On Oct. 31, the chapter welcomed NABJ President Bob Butler, who flew in from the California to visit the Triad. Earlier in the day, Butler visited WFMY News 2, WGHP Fox 8 and the News & Record among other news outlet to meet with management. TABJ hosted a reception for Butler at Chandler's Coffee House & Florist.
Dozens of professionals, professors and students from Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem attended the reception. TABJ President Kerry Charles kicked off the program by informing the crowd of future TABJ events. Then NCCJ Triad Executive Director Susan Feit expressed her excitement about TABJ attending the NCCJ Citation Dinner to honor broadcast trailblazer Sandra Hughes. TABJ Secretary Dioni L. Wise then read the entries in the Twitter contest in which students vied for a TABJ-sponsored ticket to the NCCJ dinner. Wise announced that judges selected Bennett College senior Racquel Bethea as the winner.
TABJ then surprised Dr. Linda Callahan, longtime professor at N.C. A&T, with a special commemoration for receiving the 2013 Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award at a national journalism educator conference in Washington D.C. for establishing the high school media program that has been emulated by other universities in the state and has since become one of six regional workshops of the N.C. Scholastic Media Association. Porsha Taylor, Callahan’s student and president of the NABJ student chapter at N.C. A&T, read a touching letter to Dr. Callahan. Taylor thanked Callahan for helping her attain internship and pursue her dreams. Charles then shows a special video from Jerry Revish, Callahan’s former colleague in Ohio. Revish, an anchor and reporter for WBNS 10TV in Columbus, Ohio, congratulated Callahan on her award and credited her for starting a program for students in Columbus that’s been running for two decades.
Butler ended the night by expressing the importance of NABJ promoting diversity in newsrooms and providing solutions to the problem. He also encouraged TABJ to keep doing community service and furthering NABJ’s efforts on the ground level.
Great crowd at the @TriadABJ reception! pic.twitter.com/rIhFlSq4XO
— TABJ (@TriadABJ) October 31, 2013
Group shot! @TriadABJ and @Aggie_JOMC Reception welcoming @bobbutler7 pic.twitter.com/S5xwcQgIri
— TABJ (@TriadABJ) November 1, 2013
On Nov. 7, TABJ members and local students attended the NCCJ Citation Dinner that honored Sandra Hughes. The group included Kerry Charles, Cami Marshall Anthony, Dioni L. Wise, Devetta Blount, Michael Spears, Aaron Singleton, Ditra Miller, Amanda Bazemore, Epiphinae McClennon, Racquel Bethea and Uniqua Quillins. During her speech, Hughes inspired the crowd with her speech about enduring hardships in the newsrooms, including harrowing accounts of receiving bomb threats. She only wanted to help and inform people, and continues to do that as an instructor at her alma mater, N.C. A&T. TABJ was happy to support her for this special honor.
Me and a wonderful lady! #SandraHughes #CitationAward @TriadABJ @digtriad pic.twitter.com/8FlN1dDAjQ
— Cami MarshallAnthony (@CamiMarshall1) November 8, 2013