EAU CLAIRE - Tom Joles, a 1981 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, will be honored today by the university's department of communication and journalism.

Joles, who is a co-anchor of the nightly news at KOB-TV in New Mexico, will receive the department's Distinguished Alumni Award. The award will be presented during the annual Department of Communication and Journalism Convocation beginning at 7:15 p.m. in the Dulany Inn of Davies Center at UW-Eau Claire.

Joles, a native of Eau Claire, has been with KOB-TV since 1988. He's won more awards than any other anchor or reporter in New Mexico. His achievements include receiving first place in the General News category from the Associated Press three years in a row, and being selected into the People's Choice Hall of Fame.

As a journalism student at UW-Eau Claire, Joles interned at WFRV-TV in Green Bay. After graduating, he returned to the station. In 1984, Joles and his wife, Pat, spent time touring Europe and eventually settled in Tel Aviv, Israel, to work on a journalism project for three months. After returning to the United States, Joles took a job with WLUK-TV in Green Bay. A year later, he moved to New Mexico.

Joles and his wife have two daughters, Ellie and Betsy, and one son, Max.

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JB

Updated: April 17, 1997