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The Key to the City of Columbus, Georgia was presented to Hardy and Cheryl Brown by Mayor Elect Bob Poydasheff at the Columbus Times 79th Annual Anniversary gala, "Head and Shoulders Above the Rest."

The Browns were presented with the Amazing Heroes Award for their leadership in publishing and being named this year to the Gallery of Greats in Publishing, sponsored by Miller’s Brewing Company and benefiting the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. The Browns were recognized along with Frederick Douglas, Ida B. Wells, Carlotta Spears Bass, John Sengstacke and others celebrating 175 years of Black publishing excellence. The 79 year-old Columbia Times is a division of Ophelia DeVore Associates of Columbus GA.
While in Columbus, the Browns were invited to three schools: Carver High School, Dawson Elementary School and Baker Middle School, where they spoke to some 200 very attentive students about the role of the Black Press and the Black Voice's work in preserving Black historical achievements. "I have never seen students so attentive," said Cheryl Brown, who discussed her work in the history of the Underground Railroad. The whirlwind tour of Columbus also included interviews at two local radio stations: WAGH (a Clear Channel station) and WOKS (a Black owned media outlet that included five diverse stations). Columbus Times owners, Carol Gertjegerdes, her husband Helmut, and daughter Petra were responsible for the event. Other locals were recognized for their community service.

At Dawson School BVN publisher Cheryl Brown poises with students dressed as characters in their favorite books, including Harriett Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr. Other favorites were Spiderman and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

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