Back Row: Lisa Norris (niece-in-law and new grandma), Billy  Norris (generation #3 and proud grandpa),
Terry Bennett (representing my sister Barbara, generation #2)
Front Row: Analise Norris (generation #4, new mommy), Laura Bennett (generation #1 excited Great-Great-Grandma)
Easton Aubrey (in Laura's arms, generation #5). Mike Yazzie (new daddy)

Man of the Year Award – Loren Tapahe (Navajo)

Loren Tapahe, Navajo, is the publisher and founder of the Arizona Native Scene newspaper, which has been in operation for 12 years
in the Phoenix valley.
Under the newspaper operation, he publishes his own newspaper, design brochures, magazines, posters, conference booklets and newsletters
for commercial and tribal clientele.

Tapahe recently published the successful 2008 Navajo Nation Fair Magazine for the Navajo Nation. He was also the general manager of the
Navajo Times Newspaper for a number of years in the early 1980’s when it first attempted a daily publication. He was also the press officer and
later the chief of staff for Navajo Nation President Milton Bluehouse in 1998.

Originally from Fort Defiance, Arizona, Tapahe holds a 1974 Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies and a 1979 Bachelor of Science Degree
in Business Management with a double minor in Marketing and Economics, both from Brigham Young University.

Tapahe is an avid photographer and writer. His career in media has taken him to many states in North America and to Central America to
photograph the treatment of Indigenous Peoples of Nicaragua. He is a founding member and was first vice president of the national Native American
Journalist Association.

Tapahe is active in the community and holds membership in several organizations, including the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona,
which he is President; the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications Endowment Board; the American Indian Veteran's
Memorial Organization; the Arizona Territory Gourd Society and the Native American Journalist Association. He resides in Mesa, Arizona with his wife
Carolyn and three daughters, Jordan, Annika, and Peyton.

Upon being named for the award, Tapahe expressed his gratitude for the many people who supported him throughout the years while living in
Window Rock and Phoenix.