St Louis Park

The awards program honors excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia and electronic programming produced by local government agencies. This year, NATOA received more than 650 entries submitted by local governments across the country and Canada.  

 

“Our winners continue to demonstrate excellence in programming and we are thrilled to honor and celebrate their achievements,” NATOA President Joanne Hovis said. “We congratulate these winners for actively supporting community programming’s role in building stronger, more connected communities.”  

Entries in the 66 categories cover a variety of programming including, among others, community events, documentary, public affairs and public service, interview/talk show, performing arts, sports, election coverage and children’s issues. 

 

ParkTV earned first place in the nation in the Live Sports Event category for the January 7 St. Louis Park vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s Boys Hockey coverage. The game marked the return to the ice for the BSM Red Knights following a devastating injury to then sophomore player Jack Jablonski. Jablonski suffered a tragic spinal cord injury in a Dec. 20, 2011 game. The entire Twin Cities community rallied around Jablonski and his family, and the game for which ParkTV was honored captured that community support.

 

“We certainly wish that this tragedy never occurred,” said Jamie Zwilling, the city’s communications and marketing coordinator. “But this production shows exactly how powerful community and public access TV can be. While commercial broadcast stations were instrumental in sharing Jack’s story, this event, some two hours of coverage from ParkTV, allowed us to help share the remarkable story that took shape in the days following the tragedy. And that was a story about an entire community coming together, about a family showing incredible strength and dozens of people finding inspiration. It is to Jack, his family, and entire community of friends that we dedicate this award.”

 

To view the video on demand, which includes an interview with Jack’s mom, Leslie Jablonski, special tributes and other interviews, visit http://vimeo.com/34728038.

Jack Jablonski continues to recover from his injury. Learn more about his story at www.jabby13.com.