Ralph Stokes, an completed Atlanta businessman and a former Alabama soccer participant, is the recipient of the National Black Journalists’ Sam Lacy Pioneer Award.
Stokes has a long and profitable profession in the golf industry. He was the first Black president of the Georgia State Golf Association and at present serves as the vice president of social impression partnerships and neighborhood relations at PGA Tour Superstore.
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Stokes grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and was one of the first Black scholarship gamers for Alabama and coach Paul “Bear” Bryant in the early Seventies. Once his athletic profession ended – with three SEC titles and a 1973 national championship – Stokes was an insurance coverage government who made his approach to Atlanta and has made important contributions to golf.
At PGA Tour Superstore, Stokes helps develop access to the recreation through partnerships with First Tee, the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA Tour), the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), and the PGA of America REACH Foundation,
The Pioneer Award, named for Hall of Fame baseball author Sam Lacy, is given to people who show a “lifelong commitment to expanding access, opportunity, and representation in sport and culture.”
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“I am humbled to receive the Sam Lacy Pioneer Award, which honors the legacy of a man who helped tell the story of integration in professional sports, and to join such distinguished honorees,” Stokes said in a press release. “I am grateful to NABJ for this recognition, and for my family and the many people who have supported and encouraged me, and who have taught me the importance of perseverance and the difference we can make in the lives of others.”
Other 2026 Sam Lacy Pioneer Award winners embody Olympic observe & subject gold-medalist Edwin Moses; WNBA champions Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Angel McCoughtry; sports activities journalists D. Orlando Ledbetter and Terence Moore; filmmaker Spike Lee and the household of late baseball legend Hank Aaron.
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