NEFAC honors each year individuals who have promoted and defended the First Amendment throughout New England. During its annual luncheon, the coalition presents the Stephen Hamblett Award, the FOI Award and the Antonia Orfield Citizenship Award.
2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011
Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award | About Stephen Hamblett
His first newspaper job was as a summer reporter at his 
hometown paper, the Nashua Telegraph. It must have been a rewarding experience because soon after he graduated from Harvard, he signed on at The Providence Journal. That was 1957, and Stephen Hamblett never looked back. Steve rose from advertising department clerk to publisher in a career fueled by qualities for which he became famous — quick wit, dedication to excellence, warmth, good humor, passion for his community and deep-seated belief in the wonder of newspapers. During his leadership, The Providence Journal prospered financially and journalistically, the two most fundamental measures of a newspaper’s success. The Journal’s strong financial health drew the attention of the Belo Corporation, which acquired The Providence Journal Co. in 1997. [More]
Antonia Orfield Citizenship Award | About Antonia Orfield
Antonia Orfield was an author, mother, optometrist, clinical professor and active citizen. She worked to improve the schools in the communities she lived in, serving on one of the first elected local school councils in Chicago. She also sought to advance her profession and improve the lives of her patients through the use and teaching of therapeutic non-surgical methods of vision therapy. As a researcher, she knew the importance of access to data to analyze, draw conclusions and challenge existing assumptions of screening and treatment protocols. Dr. Orfield operated a vision clinic in Mather Elementary School in Dorchester, Mass., which documented the improvement of children’s grades and test scores with unconventional vision-related remedies to learning problems. The findings were published in several articles and in Eyes for Learning, her 2007 book.