CINCINNATI – The Scripps Howard Foundation has chosen to award the inaugural S.J. Dilenschneider Community Award to Officer Chris Jones of the San Diego Police Department. The award recognizes an outstanding community leader in honor of the late S.J. Dilenschneider, a longtime executive with Scripps-Howard newspapers.
The award, including a $10,000 cash prize, will be given annually to recognize an individual or group of individuals in Scripps’ local communities. The individuals honored will exemplify the spirit of The E.W. Scripps Company, reflect Dilenschneider’s unique ability to raise the bar for all around him, and positively impact their community. Civility, leadership, community spirit and mentorship were among the criteria used to select the winner.
Jones is the community liaison officer for San Diego’s Southeast Division, one of the city’s most disadvantaged areas, where Jones also grew up. Through the organization he founded, The Young and Prosperous Foundation, Jones provides mentoring, career readiness, basketball coaching, college tours, juvenile probation programs, tutoring and more for the community’s youth. Jones personally funds many activities and projects and generously gives his time. Jones was selected for the 2021 S.J. Dilenschneider Community Award from among more than 30 nominees recommended by Scripps local television stations across the country.
“Officer Jones is an exceptional example of Dilenschneider’s legacy and an inspiration to others to do good in their communities,” said Liz Carter, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation. “It’s truly an honor to recognize Chris for his service and mentorship, providing personal growth and educational development opportunities to underserved communities across San Diego.”
Chris Jones
The Dilenschneider family created the award in honor of S.J. Dilenschneider as an investment in the quality of civility in our nation. In the words of one who chronicled Dilenschneider, he was a good citizen who loved his fellow man, his family, and his newspaper.
The Dilenschneider family is pleased Officer Chris Jones is receiving this award. “The Young and Prosperous Foundation is the kind of organization that Dad would be proud to be associated with,” said Jack Dilenschneider on behalf of the Dilenschneider family. “He himself rose from poverty and always emphasized both setting high goals and working to achieve them.”
KGTV, the Scripps-owned television station in San Diego, presented Jones with a $10,000 check during a special celebration.
About the Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on journalism education, excellence in journalism and childhood literacy. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Foundation is a leader in supporting journalism education, scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry’s top honors for outstanding journalism and the Foundation’s annual “If You Give a Child a Book …” childhood literacy campaign has distributed more than 500,000 new books to children in need across the nation since 2017. In support of its mission to create a better-informed world, the Foundation also partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and support impactful organizations to drive solutions that help build thriving communities.
About The E. W. Scripps Company
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As the nation’s fourth-largest local TV broadcaster, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Grit, Laff and Court TV Mystery. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
Media contact:
Rebecca McCarter, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3023, [email protected]