CANTON -- Melissa Block, NPR special correspondent and longtime host of “All Things Considered,” will lead conversations in the North Country on June 5th and 6th about her career in public radio while also commemorating the retirement of three of NCPR’s most beloved and respected leaders.

Block will talk with NCPR General Manager Ellen Rocco about the past and future of public radio Wednesday, June 5, at 6:45 p.m. at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. They will be interviewed by NCPR's Brian Mann, who also reports extensively for NPR.

On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Canton, Block will interview the retiring "Founding Mothers" of NCPR – Rocco, former Director of Broadcast and Digital Content Jackie Sauter, and News Director Martha Foley. The event will be held on stage at the Peterson-Kermani performance hall on the campus of St. Lawrence University.

As co-host of “All Things Considered” from 2003 to 2015, Block's reporting took her everywhere from the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the heart of Rio de Janeiro; from rural Mozambique to the farthest reaches of Alaska.

Her riveting reporting from Sichuan, China, during and after the massive earthquake in 2008 brought the tragedy home to millions of listeners around the world. Her long-form story about a desperate couple searching in the rubble for their toddler son was singled out by judges who awarded NPR's earthquake coverage the top honors in broadcast journalism: the George Foster Peabody Award, duPont-Columbia Award, Edward R. Murrow Award, National Headliner Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award.

Sauter retired at the end of 2018; Rocco and Foley will retire this summer. All three helped build public radio in the North Country over careers spanning more than three decades.

“Jackie, Martha and I share a deep respect for the people NCPR serves, people across the region who have been so essential to the station’s success,” said Station Manager Ellen Rocco. “It has been a privilege, an honor and a joy for all of us to devote ourselves to bringing so many voices and ideas to local and national audiences. Now, we’re counting on everyone to help the next generation continue do great work for our communities.”

The "Founding Mothers" are encouraging NCPR supporters to contribute to a Future Fund to ensure the next generation of public radio leaders can continue the highest quality of journalism and community service for the region. Donors can go to ncpr.org/future to contribute.

Both events are free and open to the public.