Nassau Guardian Managing Editor Candia Dames on Saturday night received the Bahamian Icon Award for Journalism.
The awards are presented to Bahamians who are considered at the top in their fields.
The awards were handed out at the star-studded Bahamian Icon Awards ceremony at the Atlantis Theatre on Paradise Island.
After receiving the award, Dames said, "I am truly honored and humbled. I am grateful to the Icon Awards Committee for the recognition, to my family for their love and unwavering support, to my employers for providing me with the opportunity to practice my craft with freedom and to my close friends and colleagues whose support is also crucial to my development.
"I look forward to a long, rewarding time in journalism and hope that I can be an inspiration to young people who aspire to make a positive impact on our country, particularly through media."
Guardian General Manager Brent Dean congratulated Dames on a well-deserved honor.
"Candia is one of the finest journalists this country has produced. We are fortunate to have her as part of our team," he said.
"Her tenacity is well known. She has helped make our newspaper the dominant voice in the country."
Dames is a graduate of The College of The Bahamas, Clark Atlanta University and University of Maryland at College Park. In 1993, she graduated from H.O. Nash High School, where she was head girl. She remains proud to be a product of the public school system, where she was exposed to journalism through critiquing The Nassau Guardian as part of weekly class assignments.
She holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications and a master's degree in journalism.
Dames joined The Nassau Guardian team in August 2008 as news editor.
In February 2014, she was appointed managing editor, but also continues the news editor duties.
Other recipients of the award included Felix Stubbs of IBM (commerce); Arnold Martin of Sir Jack Hayward High School, Grand Bahama (education); Lavado Stubbs-Conchboy Films (entertainment); Captain Randy Butler of SkyBahamas Airlines (entrepreneurship); Kishan Munroe-Swan, artist of the Song of The Flamingo (fine arts); Olivia Curry of the Bahamas Childhood Asthma Management Project, Freeport (health); Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson of the Bahamas Crisis Centre (humanitarianism); Julien "Believe" Thompson (music); Olympic gold medalist Chris Brown (sports), and Errol Thurston of Abaco (tourism).
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Olympic gold medalist Sir Durward Knowles, 96.
Many other Bahamians were nominated in the various categories.
Bahamian actor Chigozie Ijuoma hosted the event.
The 400-plus guests in attendance were entertained by Bahamian musicians. These included Angelique Sabrina, Wendi Lewis, Lyrically Blessed, the Grand Bahama Youth Chorale, The Backstabbers, Julien Believe, The Highgrove Singers and Visage.

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