Greg Dawson

writer

Greg Dawson is a columnist for *The Orlando Sentinel*. He has worked for newspapers in a variety of writing positions since his high school days, covering sports for his hometown newspaper in Bloomington, Indiana. He has written everything from sports to editorials, lifestyle, television, local and state commentary and now consumer affairs. When researching his mother’s odyssey from Jewish persecution in Ukraine to surviving the Holocaust, he found a deep well of sensitivity in unraveling her destiny. His mother, Zhanna, maintained her sense of humor and love of life even through the darkest days. It is clear to Greg that those attributes, and certainly her immense musical talent, saved her life--and made his possible. Greg and his wife, Candy, visited the Ukrainian home of a courageous family who sheltered Zhanna and her sister, Frina, in 1942. That family has been recognized as “Righteous Gentiles” at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, after Greg and Candy presented documentation on a visit to Israel in 2007.