to Bill than anybody except my wife.”
Leading During Perilous Times
During his video remarks, former Club President Jeff Ballou said there had been more wins than losses under McCarren's leadership, adding that the Club continues to thrive.
When the Club hired McCarren as general manager in 2007, Jerry Zremski was the Club president. Zremski praised McCarren's business acumen.
"I really think that if Bill had not managed this Club with such wisdom over the course of the last 15 years, it may not have survived the pandemic," Zremski said at the reception.
Past President Alan Bjerga noted that in 2007, the Club had $14,000 in the bank, and in a short amount of time, McCarren grew the Club's reserves to $3.5 million. Today, Club reserves total about $17.2 million.
"Bill did this absolutely tremendous job, not only making us financially viable but making us financially secure," Donna Leinwand Leger, Club president in 2009, said at the reception. "Press freedom is incredibly important and wonderful, but in order to do these things, we need to be financially stable, and that is the gift that Bill gave us."
During the pandemic, times were hard for everyone, including the financially strapped Club.
"Bill McCarren worked night and day and most weekends to develop and implement strategies to protect his employees, find ways to generate funds, and lead again to all causes near and dear to the Press Club's heart," Mike Freedman, who served as Club president in 2020, wrote in a statement read by current Club President Eileen O'Reilly. “[P]eople who work behind the scenes are often overlooked when credit is bestowed upon others, so if it wasn't clear then, let it be known now that Bill McCarren was in large part responsible for saving the National Press Club.”
McCarren was moved by the reception, which was followed by a celebration in the Reliable Source.
"It meant the world to me," he said.
What's Next?
McCarren is leaving. Well, sort of. He's getting an office on the fourth floor and will consult with the Club for the next 90 days to help transition his replacement, Didier Saugy, the former general manager of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong. Saugy's first day at the Club is Tuesday, June 6.
"I'm confident he'll do very well," McCarren said.
Starting in September, McCarren will consult on press freedom issues for the Club, working remotely.
