Neptune Township Honors Unheard Voices Founder and CEO, Other Prominent Shore Journalists

Neptune Township, New Jersey honored prominent black journalists at its 17th annual Black history celebration Saturday February 15th at the Performing Arts Center at Neptune High School.

“Speaking Truth: African Americans in Journalism” and “African Americans and the Vote” were the themes of this year’s program.

Journalists past and present were recognized, including keynote speaker Michelle Rice, general manager of TV One and a Neptune High School graduate.

Unheard Voices founder, Mr. Covin, and his daughter, Chenelle Covin who is the CEO and a Neptune High School graduate, were honored for more than 15 years of social journalism covering stories locally and aboard.

Founded by Mr. Covin in 2004 as a newsletter, Unheard Voices has worked with various organizations and the community continuously striving to the beacon for the voiceless.

Other honorees included:

Robert Farley, whose career in radio broadcasting spanned over 40 years. He has performed in every field of entertainment including radio, television, stage, movies and print media.

Constance Holmes, whose writing career began in 1979 with Exposure, a local magazine in Asbury Park. She also contributed to other publications in New York City and worked as a staff writer for Shore African American Magazine.

Evelyn Payne, who wrote articles for The Ocean Grove Times, The Coaster and The Shore View as community-parent liaison and public information specialist for Neptune schools.

USA TODAY Network Northeast Senior Digital Director Alesha Williams Boyd of Neptune, who oversees digital news operations for the northeast region of Gannett, including the Asbury Park Press.

Pat Battle, the co-anchor for NBC 4 New York’s “Weekend Today in New York” and a graduate of Neptune High School.

Chanta L. Jackson, a Neptune graduate, served as a copy editor, Deputy City Editor, Recruiter and Multimedia Publishing Manager in her 15 years at The Star-Ledger.

Lorraine Stone, who in 1973 became the first African American news reporter for the Asbury Park Press. Stone is a graduate of Neptune High School. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines, including Essence and Black Enterprise.