In December of 2017 The Nashville Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) lost one of its most active members Getahn Ward to a brief illness. Getahn was a member of the chapter for nearly 20 years, serving as Chapter Parliamentarian and head of the chapter’s scholarship committee.
Getahn was a journalist professor at Tennessee State University and was with The Tennessean as a reporter since 1998 after working at the Nashville Banner. As The Tennessean’s chief business reporter he was known around the city by members of both the private and public sectors, focusing on the rise and success of Nashville.
He was very active in the Nashville community as well as at his home church, Born Again Church on Trinity Lane, where he served as a deacon and consistently posted services on social media. Getahn moved to the US in 1991 from his home country, Liberia and celebrated his citizenship in 2014 by casting his first vote in an American election.
At the time of his passing former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry called Getahn the ‘hardest working reporter in Nashville.”
A portrait of Getahn sits inside the Getahn Ward Conference room, an area dedicated to his memory located inside the new Tennesseean offices in Nashville.
