Q&A Meet Our Chief Judge

The Good Morning America co-anchor on faith, family, and friends—the themes she saw underlying all the entries

Robin Roberts has a long history with Reader’s Digest—she was named America’s most trusted newsperson in our 2013 poll—so we were thrilled that she agreed to be the chief judge for this year’s Nicest Places contest. Still, even we were surprised by how actively she worked with our team. She discussed her passion for this project with editorin-chief Bruce Kelley.

READER’S DIGEST What made you so excited to be part of Nicest Places?

ROBIN ROBERTS Nicest is a way to wave the flag and say, “Don’t give up hope, folks! There are a lot of good, sweet, thoughtful people in America.” There’s a lot of talk of division in this country. It’s great to show that that’s not the whole story and to create ambassadors all across the country.

Did you nominate any place yourself?

I knew that as a judge I couldn’t nominate it,

but my hometown of Pass Christian, Mississippi, is the nicest place in the whole wide world. And we’re even stronger and more united than we were before Katrina. It really bonds a community, going through a tragedy like that. You just roll up your sleeves and find out who your neighbors are real fast.

Communities going through things together makes for strong bonds.

I was really drawn to the story of Katy, Texas, because I can relate.

You visited Knoxville, Tennessee, and the winner, Yassin’s Falafel House. Did you get a sense of why it won?

You feel it as soon as you walk through those doors. Yassin has just— pure joy. He makes everyone feel included. You have people in Knoxville who may have been fed a certain narrative about immigrants, but Yassin changes the narrative. They see that he’s as hardworking as they are and wants what’s best for Knoxville. You could understand if Yassin had a chip on his shoulder, given his background. But he’s just the opposite.

Some people will be surprised that a restaurant could be the Nicest Place in America.

It’s not about how many falafels Yassin can sell. He’s gotten so much from Knoxville in such a short time that this is him giving back by shining a light on his hometown. You don’t have to be born somewhere for it to become a part of who you are. This man—he bleeds Tennessee orange!

You were also partial to a very different kind of place: North Evergreen, which is a street in the middle of Burbank, California. Why?

Whether we live in

New York or Timbuktu, I think all of us are just raising our hand and saying “Notice me.” For a street like this to find a way to help people feel connected to something—it’s just so important.

Have you always been so focused on the way people relate to each other?

I come from a military family, and every place we moved, there was always that person or family that would make us feel welcome. And being of service to others was my parents’ creed. On Thanksgiving, they would always have a service person who couldn’t make it home at our table. I would be like, “Is that a cousin?” I am grateful that they exposed us to that.

Any advice for people who want their communities to be nicer?

I’d change the old adage from “Treat people the way you’d like to be treated” to “Treat people like you’d want your mother to be treated.” Nice is not weak. Nice is not a four-letter word.

For more of the conversation, go to rd.com/ nicest-robin-roberts.