Susan Bischoff (Inducted 2003)

“I can’t believe this,” she said. “I am stunned that you have called me. But my husband (Jim Barlow) is just going to die.

“He’s a huge Dave Barry fan, and he won’t believe I got elected to anything that Dave Barry was nominated for.”

Bischoff, the associate editor of the Houston Chronicle and a past president of AASFE, indeed will become the 16th member of the hall at festivities Wednesday night at the Poynter Institute.

Other finalists besides Barry, a syndicated columnist/author for the Miami Herald: “Garfield” creator Jim Davis, former New York Times managing editor Arthur Gelb and Scott McGehee, a recently retired 35-year journalist.

Members of the Hall of Fame have been recognized for being visionaries, for taking risks, pushing the envelope, providing leadership, becoming mentors and encouraging others to think originally.

“Susan always has been an astute contributor and strong beacon for AASFE,” said Steve Doyle of the Orlando Sentinel, a past president of AASFE and chair of the Hall of Fame selection. “Her vision, commitment and instincts have inspired all of us who came after her to lead AASFE. She always has great advice about the best path the organization can take.”

That’s because Bischoff is used to being parts of organizations.

Currently she is on the board of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and AASFE - she was president in 1994and she has served numerous other journalism groups.

But in and around Houston, Bischoff has been part of more than a dozen civic organizations. She is serving or has served as a board member for groups such as the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, Child Advocates, Aids Foundation Houston, Executive Women’s Partnership, Friends of Girl Scouts, the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast and the March of Dimes.

Those activities have led her to be honored more than a dozen times for her contributions. She was named the Woman of Vision Award by the Aids Foundation in 2001, the same year the Texas Daily Newspaper Association honored her for community service. And in 2000 she was named Houston’s Child Advocate of the Year.

“In 1986 when I became an AME, I wanted to get out and find out what was going on, but not necessarily from PR people,” Bischoff said. “I wanted to hear what the issues were from the people in the community and give them voice.

“Most of volunteering I’ve done has involved women and children. They don’t have a voice. To be able to help to give them a voice has been very rewarding.”

A native of Arlington, Ind. - where she was the editor of the school newspaper - Bischoff graduated from the I University of Indiana in 1983, with dual degrees in journalism and political science, and served one semester as editor of the I Indiana Daily Student.

After various internships and a year with Congressional Quarterly, she joined the Chronicle as an education reporter and a year later moved to Business, where she worked her way up to business editor before being promoted in 1986 into I the assistant managing editor role for features. After 14 years I she was promoted to deputy managing editor and then recently to associate editor, in which she manages financial I resources, oversees recruiting and training, facilitates interdepartmental projects and - of course - works in I community relations.

“I was hired by the Washington bureau chief of the Chronicle and was only coming to Houston for two years, then I was going back to Washington,” she said. “But I met and I married a Texan and never left.”

That Texan would be Barlow, who at the time worked for I The Associated Press but who retired last year as a columnist at the Chronicle and is currently writing books.

They have a daughter, Samantha Martinez, who is an attorney in Houston, and two grandchildren: Paolo, 3, and Sofia, almost 1.

“I play with them every weekend,” Susan said.