Covey garners Denig Award
Alan Covey is this year’s Brigadier General Robert L. Denig Sr. Memorial Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient.
Alan Covey, an Eastern North Carolina newsman who covered Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point and New River for 35 years, is this year’s Brigadier General Robert L. Denig Sr. Memorial Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient, presented annually to a “civilian practitioner of mass communications … who has made significant contributions to the perpetuation of the ideals, traditions … and achievements of the United States Marine Corps.”
The presentation will take place on Wednesday evening August 22 during the USMCCCA Annual Awards Banquet (at the DoubleTree Hotel in New Bern, North Carolina) in conjunction with the Association’s 2018 Professional Development and Training Symposium.
CC James Jarvis, who has worked with Covey in various military and civilian capacities since 1999, calls him “the best in the business.”
Jarvis said the acknowledged “Dean” of military reporters in the region was “especially good about discreetly sharing very candid professional insights and an informal area media orientation to new-to-Lejeune public affairs Marines and commanders – often at their behest.
“I absolutely cannot think of a more deserving honoree,” he said.
Perhaps known best for his long run on the military beat with NBC affiliate WITN-7, Covey enjoys a reputation for asking tough questions but always in context. He unfailingly goes the extra mile to ensure that Marine Corps commands were given a fair opportunity to articulate their side of breaking news stories.
Raised in New York State not far from Fort Drum and the storied 10th Mountain Division, he brings a military mindset to the table and, by now, has multiple deployments under his belt. StratCom directors who have worked with him have said that “Covey was embedding before embedding was cool.”
His record of robust community service in the heavy Marine Corps population surrounding Camp Lejeune and environs informed his understanding of the gritty hardships often endured by Marines – and their families. His approach to journalism included friendships with top commanders – but his special emphasis remains on junior enlisted Marines.
Covey’s awards include numerous annual “Bests” from the North Carolina Associated Press, including Feature, News, Newscast, Sport News and General News. In 1997, Covey was recipient of the Oldfield Fellowship for National Defense Reporting.
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