Longtime Austin broadcast journalist, public relations specialist and communications consultant, Neal Spelce has a few stories to tell.
In a career that has spanned more than 60 years, Spelce has covered or been personally involved in some of Austin's most significant news stories of the modern era. In August 1966, he reported live from the UT campus as bullets rained down from the UT Tower. He has interviewed or interacted with U.S. presidents Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and to a lesser extent with Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Spelce has also served as a consultant to Texas governors Ann Richards and John Connally. His public relations/communications firm was part of the game-changing MCC effort in 1983 that is credited with triggering Austin's high-tech boom.
Capping that career, Spelce has written an entertaining memoir, "With the Bark Off, A Journalist's Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media." On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Spelce will talk about his book and sign copies at an event co-hosted by the AHCA and the Austin Club. The event is free, though reservations are required.
To learn more, email info@austinhistory.net or call 512-270-0132.
