Follow My Journey As A Reporter: Day 4 of #NABJ18: Exploring Detroit, finding a boutique, and honoring journalists & leaders

As #NABJ18 comes to an end, there were still many things to explore in the city of Detroit.

I spent day 4 going to restaurants, a boutique, and ending the night off feeling inspired by this year’s gala.

Granite City

Lunch Anyone?

I started off day 4 by eating lunch at Granite City: Food & Brewery Restaurant at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center.

I went with one of my roommates at the convention and we treated ourselves to spinach and artichoke dip, salad, fries, and a pizza flatbread.

It was a great way to start off the day! After we finished eating, we made our way to the NABJ Boutique. I was surprised to find something I’ve been looking for in the last few weeks.

NABJ Boutique

Shop ‘Til You Drop

The NABJ Boutique: Professional Clothing Swap Fundraiser was held on the 4^th floor of the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center in the Davinci room.

Professionals dropped off donations of gently used attire during the convention registration and the clothes donated were sold for as low as $1 at the boutique!

Blouses and blazers were $1 and dresses were $5. All the proceeds went directly to the NABJ Scholarship.

The #NABJ18 booklet says this year was the first-ever NABJ clothing swap fundraiser and it did not disappoint. I purchased a purple blouse for $1!

I’ve been looking for a purple blouse for some time now because I’ve been thinking about a new headshot for my social media platforms.

My idea for the new headshot was to be in nature wearing a purple blouse and now I am one step closer to making that happen. All I need to do is contact a photographer I had in mind to make my idea become a reality.

Why a purple blouse you ask? Because purple is my favorite color and it just so happens to be the color of my glasses, too.

Roasting Plant

Cool Beans

After shopping for our items, my roommate and I decided to get something to drink at Roasting Plant which is a coffee shop on Woodward Avenue in Detroit who brews coffee from cocoa beans.

They also have other beverages on the menu. I ordered a Peach Apricot smoothie with Coconut Milk and it was delicious! Now it’s time to prepare for the special event we’ve all been waiting for *drum rolls*.

Salute To Excellence Awards & Dinner Gala

Hard Work Pays Off

This year’s Salute To Excellence Awards & Dinner Gala was one for the books.

The gala started off with a performance from Motown Recording Artist Kevin Ross and was followed by a powerful speech from one of America’s Civil Rights leaders Jesse Jackson.

Here are some of the quotes from Jackson’s speech I was inspired by:

“If you have a job, you’re in trouble. You need a mission.”
“You’re not a journalist; you’re writing to free the people.”
“Don’t put your job over your mission.”

Following the keynote address from Jesse Jackson were the Salute To Excellence Awards in the respective categories:

Collegiate
Digital
Radio
Magazine
Photojournalism
Newspaper
Television

At the gala, NABJ awarded the Legacy Award posthumously to Detroit Free Press Former Executive Editor Robert McGruder who died of cancer at the age of 60 in 2002. McGruder became the first Black reporter at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, then the assistant city editor, city editor, then managing editor. After writing and editing for the Cleveland newspaper, he became the Deputy Managing Editor for the Detroit Free Press.

This year’s Chuck Stone Lifetime Achievement award was presented to NBC4’s Beverly White. She has 40 years of experience covering a variety of breaking local and national news. White began her career in Texas, then became a reporter in Miami, and is now a reporter in Southern California for NBC4.

The final award of the night was given to Detroit native Jemele Hill who is a chief correspondent and senior columnist for The Undefeated. Hill began her career as a general assignments sports writer for the Raleigh News & Observer and after served as a Detroit Free Press sports writer. She then became a national columnist for ESPN.com and made appearances on television such as SportsCenter and was a co-host for a weekday television show titled His & Hers.