Special Agent in Charge Brian Dugan of the Norfolk Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) selected WHRO Public Media, as the 2021 Director’s Community Leadership Award recipient.
For decades, the Norfolk FBI has worked closely with WHRO to increase awareness of the FBI’s Civil Rights Program, Public Corruption Campaign, and other community outreach efforts.
"Programs such as Another View and HearSay provided the FBI with a platform to discuss the FBI’s stance on hate crimes, youth outreach, and recruitment and hiring efforts, with minority groups, civic leaders, business owners, and local schools," FBI Norfolk wrote in a press release about the award.
The organization also cited WHRO's work in the field of education as being crucial for the community, especially during the pandemic. FBI leaders pointed to how quickly WHRO's team of educators developed services including:
- VA TV Classroom that featured teachers teaching on TV for grades K-10
- A series of professional development webinars on distance learning for educators
- Nationwide access to 25 online high school courses
- A new weekly Facebook series, Ms. Martha Reads, featuring stories written for children by other children.
"Their newsroom and public affairs programs provided vital reporting on important community matters, especially those directly related to keeping the public informed on issues relating to COVID-19," FBI Norfolk stated. "WHRO Media and its members are stewards of the Hampton Roads community and Norfolk FBI is grateful for their efforts."