Veteran WDBJ Reporter Honored At AP Awards

WDBJ Roanoke, Va., Senior Reporter Joe Dashiell received the Associated Press’ Robert Gallimore Distinguished Service Award at the AP Awards Luncheon at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia on Saturday.

Named after the AP Chief of Bureau in Richmond between 1967 and 1985, the award honors a Virginia broadcaster for outstanding service in the public interest; a broadcaster who exemplifies a commitment to journalism and reflects honorably on the news profession.

Joe Dashiell has been on the front lines of history in Virginia for nearly 40 years. He started his career in 1980 as a reporter for Gray Television’s CBS affiliate WDBJ, working in four different newsrooms for the station, including as the Richmond Bureau Chief, covering the General Assembly, politics in general, the pipeline controversy or general assignments around Roanoke, Lynchburg and the New River Valley.

The quality of his work has also earned him two regional Emmy awards, a regional Edward R. Murrow award and the George A. Bowles Jr. Award for Distinguished Performance in Broadcast News from the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters.

WDBJ News Director David Hughes said: “Joe’s commitment to journalism, this TV station, our community, and the Commonwealth where we live is unmatched. I think we would all agree, there is no one out there more deserving of this award than Joe.”