WRAL-TV, Baez Honored by Salvation Army for Hurricane Matthew Coverage

The Salvation Army of Fayetteville recently honored WRAL-TV for the station’s coverage of Hurricane Matthew, both during the storm and in the days following. WRAL-TV Reporter Gilbert Baez accepted the 2016 Media Excellence Award at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens on Tuesday, May 16, 2017.

“In the spirit of camaraderie as a community, we want to recognize and honor individuals, donors, volunteers, and groups who make an effort to support The Salvation Army,” said Salvation Army of Fayetteville Director of Community Relations and Development Rhonda Merritt-Quador. “It did not take us long to decide upon a recipient for this years’ Excellent Media Partner award. As we look at the year that has passed, Gilbert Baez and his news affiliate, WRAL, have been a constant thread of support and positive publicity.”

Baez covers the news in Fayetteville, his home for close to four decades, for WRAL. The awards presentation took place as part of the 130^th annual meeting of the Salvation Army of Fayetteville.

“Gilbert has helped to shed light on ongoing programs The Salvation Army offers such as the Angel Tree, promoting and educating viewers on the process from start to finish and sharing inspirational stories of goodwill,” Merritt-Quador continued. “More notable this past year is his coverage of The Salvation Army’s Disaster Relief Response during the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, and his commitment to sharing those stories, needs, and concerns with the community.”

Thanks to WRAL-TV’s Gilbert Baez, the Salvation Army of Fayetteville and WRAL.com for contributions to this capcom story & for these capcom photos.