From Glenville to Greatness: Wayne Dawson’s Journey of Faith, Family, and Forty-Five Years of Broadcasting Excellence
Written by Deante Young
Photo by Deante Young
Greatness was always Wayne Dawson’s destiny. He was born in the Glenville district of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1955, the same year Rosa Parks launched the Civil Rights Movement with a defiant act on a bus that brought a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. into the public’s consciousness.
King inspired hope in all people, especially his own. Inside the Dawson household during the late 1950s and early 60s, young Wayne was inspired by his mother, Annie L. Dawson.“Where I didn’t achieve, you will achieve,” Mrs. Dawson told her son. Her constant reassurance was essential. “Mom spoke life into me,” said Dawson many years later. The young man had an unnatural ambition, believing he could become the president of the United States someday.
Wayne was an excellent student until the eighth grade. That’s when his family moved to East Cleveland, and his parents were enduring marriage problems. At the same time, his grades began to drop. He eventually corrected course and graduated from Shaw High School in 1973.
Two years later, Dawson enrolled at Kent State University, hoping to write for the school newspaper. Fate had other plans, and the determined young man joined the broadcasting program. He learned media production and graduated in 1979, seeking to become a professional broadcaster.
A lucky encounter with WJKW-TV’s (Channel 8) news director Virgil Dominic sealed the deal for the 24-year-old Dawson. In early 1980, his stories received airtime, which was unprecedented for a newcomer. Dawson became a full-time reporter in 1982, and as his profile grew in Cleveland, he became active in the community. He spoke at countless schools to empower children on the ABCs of success, supported charities, and fulfilled requests to speak at local churches.
By 1993, Dawson had become an anchor at Channel 8. In 1999, he joined the morning show on the rechristened Fox 8 News in the Morning.
Wayne and his brother William decided to honor their mother’s lifelong commitment to education, which prompted them to launch the Annie L. Dawson Foundation in 2007.
Its mission is to provide academically qualified students with scholarships to help with college. To date, they have raised over $161,000 for deserving students.
In 2017, Dawson became the interim pastor at Grace Tabernacle Baptist Church and went full-time a year later. With a career so rich in giving, inspiring, and leading, he released his bestselling memoirs, The Seeds of Greatness Are Within You, in 2022. He also went on a book tour and enjoyed connecting with fans of Fox 8 News in the Morning at every stop.
Dawson’s illustrious, 45-year career in broadcasting includes 11 Emmy awards, induction into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Journalism Hall of Fame, The Press Club of Cleveland, inclusion in the NATAS Silver Circle, and the Chuck Heaton award in recognition of his community activism, sensitivity, humility, and journalistic talent.
Dawson has been married to his wife, LaVerne, since 1997 and is a proud father of four children and grandfather to eight.
“His enduring legacy will be that he’s powerful yet humble,” says R.A. Vernon, senior pastor of the Word Church. Stefani Schaefer, Wayne’s long-time co-anchor, says, “He’s touched so many lives and his giving spirit is amazing!”
Dawson’s belief: God gets the glory for all he has accomplished.