Texas Tech Alumni to be Honored at Mass Comm Hall of Fame Luncheon

Written by: Morgan Grubbs Texas Tech University’s College of Mass Communications will honor two accomplished alumni, one posthumously, at its annual Hall of Fame Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 15 in the Merket Alumni Center. Brad Moran and the late Otice Green will be honored at the event. Jerry C. Hudson, dean of the College of Mass Communications, said the event is very important to the college. “The Mass Communications Hall of Fame is the highest honor the college has to offer for recognizing the contributions alumni and friends make to the college,” Hudson said. “These recipients not only have been successful in their careers, they have made major contributions to the success of our students and faculty.” Green graduated from Texas Tech in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He was a long-time public relations and political consultant and a World War II Navy veteran. He died Feb. 7. In addition, he is the founder of the Otice A. Green Presidential Scholarship at Texas Tech. In 1949, Green began his career as a reporter, photographer and desk editor at the Plainview Daily Herald. He then became the assistant manager of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce in 1950 and won multiple national awards for his work on the chamber’s Hub Magazine. Green also created the Prairie Dog Pete campaign that attracted national and international publicity for Lubbock. Green and his wife, Mary Faye Bonds Green, who will be accepting the honor, opened Otice Green and Associates in 1956, the first public relations firm in Lubbock. His clients included the High Plains Underground Water District, the Lubbock New Car and Truck Dealers Association, and several area chambers of commerce. He was known as one of the state’s top political consultants and was involved in more than 100 campaigns, including those of former Texas Comptroller and Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, former Texas Gov. Preston Smith and former U. S. Reps. George Mahon and Kent Hance, now chancellor at Texas Tech. Green was the campaign manager or consultant in all of Smith’s campaigns, and from 1970 until the fall of 1972 served as chief of staff for Smith. Moran, a native of Lubbock, received his bachelor’s degree in business from Texas Tech in 1982. He then began working for his father, Ray Moran, as a national sales manager at KJTV-34. The two decided to become a Fox affiliate in 1985, and in 1988, launched the Spanish-language station, Telemundo 46. This made them pioneers in the broadcast industry with multiple stations operating under the same roof. Continuing to add stations to his company, Ramar Communications, Moran eventually launched Telemundo in Albuquerque, N.M. In 2009, the Ramar radio group launched TT 104.3, the flagship station for Texas Tech athletics. Ramar Communications now houses eight television stations and four radio stations. Moran received the 1999 Lubbock Advertising Federation Silver Medal, the 2003 Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award, the 2006 Lubbock Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year and the 2007 Leadership Lubbock Outstanding Alumnus award. He also has been elected by his peers to serve for five terms of the Fox Board of Governors. In 2005, he was the United Way JumpStart Campaign chairman and has served or chaired many fundraising events in Lubbock. In addition, he has been a member of the Texas Tech Chancellor’s Council, the Matador Society, the Spur Society and the Chief Executives Roundtable for the Rawls College of Business. Moran is the president of the Lubbock Advertising Federation, president of the Greater Lubbock Rotary Club, co-chairman of the Lubbock Arts Festival, board member of the South Plains Food Bank, board member of the Preston Smith Airport Board and a loaned executive to the United Way of Lubbock. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and All Saints Episcopal School. For reservations, call (806) 742-3385 ext. 221. CONTACT: Morgan Grubbs, public relations intern, College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-3385, or morgan.grubbs@ttu.edu.