Tennessean staffer Alex Hubbard gets blind school alumni award for ‘incredible will’
Andy HumblesTennessean staffer Alex Hubbard received the Ralph E. Brewer Award for inspiration and achievement in the blind community Saturday. The award was presented by the Alumni Association of the Tennessee School for the Blind.
Hubbard, 28, works as the assistant opinion editor for The Tennessean and is a 2008 Tennessee School for the Blind graduate and class valedictorian.
“He has overcome things other people would have thought of as catastrophic,” said Jim Oldham, a past Tennessee School for the Blind superintendent and alumni association member.
Hubbard has no sight.
He also has a condition called neurofibromatosis type II, which is characterized by the growth of non-cancerous tumors on cranial nerves.
The condition has affected Hubbard’s vocal cords. Hubbard has had numerous surgeries.
Oldham referenced Hubbard’s “incredible will” in his nomination letter.
“Alex Hubbard is a talented, insightful and witty journalist,” Tennessean Opinion and Engagement Director David Plazas said. “A self-described ‘old soul’ and lover of Merle Haggard’s music, he is phenomenal at understanding and absorbing tough issues, and he writes in a bold and engaging way that has grown his readership. He helped The Tennessean win the first place award in the 2018 Tennessee Press Association contest for editorials. He has an incredibly bright future.”
Hubbard graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2013, and then graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism in 2014. He was hired by The Tennessean in January 2016. Hubbard is also a big hockey fan.
The award includes $1,000 to the recipient, Oldham said.
Work and journalism are “very important to him,” Alex’s mother Jennie Hubbard said. “He’s very bright, he always wants to be involved.”
Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.