Jerry McCormick, a 1986 graduate of Dillon High School, was honored in a prestigious ceremony in San Diego.
McCormick is the son of the late Willie and Rosie Lee McCormick who lived on North First Avenue.
McCormick moved to San Diego in 1999 and was the founding president of the San Diego Association of Black Journalists. He served as president for six years.
On April 11th, the group celebrated its 25th anniversary and gave out $6,500 in scholarships to four deserving students. The keynote speaker was Sara Sidner, who is the co-anchor for CNN News Central airing weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays
out of CNN’s New York City Bureau.
The event was attended by more than 75 people, including the Mayor of San Diego Todd Gloria. McCormick previously worked for the City of San Diego as a Senior Public Information Officer in the Communications Department for more than seven years.
During the celebration, McCormick, along with the current president of the group Omari Fleming, an anchor at the NBC station in San Diego, was honored as “Member of the Year.”
The award was named after McCormick in 2014 due to his hard work in founding the chapter and acting as its president for several terms.
SDABJ is one of a multitude of chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists, which is the largest group of journalists of color. That group will celebrate its 50th anniversary in August in Cleveland.
McCormick served in several roles in NABJ including a stint on the national board, a founding member of the LGBTQ+ Task Force, Copy Editors Task Force, Health and Wellness Task Force and more.
McCormick has taught journalism in San Diego since 2007 teaching at San Diego State University, San Diego City College, Southwestern College, and currently Palomar College. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity the oldest fraternity for Black men in the country.
He is a 2014 Emmy winner and currently works at California State University as the Director of Strategic Communications.
Dillon Native Honored with Journalism Award in San Diego
