Two alumni of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at Northwestern State University round out a group of graduates recognized by the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts as Distinguished Communications Professionals during a luncheon and program Friday, April 4.

News anchor and reporter Lane Luckie and media strategist Valsin Marmillion are also initiates of the Beta Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. They will be honored alongside late famed sportswriter Jerry Byrd.

The lunch will be in the NSU Student Union Ballroom and is open to the public. Doors open at 11 a.m. The program will begin at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $25 and are available at https://nmjca-award-ceremony.eventbrite.com. 

Created in 2021, the Distinguished Communications Professional award is presented biennially and recognizes individuals with successful careers in and/or significant contributions to the fields of journalism, photojournalism, communications, news editorial, public relations, political strategy, media production, web content production and new media as it emerges, as well as individuals who have made significant contributions to the Department.

Marmillion is a native of Houma and 1972 graduate of Northwestern. He is former managing director of America’s WETLAND Foundation, former president and CEO of Marmillion and Company and adjunct instructor at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications where he teaches a master’s course on global activism and social change communication. Recognized as a top campaign strategist for political and cause-related campaigns, his client base has included the National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of Counties, U.S. Conference of Mayors, J. Paul Getty Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, American Psychological Association, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, American Anthropological Association and UCLA, among others. To his credit are a variety of award-wining national campaigns for prestigious environmental, health, governmental, educational, societal and arts clients.

With early public service as chief of staff for Congressman John B. Breaux, Marmillion went on with service on boards including the Climate Change Advisory Committee of Monroe County, Florida; the ACLU of Southern California, TreePeople of Los Angeles, the working group on Soil Carbon Storage Standards at Rice University.  He is a founding member of the Louisiana Youth Seminar. In 2022, he was among the individuals honored at the Louisiana Legends Awards Gala that recognizes the best and brightest of Louisiana’s sons and daughters who distinguished themselves and brought honor to the state. He is a 2004 inductee into the Long Purple Line, NSU’s Alumni Hall of Distinction.

Luckie anchors “Good Morning East Texas” each weekday on ABC affiliate KLTV in Tyler, Texas. He previously served as evening anchor and executive producer at KTRE-TV in Lufkin, Texas, and as a reporter at KTAL-TV in Shreveport. A native of Lake Charles and a 2008 graduate of Northwestern State, he is a two-time recipient of a Regional Emmy from the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. His work has also been recognized by the Associated Press and Texas Association of Broadcasters. In 2024, Luckie was awarded a German media prize for his international reporting.

Luckie serves on the board of directors of the NSU Alumni Association and was elected to terms as president and treasurer. He was also honored as NSU’s ‘Distinguished Young Alumnus of the Year’ in 2017. Luckie volunteers with several nonprofit boards, including the ‘Remembering Columbia’ NASA Museum in Hemphill, Texas.

Having presented educational programming at dozens of college campuses across the country, Lane has been named Pi Kappa Phi’s national ‘Volunteer of the Year,’ ‘Facilitator of the Year,’ and was named to the fraternity’s ‘Thirty Under 30’ list. He has also served on the faculty for numerous leadership conferences and mentored student leaders as Chapter Advisor for Pi Kappa Phi at the University of Texas at Tyler and at Stephen F. Austin State University. He currently serves on the board of directors of NSU’s Beta Omicron Alumni Chapter and Housing Corporation.

Fellow Pi Kappa Phi alumnus Doug Ireland was also named a Distinguished Communications Professional by NSU in 2023.

News release source: Leah Jackson/ NSU Director of Public Information and Media Relations