GFAF pays tribute to Griffiths’ dedication and impact
By Shweta Krishnan
The Georgia First Amendment Foundation is honoring foundation board member Richard T. Griffiths with its Founder’s Award, a tribute to one of its own for steadfast commitment to the organization and its mission.
“This award recognizes Richard’s years of extraordinary leadership and long-standing service to the cause of open government and free expression,” said Sarah Brewerton-Palmer, president of GFAF’s board of directors. ”For the two years he served as president of the foundation and the many years he has spent as an active board member, Richard has been a driving force behind our mission, lending his passion and vision to advancing government transparency, defending press freedom, and strengthening the public’s right to know in Georgia.
“This award celebrates not only his personal achievements but also his enduring commitment to the foundation and its work,” said Brewerton-Palmer, who will present the Founder’s Award to Griffiths at the foundation’s 2025 Weltner Banquet at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta.
Griffiths, a career journalist, started working with GFAF over 15 years ago when he was overseeing “the Row,” CNN’s editorial quality-control operation. He became a foundation board member in 2015 and was a self-described “nuts-and-bolts person” at first, analyzing the organization’s finances. When he became GFAF president in 2018, Griffiths expanded his scope. He worked with other board members to create an endowment to secure the foundation’s funding, sought connections with allies to bolster advocacy for open government, and traveled around the state to teach Georgians about open government laws and free speech rights.
“Core to a strong functioning democracy is a well-educated public that understands how government works,” he said.
Griffiths, who serves as spokesperson for the foundation, is regularly quoted by journalists across Georgia. But his reach extends beyond the state. He has consulted on and taught journalism ethics, storytelling, investigative reporting, media trust-building, and editorial management in the United States, Australia, Jamaica, Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, and Switzerland. His message is consistent, no matter the audience: Access to information gives people power. “That has been just an incredibly rewarding thing — to be able to fight for the public’s right to know,” he said.
Fellow board members admire how Griffiths has used his four decades of experience as a journalist to strengthen the foundation and further its goals. He said he is moved by their recognition and by being recognized with the Founder’s Award. “I respect this organization’s board so much, and for them to think that I’m worthy of this is incredibly meaningful.”
The work also is the reward, Griffiths said. “To be able to make an impact in local communities where the rubber hits the road of our democracy, that is so rewarding to me, and why I try to devote as much time as I can.”
