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1980 Mark Hellinger Award Winner- Neil Cavuto
Neil Cavuto, a native of Barrington, Rhode Island, was named as the Hellinger Award winner in 1980. Active in government and politics both in college and afterward, Cavuto served as a communications consultant and research intern for the Jimmy Carter administration.
As an undergraduate, Cavuto served as the editor in chief of The Bona Venture, worked for the campus radio station, was involved with student government, and was a member of the Sigma Delta Chi and Delta Epsilon Sigma honor societies. He served as a press secretary for New York State Assembly candidate Jeanne Waldock as well as handled media work for political candidates in the Olean area. Cavuto was named to the 1980 edition of "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities" and graduated in the top 10% of his class; after graduation, he was one of eight people nationally to be selected as a recipient of the Pulliam Newspaper Fellowship Program and was placed with the Indianapolis Star.