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.

Alumni Award Profile: Julia Carpenter

Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13) is this year’s recipient of the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award, honoring a graduate of the last decade who has experienced a successful early career.

Carpenter is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She previously worked at both CNN and The Washington Post, and has also written for publications including Glamour, Vogue and New York Magazine.

Covering stories on gender, culture, finance, technology and everything in between, Carpenter has received several awards for her reporting. In 2019, she was honored with the Excellence in Business Coverage Award from The Association of LGBTQ Journalists for her story “When Work Puts You Back in the Closet,” published in CNN Business. In 2020, she received a Front Page Award in the Personal Service category from the Newswomen’s Club of New York for her reporting in WSJ’s “The New Rules of Money” series.

In addition to reporting, Carpenter also publishes a daily newsletter, “A Woman to Know,” and mentors aspiring writers through Girls Write Now.

Following is a brief interview with Carpenter:

GC: What is it about your field that appeals the most to you? Why did you decide to enter that field?

JC: I’m a big talker and an obsessive journaler. As soon as teachers saw those two things, they started recommending I think about studying journalism. In my career now, those two things — my chattiness and my note-taking — are huge strengths of mine. As a student, I loved the idea that journalists could ask anyone about anything and spend all day learning about everything. Even today, I’m still marveled that I will think “I wonder how that’s going to work?” and then I’ll call someone and say, “You’re the expert, and I’m a journalist — can you tell me how that’s going to work?”

Carpenter is currently based in New York City, where she reports for The Wall Street Journal (Photo: submitted).
GC: Looking back at your time at Grady, is there anything you wish you had done (classes you had taken, skills you would have liked to have learned, clubs to be involved with) that would help you with what you are doing today?

JC: As a college student, I was so intent on double-majoring (in English and in journalism) and excelling at the student newspaper. I wish I had taken more classes just for fun! Looking back on my time at UGA, I can truly think of only a handful of classes I took that weren’t fulfilling a requirement or adding to some other part of resume. If I could go back, I like to think I would do that differently. I know I would be a better writer for it, that’s for sure. 

GC: What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

JC: There’s no “right way” to build a career and a creative life. Stop trying to find it! Go to Marti’s and eat some pita chips.

Carpenter graduated In 2013 with a degree in journalism (Photo: submitted).
GC: What motivates you?

JC: The day after I publish a piece, I set aside time to read all the tweets, emails and comments responding to it. Sure, some of them are negative, and many require an eye roll or, in bad cases, a block and report. But I save all the emails that say, “you put words to what I was experiencing” or “thank God someone finally said this!” or — this one most of all — “I thought I was the only one.” Those motivate me. 

GC: Is there anything else you would like to share?

JC: I have spent countless hours, therapy sessions and fat baby tears stressing over finding a mentor. Everyone kept telling me “Do you have a mentor? You need a mentor!” and at all these different points in my career, I resolved to find a mentor who (I presumed) could shepherd me to career enlightenment. But here’s the thing: my strongest advocates and best advice-givers and most generous sounding boards have always been people at the same level as me. Some of them I met at The Red & Black, some of them I met at internships and some of them I met during my early days at my first job. But we’ve all come up together, and grown together, and I want future students to know that building those connections is enough. Now, these peers are worth more to me than any idea I had of some “Fairy GodMentor.”


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. Please visit our Grady Salutes registration webpage for more details. 

 

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 be recognized at the College’s annual recognition event, Grady Salutes: A Celebration of Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on Friday, April 29, 2022. Inductees into the Grady Fellowship also will be recognized at Grady Salutes.

The 2022 Alumni Award recipients include:

  • Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13), a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, will receive the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award. Carpenter previously worked at CNN and The Washington Post, and her byline has appeared in Glamour, Vogue, New York magazine and other publications. The Young Alumni Award recognizes a graduate of the last decade who has experienced a successful early career.
  • Julie Wolfe (ABJ ’03), a news director for King 5 Media Group in Seattle, receives the Mid-Career Award. Stations where Wolfe has previously worked include WGRZ in Buffalo, New York; WXIA in Atlanta; and WHAS in Louisville, where she led the news team through award-winning coverage of the Breonna Taylor case and launched its Emmy-winning investigative unit, FOCUS. The Mid-Career Award is presented to a graduate for his or her professional achievements, influence and success.
  • Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (MA ’96, PhD ’99), professor of public relations at Grady College, is named the John Holliman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award winner for sustained contributions to the profession throughout a career. Acosta-Alzuru teaches courses in public relations campaigns and cultural studies, among others. She is an internationally recognized scholar on telenovelas and has written several books on the subject. Grady College has recognized its Lifetime Achievement recipient for more than 45 years.
  • Pat Curtin (MA ’91, PhD ’96), professor and endowed chair of public relations at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, receives the Distinguished Alumni Scholar award. Curtin has previously taught at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her research encompasses cross-cultural public relations, public relations history and the development of critical/postmodern approaches to public relations theory. The Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award honors a graduate for excellence and sustained contributions to scholarship in journalism and mass communication education.

More information about the alumni awards and a list of past recipients can be viewed on the Alumni Awards webpage.


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