The 13th annual Molly Ivins First Amendment Banquet is scheduled for Feb. 23. The banquet, held at the Katy and E. Don Walker Education Center, is centered around honoring an outstanding member of the media. Author and journalist Alfredo Corchado will be honored at the banquet for his “courageous reporting in the face of death threats and other intimidation.”
The banquet is held in honor of the trailblazing journalist Molly Ivins. Recipients of the award are chosen based on how they embody the spirit of the first amendment and honor the person who the award is named for.
Corchado, who specializes in covering the drug wars at the Mexican border, is currently the Mexico City bureau chief of The Dallas Morning News.
“Alfredo Corchado is really, in my opinion, without dissing any of the previous winners, the absolute best honoree we’ve had,” First ever recipient of the Molly Ivins First Amendment Award, Rich Heiland said. “Look at the scope of his life and his career. This guy took on the cartels inside Mexico. In addition to that, he’s got some phenomenal reporting on the border in general.”
The event is hosted by the Walker County Democrats, and is one of their fundraisers for the year. Tickets to the event are $50 or $25 for students.
“It certainly would be of interest to anybody, and we certainly have no problem with Republicans coming and supporting the first amendment,” Heiland said. “But, I don’t know whether or not they’d want to drop some money for the Democrats.”
For anyone who does not get tickets to the banquet, Corchado will make another appearance at the Thoreau Woods Unitarian Universalist Church. The talk at the church is free to the public and takes place Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
“This guy’s got some interesting things to say,” Heiland said. “Particularly in Texas, right now, the whole border thing is a pretty hot topic.”
The banquet starts at 6 p.m. and tickets can be purchased online or in person at the Walker County Democrats Headquarters.