Each year, Grady College graduates are selected as Alumni Award recipients for demonstrated excellence throughout their distinguished careers.
The four Alumni Awards are the following:
Named after the late John Holliman, Grady alumnus and former CNN reporter, the John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award honors sustained contributions to the profession throughout a career.
The 2023 Alumni Award winners. From left to right: Doreen Gentzler, George Daniels, Yolanda Brignoni and Maura Friedman. (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
The Mid-Career Alumni Award is presented to a graduate for their professional achievements, influence, and success in his or her field.
The John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award recognizes a graduate of the last decade who has experienced a successful early career.
The Distinguished Scholar Award honors a graduate for excellence and sustained contributions to scholarship in journalism and mass communication education.
Grady College announces 2023 Alumni Award recipients
Grady College is proud to announce honorees for its annual Alumni Awards, recognizing alumni who have established a tradition of service and achievement in their careers. Alumni Award recipients will […] learn more
Grady College announces 2022 Alumni Award recipients
Grady College is proud to announce honorees for its annual alumni awards, recognizing alumni who have established a tradition of service and achievement in their careers. Alumni Award recipients will […] learn more
Three Grady College alumnae to receive 2020 Alumni Awards
The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will honor three outstanding alumnae with its 2020 awards. Lindsey Cook (ABJ ’14), recipient of the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award, […] learn more
Grady College announces 2019 Alumni Award Winners
Grady College is honored to congratulate the following alumni on winning the 2019 Alumni Awards, which will be presented at Grady Salutes: A Celebration of Achievement, Commitment and Leadership on […] learn more
UGA Grady College announces recipients of 2018 Alumni Awards; Sanford Circle honoree
The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to honor four outstanding graduates with its 2018 Alumni Awards, and a beloved Grady College professor who […] learn more
UGA Grady College announces recipients of 2017 Alumni Awards
The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to honor four outstanding graduates with its 2017 Alumni Awards. Bonnie Arnold (ABJ’ 77) receives the John […] learn more
Grady College names winners of 2016 Alumni Awards
For demonstrated excellence throughout their distinguished careers, four graduates of the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication have been named 2016 Alumni Award winners. Ernie Johnson […] learn more
Grady College announces recipients of 2015 Alumni Awards
The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to honor four outstanding graduates with 2015 Alumni Awards. “Recipients of Grady's annual Alumni Awards serve as […] learn more
Grady College honors recipients of 2014 Alumni Awards
, For demonstrated excellence throughout their distinguished careers, four graduates of the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication have been named 2014 Alumni Award winners. Alan […] learn more
John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award
Doreen Gentzler (ABJ ‘79), who retired in November 2022 after a career spanning four decades, received the John Holliman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for sustained contributions to the profession throughout a career. Gentzler anchored the news on WRC/NBC4 in Washington, D.C. for 33 years. She spent several years honing her journalism skills in Chattanooga, Charlotte and Cleveland, then Philadelphia, before joining NBC4 in 1989. Doreen also filled in on “The Today Show” and “NBC at Sunrise.”
Yolanda Taylor Brignoni (ABJ ‘98), the vice president of external affairs and communications at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), received the Mid-Career Award. Brignoni has more than two decades of experience directing strategic communications campaigns for government, corporate and nonprofit clients. Through these campaigns, she works to motivate action and fuel social change; she is passionate about helping others and making a difference in the world around her.
Maura Friedman (ABJ ‘13), a senior photo editor at National Geographic, received the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award. Friedman previously worked as the lead photo editor and projects photographer at the Urban Institute, a multimedia reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press and an independent visual journalist producing photo and video stories across the Southeast United States.
George Daniels (MA ‘99, PhD ‘02), an associate professor and Reese Phifer Fellow of journalism and creative media at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, received the Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award. Daniels previously served as assistant dean for administration in UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences.
John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
1975 – Tom Johnson (ABJ ’63)
1976 – Jasper Dorsey (ABJ ’36)
1977 – Don Carter (ABJ ’38)
1978 – Eugene Patterson (ABJ ’43)
1979 – Bill Ray (ABJ ’35)
1980 – Aubrey Morris (ABJ ’45)
1981 – Frank Hawkins (ABJ ’33)
1982 – William Ott (ABJ ’49)
1983 – William S. Morris, III (ABJ ’56)
1984 – James G. Minter, Jr. (ABJ ’51)
1985 – Powell A. Moore (ABJ ’59)
1986 – Eugene H. Methvin (ABJ ’55)
1987 – Robert Sherrod (ABJ ’29)
1988 – C. Richard Yarbrough (ABJ ’59)
1989 – Randall E. Savage (ABJ ’72)
1990 – Thomas C. Dowden (ABJ ’62)
1991 – Willie K. Thrower Friar (ABJ ’47)
1992 – Billy Watson (ABJ ’60)
1993 – Connie Stewart (ABJ ’59, MA ’68)
1994 – J. Carrol Dadisman(ABJ ’56)
1995 – Harley Bowers (ABJ ’42)
1996 – James P. Wooten (ABJ ’68)
1997 – Jack Avrett (ABJ ’50)
1998 – Earl Leonard (ABJ ’58)
1999 – John Holliman, Jr. (ABJ ’70)
2000 – Willis Johnson (ABJ ’43)
2001 – Edwin Pope (ABJ ’48)
2002 – Neil Aronstam (ABJ ’65)
2003 – Dennis Berry (ABJ ’66)
2004 – Harry Chapman (ABJ ’67)
2005 – Dan Magill (ABJ ’42)
2006 – Donald Perry (ABJ ’74)
2007 – Millard Grimes (ABJ ’51)
2008 – Carolyn Tieger (ABJ ’69)
2009 – Judge R. Alex Crumbley (ABJ ’64)
2010 – W.H. “Dink” NeSmith, Jr. (ABJ ’70)
2011 – Roger Strauss (ABJ ’80)
2012 – Edward Ingles (ABJ ’58)
2013 – Claude Felton (ABJ ’70, ABJ ’71)
2014 – Alan Griggs (ABJ ’72)
1977 – Rex Granum (ABJ ’72)
1978 – Roger Ann Jones
1979 – Rodney Allen Smith (ABJ ’71)
1980 – Frank Compton (ABJ ’68)
1981 – W.H. (Dink) Nesmith, Jr. (ABJ ’70)
1982 – Betty Johnson Hudson (ABJ ’71)
1983 – Dennis McClain (ABJ ’70)
1984 – Mary Jo West (ABJ ’73)
1985 – Ernie Johnson, Jr. (ABJ ’78)
1986 – Deborah A. Norville (ABJ ’79)
1987 – Lewis Grizzard (ABJ ’84)
1988 – William R. Jones (ABJ ’77)
1989 – Mary Anne Hill (ABJ ’80)
1990 – Carolyn Carlson (ABJ ’73)