24th Annual Midsouth Emmy ® Awards Presented

Darrell Waltrip Host of Live Emmy® Awards Telecast; Freedom Forum Received Governors’ Award..

The Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented their 24^th Annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards on Saturday, January 30, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip hosted  the live telecast of the 24^th Midsouth Emmy^® Awards carried on public television stations in North Carolina and Tennessee. In addition to his spectacular racing career, Darrell played himself in the Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights, and was the voice of Darrell Cartrip in the hit Pixar movie Cars. For his work as a sports commentator, Darrell was nominated for a national Emmy^® Award for Outstanding Sports Personality.

Phillip L. Bell, NATAS National Trustee, inducted two broadcasting veterans into the Silver Circle, which honors quarter-century contributions to television and to their communities.  Honored were anchor Sandra Hughes from Greensboro, North Carolina, who has been with WFMY since 1972,   and Jerry Hayes, anchor at WHNT in Huntsville, Alabama, who began his career in 1978..

Anne Holt of WKRN Nashville presented the Governors’ Award for lifetime achievement, the academy’s highest honor to the Freedom Forum.  The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan foundation that champions the first amendment as a cornerstone of democracy, and is the main funder of the operations of the Newseum, the First Amendment Center, and their television series, Speaking Freely.  The First Amendment Center is housed in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University.    The award was accepted By Ken Paulson, President of the Freedom Forum, and Gene Policinski, Vice President, The First Amendment Center

This year’s nominations resulted in74  awards for 30 companies in 68 categories.  The complete list of nominations is available at http://nashville.emmyonline.org/#129 The ballots, tabulated by Jennifer Lane of Decosimo Vaden, were judged by the Northwest Chapter of NATAS, based in Seattle, Washington.

For further information:  Geneva Brignolo, 615-259-0040, emmynash@aol.com

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a non-profit, professional organization dedicated to fostering excellence in television. The academy has 19 chapters with 15,000 members nationwide. The Nashville/Midsouth Region encompasses the States of North Carolina (except Asheville) and Tennessee, and northern Alabama.