Photojournalist Duane Fernandez, Sr. Wins 1st Place Overall At 2019 Griot Drum Awards

L-R Kenya Woodard, president of TBABJ, reporter and owner of Sigma 7 Communications; Griot Drum Award Winner Florida Courier photojournalist Duane Fernandez, Sr.; and past president, current region III director of National Association Black Journalists, and weekend anchor for WFLA News Channel 8 Rod Carter.

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists (TBABJ) hosted its annual Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet on Thursday, November 14,2019. During the Banquet, Florida Courier photojournalist Duane C. Fernandez Sr. was presented with the Griot Drum Award for

1st Place Best Overall Photo for 2019.

This year's event was held at the Tampa Marriott Westshore and featured, Kim Godwin, Executive Vice President of CBS News, as the banquet speaker. Tampa Bay's area affiliate of the National Association of Black Journalists hosts the event each year with a goal to unite people of African descent who work in media or media-related fields.

During the ceremony, the organization recognized area journalists who excelled in covering people of color in 2018. The event also honored five women journalists for making major contributions in journalism throughout the Tampa Bay area. TNABJ also awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to area students preparing to major in media and communications. For more information on this event, visit www.tbabj.com