Irvine B. Hill, well-known in the Hampton Roads area for promoting positive community issues and events through a weekly Cox Cable show entitled "Tidewater Speaks Out," (which used to air locally) was awarded the Director's Community Leadership Award at the Norfolk FBI Office on November 19, 1997.

At the time, Mr. Hill was the Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Programing for Cox Cable. His broadcasting roots go back to the early 1960's when he studied broadcasting management at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business. He later became president and general manager of WCMS-AM & FM radio stations in Norfolk, Virginia, taught at area universities, served as an advertising and marketing consultant to several media outlets, and was president of the Tidewater Virginia Association of Broadcasters. Mr. Hill was elected and served as Mayor of Norfolk from September, 1974 to July, 1976.

Ever civic-minded, the Norfolk native and colonel in the Virginia State Guard served as president or on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Southside Boys Club of Norfolk, Crime Line, the Urban League, the Kiwanis Club, the United Nations Association of the United States of America, "The Sanctuary" home for unwed mothers, and the Navy League of Hampton Roads, among many others.

Mr. Hill has always taken his responsibility as a journalist, businessman, politician and educator to heart, and has been recognized on the local, state and national level for using his many talents to enrich the Hampton Roads community.