Grady College Alumni Awards

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.”

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Mid-Career Alumni Award

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.

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John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award

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.

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Distinguished Scholar Award

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.

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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)

2015 – Joel Babbit (ABJ ’76)
2016 – Ernie Johnson Jr. (ABJ ’78)
2017 – Bonnie Arnold (ABJ’ 77)
2018 – Sally Yates (ABJ’82, JD’86) 
2019 – Chris Holcomb (ABJ ’85) 
2020 – Monica Pearson (MA ’14)
2022 – Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (MA ’96, PhD ’99)
2023 – Doreen Gentzler (ABJ ‘79)

Mid-Career Alumni Award Recipients

1995 – Deborah L. Blum (ABJ ’76)
1996 – Michelle Green (ABJ ’75)
1997 – Bonnie Arnold (ABJ ’77)
1998 – Bill Mattox (ABJ ’84)
1999 – Dan Gearino (ABJ ’75)
2000 – Walt Lloyd (ABJ ’73)
2001 – Dawn McCall (ABJ ’77)
2002 – Betty Hudson (ABJ ’71)
2003 – Brenda Hampton (ABJ ’73)
2004 – Lee Duffey (ABJ ’80)
2005 – Randy Travis (ABJ ’82) 
2006 – Bill Dean (ABJ ’83)
2007 – Jennifer Sloan (ABJ ’86)
2008 – Gene Colter (ABJ ’89)
2009 – Josh Jackson (ABJ ’94)
2010 – Justin Gillis (ABJ ’82)
2011 – Col. Bryan Salas (ABJ ’87) 
2012 – Lisa Ryan Howard (ABJ ’92)
2013 – William Ostick (ABJ ’88)
2014 – Amy Glennon (ABJ ’90)
2015 – Michael Giarrusso (ABJ ’92)
2016 – Michael Abramowitz (ABJ ’90)
2017 – Jason Kreher (ABJ ’00)
2018 – Ashley Huston (ABJ’96). 
2019 – Henry “Hadjii” Hand (ABJ ’98)
2020 – Purvey Farahi (ABJ ’95)
2022 – Julie Wolfe (ABJ ’03)
2023 – Yolanda Taylor Brignoni (ABJ ’98)

John E. Drewry Award Recipients

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)

1991 – Joel Babbit (ABJ ’76)
1992 – Condace Pressley (ABJ ’86)
1993 – Deborah Roberts (ABJ ’82)
1994 – Hanna Ledford (ABJ ’68)
1995 – Julie Bryan Moran (ABJ ’84)
1996 – Timothy W. Mapes (ABJ ’86)
1997 – Lauran Neergaard (ABJ ’89)
1998 – Chip Caray (ABJ ’87)
1999 – Chris Decherd (ABJ ’90)
2000 – Michael Giarrusso (ABJ ’92)
2001 – Todd Fantz (ABJ ’92)
2002 – Amanda Rosseter (ABJ ’90)
2003 – Christopher Grimes (ABJ ’92)
2004 – Erin McClam (ABJ ’99)
2005 – Tom Lasseter (ABJ ’99)
2006 – Kyle Wingfield (ABJ ’01)
2007 – Jon Gallo (ABJ ’99)
2008 – Jessica Foster Bonner (ABJ ’04)
2009 – Jennifer Rainey Marquez (ABJ ’00)
2010 – Lynssey Gardner (ABJ ’06)
2011 – Kelly Hornbuckle (ABJ ’06)
2012 – Alex Wallace (ABJ ’04)
2013 – Ben Mayer (ABJ ’06)
2014 – Greg Bluestein (ABJ ’04)
2015 – Dawn Brun (ABJ ’04)
2016 – Maria Taylor (ABJ ’09)
2017 – Brooke Beach (ABJ ’11)
2018 – Polina Marinova (ABJ’13)
2019 – Angela Alfano (ABJ ’10)
2020 – Lindsey Cook (ABJ ’14)
2022 – Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13)
2023 – Maura Friedman (ABJ ‘13)

Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award Recipients