THE OAK RIDGER, OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 1973 Page 13

Ex-Ridger Named To Resort Post

James C. Ryan has been named director of community affairs at Sapphire Valley, a North Carolina mountain resort development. He was sports editor for The Oak Ridger in the late 50's.

Ryan, 43, was born in Sylva, N.C., county seat of Jackson County, in which Sapphire Valley is located. He attended public schools in Sylva and worked toward a degree in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His 20 years as a newsman also took him to Chattanooga, and to St. Petersburg, Fla., where he gained national recognition as a pioneer in the specialized field of reporting on environmental affairs.

Ryan is a recipient of the Edward Meeman Award for distinguished environmental reporting, the result of a probing series into a spill of chemical pollutants that severely damaged Florida's Peace River.

He won the American Political Science Association's Journalism Award for a series that revealed the dangers to the Everglades National Park from a jetport being constructed north of the park.
Florida Gov. Claude R. Kirk, Jr. recognized Ryan's work with a special "Governor's Conservation Award" in 1970. Earlier this year, the native Tar Heel received a similar award from Florida Lt. Gov. Tom Adams.

In his new role, Ryan will provide liaison between resort management and the media, the Sapphire Valley property owners, state, county and local officials in the Sapphire Valley area.