Founding president marks 100 years.

The year was 1947, the American Press Institute was brand-new, and Leslie Moore, 54, was chief editorial writer for the Worcester Telegram and Evening Gazette.

Moore attended a January conference with 26 others, who became the founders of NCEW.

On October 5, Moore turned 100. And the organization he headed for two years -- 1947 and 1948 -- turned 55. He reads the newspapers daily, say friends and family. And he remains proud of NCEW

And NCEW members are grateful for Moore, who was chosen to lead the group forward. Moore began by writing a letter of invitation to a convention in Washington that fall. He went to his publisher in Worchester to ask for a $450 loan to cover printing and mailing costs. Then-publisher George E Booth said the idea wouldn't fly but authorized the loan anyway.

In October, 101 folks gathered for the first NCEW convention, where they met with President Harry Truman and columnist H.L. Mencken. They launched critique sessions, drew up a statement of purpose, and elected Moore to serve another year, making him the only president to serve two years.

Moore's career began in 1929 as a reporter for the New Haven Register in Connecticut. He moved on to the Hartford Times, then the International News Service, and then in 1936, became an editorial writer for the Worcester Telegram and Evening Gazette. He retired from the Worcester paper in 1967. Later, in his 80s, he wrote freelance editorials for the Cape Cod Times.