POLK COUNTY BEGINNING A TRADITION IN STUDENT TELEVISION PRODUCTION EXCELLENCE

Congratulations to Lake Gibson High School senior Kevin Patterson, who will be honoured May 1 in New York as one of seven recipents of the National Student Television Award for Excellence. He will receive the Hubbard Family Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service Award as the director/writer/editor of a series of three public service announcements dealing with the issue of teen depression.

The NSTAEs, known to some as the "High School Emmys", is presented by the Foundation of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organization which awards the actual Emmy Awards each year.

It seems that a tradition has begun. This will be the fifth year that the NSTAEs have been awarded, and Mr. Patterson's accomplishment will mark the third year that a Polk County student has made the trip to New York for the ceremony. Last year, George Jenkins High School's Presley Adamson IV was honoured as writer of the script for a documentary, "The Need For Speed". And in 2003 Jenkins student Jason Bent received one of the first awards in the competition.

The other students participating in the Lake Gibson production were Alicia Belch, Deanna Belch, Cody Harmeling, Keith Patterson, Katie Harrell, Kim Beals, Nikole Eriksen, Angie Troxell, Jacob Robinson, Cody Ayre, Diana Chen, Blayn Chamblee. FacultyAdvisor Laura McNabb had also received an invitation to the awards ceremony, but in a true touch of class donated it to Patterson's family.

This year's ceremony will be held in Manhatten's new, futuristic 46-storyHearst Tower and will be attended by over 300 leaders from throughout the television industry including the NATAS Board of Directors.

It's really amazing just how media savvy these young folks have gotten. The productions honoured by NATAS are nothing you'll see on your local commercial broadcast station. These are aired on the respective schools' internal video network, and provides the students an opportunity to use their creative talents in a positive way. I'm sure you'll possibly see some of these future producers/directors/writers doing it for pay a few years down the line.

You can see the productions being honoured by clicking here.