Joseph A. Cannon, editor of the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, will give a devotional at Southern Virginia University entitled “How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land,” on Friday, March 27, at 11 a.m. in the Stoddard Activities Center.
He is a former partner of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP, where he represented some of the largest energy companies in the United States. He is also the former chairman of the Republican Party for the State of Utah.
From 1987-2001, Cannon was chairman and CEO of Geneva Steel, where he was responsible for transforming Geneva into the most modern and environmentally sound steel mill in the nation. His efforts to balance environmentalism and industry were recognized when the Environmental Protection Agency honored Geneva Steel with its Outstanding Achievement Award in 1991 for its commitment to the environment. Cannon was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1987 by Utah Business Digest and Businessman of the Year 1988 by the Utah Manufacturers Association.
From 1985-87, he was a partner at the Washington, D.C., office of San Francisco's Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP) in the firm's environmental law practice. He rejoined the firm in 2002.
In 1981, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as associate administrator for policy and resource management at the Environmental Protection Agency, where he served for two years. He later was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as assistant administrator for air and radiation.
Cannon received his B.A. in political science from Brigham Young University, and in 1977 graduated cum laude from BYU's law school, where he was an editor of the law review. He served as a law clerk in Salt Lake City for Judge Aldon J. Anderson before accepting positions with the Washington, D.C., law office of Philadelphia's Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, and later with Andrews and Kurth, also located in Washington, D.C.
Cannon has served on many boards including those of the American Enterprise Institute, and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. He also was the only non-Jewish member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council capital campaign committee, which raised $165 million to build the Holocaust Memorial museum in Washington, D.C.
He and his wife, Janeal Barney Cannon, are the parents of seven children.
Local community members and Southern Virginia faculty, staff and students are invited to join the university community each Friday morning at 11 a.m. in the Stoddard Activities Center to hear from devotional and forum speakers.