Award-Winning Journalist | Communications Strategist | Community Builder
(BALTIMORE – June 10, 2025) – Secure your seat today for Doni Glover 6.0: A BMORENews Benefit, happening Friday, June 27, 2025, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Baltimore Unity Hall, 1505 Eutaw Place. RSVP now at DoniGlover60.eventbrite.com.
This unforgettable evening will feature the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards, an ongoing tradition by BMORENews since 2011. The awards have honored nearly 3,000 Black entrepreneurs, professionals, and their allies in nine major U.S. cities.
The event marks Doni Glover’s 60th birthday and supports BMORENews’ ongoing work, including our award-winning TV show, podcast, and the continued recognition of Black excellence. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bea Gaddy Center for its vital community service.
Honorees include Gary Witherspoon.
Who is Gary?
Gary Witherspoon
Born the 11th of 13 children to Mary and Willard Witherspoon—who migrated separately from South Carolina during the Great Migration—Gary Witherspoon was raised on the west side of Baltimore during a time of great social change. His early life was shaped by both struggle and resilience, growing up in a large family that moved frequently across neighborhoods like Robert Street, Mount Street, Myrtle Avenue, and Edmondson Avenue.
A turning point came when Gary left Baltimore to live with his brother Willard, a Harvard graduate, in Hartford, CT. That move opened doors to rigorous academic and cultural exposure, including attending the prestigious Brooks School in Massachusetts. There, Gary first explored journalism and deepened his love for music—passions that would define much of his life’s work.
A gifted tenor and lifelong choir member, Gary has sung in numerous ensembles, from the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir to the Sacred Arts Ministry at St. John Baptist Church in Columbia, MD, where he was once dubbed the “MVP.”
Professionally, Gary has led a distinguished career in journalism. His reporting earned him the UPI Division III Story of the Year in 1987, and he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team at Newsday for coverage of the TWA Flight 800 tragedy. He has held senior editorial roles at The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, and Newsday and has contributed to numerous other respected publications.
Since returning to Baltimore in 2016, Gary has applied his skills in public communications, serving with the Maryland Department of Transportation and now at Assedo Consulting. His work today focuses on large-scale community outreach projects that improve infrastructure and transparency for Maryland residents.
A Prince Hall Mason and proud Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. member, Gary co-founded the fraternity’s Pi Theta Chapter at Coppin State University. He is the father of four and husband to the former Famebridge Payne, whom he met through Doni Glover—who also emceed their 2004 wedding.
Gary Witherspoon’s life reflects the power of voice—whether through writing, singing, or building community—and we are honored to recognize him at Doni Glover 6.0.
