NAB Education Foundation Announces 2018 Service to America Award Winners WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) announced today the winners of the 2018 Celebration of Service to America Awards, recognizing outstanding community service by local broadcasters. Winners will be honored at the Celebration of Service to America dinner, held Tuesday, June 12 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.Local broadcasters play a crucial role in informing, supporting and strengthening communities across our country, said NABEF President Marcellus Alexander. This year's winners represent the ethos of broadcasting and the industry's unwavering commitment to public service. We look forward to honoring these outstanding stations in the nation's capital.
The awards program, now in its 20th year, has established new categories based on market size. The awards will honor the following broadcasters:
Presidents Special Award
The NABEF President's Special Award recognizes historic and extraordinary achievement by an individual broadcast station or group of broadcasters.
In recognition of broadcasters' service to their local communities before, during and after historic hurricanes and wildfires in 2017, broadcasters in Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as those in California, Montana, Oregon and Washington, will receive special honors. Broadcasters nationwide will also receive recognition for their support of local communities during these natural disasters.
Service to Community Award for Television - Ownership Group
TEGNA, Selling Girls
Upon asking viewers in all 38 of its television markets what they thought was the most underreported story, TEGNA created a six-part series that highlights the complex problem of child sex trafficking. Stories included crime data analysis, court records and scrutinization of the sometimes-inconsistent sentencing guidelines carried out by lawmakers. All TEGNA news operations across the country produced investigations on how child sex trafficking was affecting their local community. The series is now being used for education and training by organizations such as the U.S. State Department, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The United Way, the Jimmy Carter Center, and the South Carolina Air National Guard, as well as several schools and individual professors.
Category Finalists:
Hearst Television, State of Addiction
NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, NBC and Telemundo Owned Stations Information Beacons for Communities Affected by Natural Disasters
Nexstar Media Group, Founders Day
Univision Communications, Unidos por los Nuestros - Disaster Relief Campaign
Service to Community Award for Radio - Major Market
KJLH-FM Los Angeles, Calif., 102.3 KJLH Women's Health Expo
KJLH Radio
KJLH created the Womens Health Expo to address the high rates of obesity, heart disease and breast cancer in the African American community. The expo is a daylong interactive event that gives thousands of women access to medical professionals, free health screenings, and vital information needed to maintain a productive and healthy life. For some of the women in the community, the expo is their only opportunity to receive free mammograms, diabetes and blood pressure screenings, and HIV/AIDS testing. The Womens Health Expo was created 18 years ago in a small church as a resource for women to receive proper health care and has grown to host thousands of women in the Los Angeles and Long Beach Convention Centers.
Category Finalists:
Cox Media Group Long Island, Battling Breast Cancer, Cox Media Group
KTMY-FM Coon Rapids, Minn., Project Down and Dirty, Hubbard Broadcasting
WFLC-FM Miami, Fl., Hits 97.3 Campaigns for Conservation, Cox Media Group
WNIC-FM Dearborn, Mich., Jay's Juniors with 100.3 WNIC, iHeartMedia, Inc.
Service to Community Award for Television - Large Market
KDVR Denver, Co., FOX31 Problem Solvers: Serving Those Who Serve
Tribune Media
KDVR addressed the needs of Colorado's nearly 500,000 veterans and active-duty service members in 2017 through the FOX31 Problem Solvers: Serving Those Who Serve initiative. The station produced five half-hour documentaries on Colorado veterans and launched the Hero of the Month program, which recognizes veterans, active-duty service members, military family members and volunteers. The station also formed the Serving Those Who Serve Advisory Board, which meets quarterly to bring local non-profit veterans organizations together to share ideas and resources and to advise the station on military issues that should be covered.
Category Finalists:
KCBS-TV Los Angeles, Ca. Stephanie's Day, CBS Corporation
KOB-TV Albuquerque, N.M., #ABQ4ward, Hubbard Broadcasting
WCCO-TV Minneapolis, Minn., WCCO-TV's Pulling Together, CBS Corporation
WGBO-TV Chicago, Ill., Fin de DACA - End of DACA, Univision Communications
WKMG-TV Orlando, Fla., WKMG - Driving Change Campaign, Graham Media Group
WOIO-TV Cleveland, Ohio, 2 Strong 4 Bullies, Raycom Media
WRAL-TV Raleigh, N.C., Searching for a Fix, Capitol Broadcasting Company
Service to Community Award for Radio - Medium Market
WOWO-FM Ft. Wayne, Ind., Penny Pitch Federated Media
WOWO's annual Penny Pitch campaign has been providing grants to individuals and not-for-profit organizations serving Northeast Indiana since 1948. The initiative aims to help those who are either disadvantaged or physically handicapped by supporting charities that have a similar mission. In 2017, the campaign raised more than $200,000 for The Shepherd's House, which provides temporary housing for homeless military veterans living with addictions. The Shepherd's House recently had its federal funding denied
