Grady Salutes 2022 honorees celebrated at in-person event

There was laughter and tears, but mostly a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to come together for an in-person Grady Salutes celebration April 29, 2022.

The event attracted nearly 125 Grady College alumni and friends to the Athens Cotton Press for the annual recognition of Alumni Award recipients and Fellowship inductees.

Alumni Award recipients included:

Video screen picture of Julie Wolfe
Julie Wolfe accepted her Mid-Career Alumni Award via a pre-recorded taped message. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
  • Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13), a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, who received the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award.
  • Julie Wolfe (ABJ ’03), a news director for King 5 Media Group in Seattle, who received the Mid-Career Award.
  • Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (MA ’96, PhD ’99), professor of public relations at Grady College, was named the John Holliman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
  • Pat Curtin (MA ’91, PhD ’96), professor and endowed chair of public relations at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, received the Distinguished Alumni Scholar award.

Wolfe was not able to attend the ceremony, but sent a video greeting noting her appreciation for the award and reflecting on lessons that David Hazinski, emeritus professor, taught her.

“Journalism is a relentless pursuit of facts, a commitment to always do the next right thing and an unwavering belief in the ethical principles of journalism,” Wolfe said in her video acceptance.

Fellowship inductees included:

  • Susan Goodenow (ABJ ’90), executive vice president, marketing & communications for the Chicago Bulls
  • Reggie Hicks (ABJ ’80), president and executive producer of Straight Street Media, Inc.
  • Bob Houghton, president, Georgia Association of Broadcasters
  • Alan Massengale (MA ’80), retired sports broadcaster

As the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Acosta-Alzuru was also inducted into the Grady Fellowship.

During the Fellowship acceptances, Goodenow reflected on how sports is more than a final score and talked about an experience a few weeks where the Chicago Bulls was able to offer Justin Hardy, a 22-year-old basketball player with cancer, an opportunity to attend a playoff game. Hardy claimed the day was one of the best of his life, and Goodenow reflected on how moments like that reminds her and all involved with sports what a privileged spot they hold.

“I want to thank Georgia and I want to thank Grady for putting me on a path that allowed me to have amazing experiences and meet incredible people, like Justin and his family,” Goodenow said.

Stevie Joe Massengale
Stevie Joe Massengale accepts the Fellowship honor on behalf of her father, Alan Massengale, as Alan’s wife, Elizabeth, looks on. Alan died March 12, 2022. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)

Perhaps the most moving acceptance of the night was by Stevie Joe Massengale, Alan’s teenage daughter who was accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth. Alan died of cancer on March 12, after learning he would be inducted into the Fellowship, and his daughter commented about how excited he was about the honor.

“He inspired many and of course, he inspired me,” she said.  “Your legacy lives on because you are larger than life.”

The Rollin “Pete” McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism was presented to Larry Hobbs, a reporter for The Brunswick News. The award, recognizing work in 2020, was presented to Hobbs for his dedicated reporting about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, starting the day after his murder, and continuing throughout the trial.

“Truth more often thrives in communities where newspapers abide,” Hobbs said as he accepted the award. “Those in positions of public trust are held accountable when newspapers simply do their jobs. When an ugly truth hid behind the senseless killing of Ahmaud Arbery, The Brunswick News did its job. We covered this sad story relentlessly from the day it occurred right up until justice was served in both state and federal courts. We owed that to our community, and to Ahmaud and to his family.”

Nominations for next year’s class of Alumni Awards recipients are now accepted and can be submitted on the Alumni Awards nomination form.

  • Larry Hobbs of The Brunswick News accepted the McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism. (Photo: Sydney Fordice)

See our Grady Salutes 2022 Flickr album for more pictures.

2022 Fellowship Profile: Alan Massengale

Alan Massengale’s Twitter profile provides a glimpse into his character: “In the sports broadcasting world my moniker is — ‘The Legend’ — which means I am old, but well loved. Proud UGA Bulldog.”

He was a legend, well loved, and a proud Bulldog, graduating from Grady College in 1980 with a degree in journalism. He was not, however, old when he died of cancer on March 12, 2022 at the age of 63.

As we celebrate the induction of Massengale (ABJ ’80) into the Grady College Fellowship, we honor an impressive career spanning some of the most watched sports including basketball, boxing, the Masters and the Indianapolis 500, among other sports competitions.

Massengale was a well-known sports reporter in Los Angeles from 1990 to 2007. His award-winning pregame, halftime, and postgame shows covered the Lakers, Angels, Dodgers and Clippers, and established national standards for local sports coverage.

Pat Harvey, an anchor at KCAL/KCBS and former colleague of Massegale, remembered him at the time of his death for his funny colloquialisms and his piano playing. Most of all, he was an “ultimate storyteller.”Massengale was one of the most watched international boxing announcers on television and was voice of the World Series of Boxing from 2010 to 2013. He called the world championships twice in Guiyang, China, and travelled extensively around the globe for Top Rank Boxing.

In 1985, he was an anchor for a new fledging network called ESPN. He was the first Sportscenter anchor to report live from the Masters, Indianapolis 500 and Boston Marathon.

In 1990, Massengale was lured to the nation’s first regional sports network, Prime Ticket. Among his duties, he hosted Press Box, a nightly 30-minute sports report and the first regional sports report of its kind.

In October 1996, Massengale joined Fox Sports Network as anchor for their new network.

Massengale received the Golden Mike Award twice for best sportscast, as voted by a panel of broadcasters in the Los Angeles market. He was also honored four times by the Southern California Sportscasters Association.

He self-reported that “he has a bunch of Emmys but he does not remember how many.“

While a student at Grady College, Massengale interned and was a fill-in reporter for The Atlanta Journal Constitution sports department. He was also on the Dean’s list all four years of his UGA career.

Massengale was aware of his Fellowship honor, which according to his wife, Elizabeth, meant a great deal to him. Family and friends will be on hand at the Grady Salutes event to celebrate this honor when he is inducted into the Fellowship April 29.


This is one in a series of profiles about our 2022 Alumni Award honorees and Fellowship inductees.
All our honorees and inductees will be honored at Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 29, 2022 at Athens Cotton Press.

 

Grady College announces 2022 class of Fellows

Grady College proudly announces the newest class of Grady Fellows, a recognition honoring friends of the college whose accomplishments, friendship and service to the industries they serve have made a positive impact on the college and its students.

The 2022 Fellowship class includes:

  • Susan Goodenow (ABJ ’90), executive vice president, marketing & communications for the Chicago Bulls
  • Reggie Hicks (ABJ ’80), president and executive producer of Straight Street Media, Inc.
  • Bob Houghton, president, Georgia Association of Broadcasters
  • Alan Massengale (MA ’80), retired sports broadcaster

“This year’s class of Grady Fellows represents the full breadth and depth of the college,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College. “From senior leaders in business to broadcast icons and radio legends, it’s a true testament to the quality of the nominations for this, our highest recognition.”

The 2022 recipient of the John Holliman Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award, which will be named later this month, will be inducted into the Fellowship as well.

In a nod to the 2021 National Football Champions, Uga X (Que) is an honorary member of the 2022 class. Que began his reign as the Georgia Bulldogs in 2015, the College’s Centennial year.

The Fellowship induction, along with the recognition of the 2022 Alumni Awards, will take place Friday, April 29 at Grady Salutes: A Celebration of Achievement, Commitment and Leadership.

With the addition of these Fellows, the Grady Fellowship will have more than 140 Fellows who have been inducted since 2008. A full list of Fellows can be viewed on our Grady Fellowship webpage.


Register here for the for the Grady Salutes celebration on April 29, 2022. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.