Washington, DC, February 04, 2021 — President Joe Biden congratulated Lisa Nicole Matthews on becoming National Press Club president.
“I am confident you will lead with integrity, promote fact over fiction, and work tirelessly as part of the institution’s all-female leadership team, to keep The National Press Club strong and vibrant during these challenging times,” Biden wrote in his January 30 letter. “I am encouraged by your commitment to increasing the diversity and inclusiveness among members and, in turn, to help bring our fellow Americans closer together.”
Matthews, who received the letter just before being sworn into office on January 30, wrote the following response as a letter to Club Members:
“Greetings Fellow Members,
“I was about to give one of the most important speeches of my life last Saturday, as I addressed you at my Inauguration as 114th President of the National Press Club. Moments before, I received a letter from Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States of America. It’s not every day that you receive a letter from the President. It was a letter of congratulations. It was warm in its tone – just the kind of thing you might expect from President Biden. But for me, there was more to this letter than a friendly President to President congratulation.
“To hold a letter from the President offering congratulations to me and urging me on to great things at the institution of the Press Club was full of meaning for me.
“As for President Biden, we have a membership card with his name on it, and I look forward to the day when COVID has been defeated, and he can walk over to receive it so we can add his picture to the wall of presidents. He has our best wishes, as do all presidents. We wish him the best as we hold him to account. In this way, we both go forward, as do our country and our democracy.”
Legendary CBS News anchor Dan Rather swore in Lisa Matthews of the Associated Press as the 114th president of the National Press Club on January 30, 2020.
Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the World’s Leading Professional Organization for Journalists™, with 3,000 members worldwide representing every leading news organization.
— Surender Hastir is a Member of The National Press Club since 2012.
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Surender Hastir 