NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a rare public appearance, legendary martial arts champion and media superstar Chuck Norris will face off on stage with WND founder Joseph Farah in the climactic event of the 15th annual National Religious Broadcasters convention Thursday, Feb. 26, in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Norris will be grilled by Farah about his career, faith and politics at the grand finale of the four-day international Christian media convention. Norris will also receive the prestigious NRB Chairman’s Award.

Norris first made his mark as a renowned teacher of martial arts and was a six-time undefeated World Professional Middle Weight Karate Champion. He is the first man from the Western Hemisphere in the 4,500+ year tradition of Tae Kwon Do to be awarded an eighth degree Black Belt Grand Master ranking. He has also starred in 24 motion pictures. Furthermore, his television series, “Walker, Texas Ranger,” ran for 8 1/2 years and was the most successful Saturday night series on CBS since “Gunsmoke.”

Despite the unique and impressive resume and his stature as one of the biggest global celebrities, it’s not unusual for Norris to identify himself as an exclusive weekly columnist for WND, his commentary writing home for the last eight years.

“Chuck Norris is a legend in his own time,” noted Jerry Johnson, president and chief executive officer of NRB. “We are proud to honor him and his legacy at NRB15.”

Adding to that, NRB Chairman of the Board Bill Blount said: “On behalf of the NRB, it’s thrilling to present Chuck Norris with the Chairman’s Award. Chuck Norris has had an extraordinary career in martial arts and entertainment. However, through all his productions, he’s maintained a high level of integrity, ethics, and family friendly programming. Because of his superior standards, in a world that does not usually reward those ideals, we want to honor and recognize his achievements.”

“This appearance at NRB is going to be good fun,” says Farah. “Besides his incredible careers in martial arts and in film and TV, Chuck Norris maybe best known, especially to the younger generation, for his larger-than-life ‘Chuck Norris Facts’ – the countless viral jokes that portray him as an invincible superhero. He’s truly America’s real action hero – yet a down-to-earth humble human being who can laugh about his legend status.”

Before founding the first independent Internet news company in 1997, Farah served as the top editor at major market daily newspapers in Los Angeles and Sacramento, collaborated with Rush Limbaugh on his No. 1 best-selling book, “See, I Told You So,” taught journalism at UCLA and served as a foreign correspondent and investigative reporter for newspapers on both coasts. After founding WorldNetDaily, now known as WND.com, Farah founded WND Books, a publishing company with the highest percentage of New York Times bestsellers per release over the 13 years. He also founded WND Films, producer of “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment,” the bestselling faith movie of 2012 and 2013. He has authored more than a dozen books, writes a daily column for WND and a nationally syndicated weekly syndicated column for Creators News Service. The former nationally syndicated daily talk-show host has written for such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Jerusalem Post, National Review, TV Guide, Reason, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and a host of other national, international and regional publications. Farah’s many journalism awards include honors for reporting to writing headlines to honesty and courage in journalism to editing and newspaper design. Farah speaks all over the world on topics ranging from the Middle East to the media to domestic policy issues.

While in Nashville for the NRB gathering, WND is also hosting an exclusive private reception for Norris in honor of his 75th birthday the following month. It’s a chance for 100 fans of Norris to meet and greet their hero, share birthday cake and get their picture taken with the star and have it autographed on the spot. Other celebrities are expected to be on hand for the occasion to honor Norris for his lifetime of achievement.

In addition to Norris’ appearance at NRB, the presidential candidate he tirelessly volunteered for in 2008, Gov. Mike Huckabee, will also be on hand to address the group.

Before becoming the host of the No. 1-rated weekend show “Huckabee” on the Fox News Channel, Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 until 2007, making him one of the longest serving governors in his state’s history. Today, in addition to his weekend show, Huckabee is heard three times daily across the nation on “The Huckabee Report,” syndicated on nearly 600 stations. He is also a New York Times bestselling author of 11 books, and his 12th is set for release in January 2015.

“Governor Huckabee is a watchman on the wall,” remarked NRB’s Johnson. “He consistently raises the alarm when our First Amendment freedoms are attacked, and we are grateful for his strong voice for freedom. We are honored that he will be with us again for NRB15.”

Huckabee is widely regarded as a formidable potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

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