Observer editor Barbara Dab won two Simon Rockower Awards for her news reporting in 2022.

We are proud to announce that our amazing editor, Barbara Dab, won two Simon Rockower Awards at last month’s American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) conference in New Orleans.

 

The first award was in the category of Excellence in News Reporting for her story, “Adoption Lawsuit Raises Questions of Government Funded Discrimination,” from the February 2022 Observer. This article discusses the tragic story of a Jewish family being denied the ability to adopt by a state-funded Christian adoption agency.

 

The second award was in the category Excellence in Covering Zionism, Aliyah and Israel, for her story, “Ethiopian National Project is Making an Impact from Israel to Nashville,” from the January 2022 Observer.

 

Our division is for monthly newspapers and magazines and includes publications like Hadassah Magazine, B'nai Brith Magazine, Current Magazine, Lilith Magazine, and many other large and small publications. It is quite a thrill to be included among them.

This year’s Rockower Awards banquet was held at the World War II Museum in New Orleans

Mazel Tov to Barbara! Always gracious, Barbara said, “This is truly a community newspaper and winning awards would not be possible without all of you. I am grateful for your thoughtful feedback, constant support, and stellar contributions that help inform and engage our readers”.

 

Incidentally, next year's AJPA conference will be right here in Nashville! We are excited and honored to be hosting our colleagues from around the country. We will be including many of our educators, rabbis, and leaders as presenters, panelists, and speakers. Be on the lookout in the coming months as we reach out for assistance in highlighting the very best of Nashville's Jewish community.

 

While we’re bragging on Barbara, we’d also like to announce that she has been promoted to Director of Communications for the Federation and will lead our communications/marketing department as a member of the senior staff. But don’t worry, she will still be the editor of the Observer, so we will all continue to benefit from her insightful news stories each month.