A record crowd of nearly 600 attended the 56th Annual NATAS Emmy® Awards gala at the Fremont Studios on June 8, honoring excellence in television production in the five Northwest States.
Golden statuettes were awarded to some 200 entrants in 81 professional categories, which drew nearly 1,000 total entries. KING-TV paced the field with a total of 25 Emmys, along with a Citation for Outstanding Community Outreach for its Home Team Harvest campaign in the Large Market category. You can view the complete list of 2019 winners at www.natasnw.org
KTUU in Anchorage, represented by general manager Nancy Johnson, won the coveted Emmy for Overall Excellence. This category recognizes “the quality, breadth and efficacy of the organization’s operations, stressing substance rather than style, and its performance in sustaining excellence throughout the eligibility year.”
In individual honors, Gaard Swanson of KOMO’s Seattle Refined won an Emmy as Program Host/Moderator, as did Morgan Palmer of KIRO for Weather Anchor, Michelle Ludtka of Q13 Fox for Sports Anchor and Chris Daniels of KING for General Assignment News Reporter.
The entire evening is captured in the video displayed below, including the spoof in the intro that perennial host Chris Cashman will be replaced next year by an avatar emcee, voiced by actor Danny Bonnaducci, who was on hand to assist Chris at this year’s gala.
This year’s event sold out faster than any time in its 56-year history, and we asked Diane Bevins of Association Services, Inc., the long-time manager of the Emmys, to what she attributed that.
“Frankly, I think [the Emmy gala] has grown to become a place where people in the industry want to be—and to be seen,” Diane said.
While she’s much too humble to admit it, she and her mom, Loretta, deserve a major share of the credit, too. This dynamic daughter-mother duo has been managing the event every year for more than three decades, after taking over the reins from the late Marion Simpson in the mid-80s. They’re the undisputed local leaders in the field of organization management, whose clients include the likes of the local AMA, PRSA and MCEI chapters, as well as NATAS Northwest, which comprises Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
Loretta and Diane Bevins of Association Services, Inc.
In a separate program at Fremont Studios on Friday, June 7, the following individuals were inducted into the Gold and Silver Circles, recognizing career contributions to the television industry for 50 and 25 years, respectively. They are:
GOLD CIRCLE
Jean Walkinshaw, Producer ▪ Freelance (Retired from KING, KCTS), Seattle ▪ Silver Circle 1992. Walkinshaw has been in the industry for more than 55 years. She started at KING in 1963 and moved to KCTS in 1970. While she is officially “retired” from television, she continues to freelance as a documentary producer. Her rich body of work includes nearly 50 life-affirming documentaries that focus on issues, art, literature and history. Walkinshaw was inducted into the Silver Circle in 1992.
SILVER CIRCLE
Dennis Bounds, News Anchor (Retired) ▪ KING, Seattle. Bounds first appeared on television in 1976 in Fargo, North Dakota, and he worked in Orlando, Florida; Minneapolis; and Shreveport, Louisiana, before anchoring at KING in 1991.
Della Kostelnik Juarez, Communications Specialist ▪ Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (formerly with KOMO), Seattle. Kostelnik Juarez was hired for the secretarial pool at KING in 1985. Since she couldn’t type, she helped instead with production. In 1988 she was a member of the first all-female news crew to cover the Washington State Legislature and in 1989 became the first female live truck operator for KGW.
Tim Adams, Meteorologist ▪ KNDO/KNDU, Tri-Cities. Adams began his career in 1978 as a news photographer for KXLY in Spokane. His role as KNDO’s “weather guesser extraordinaire” combines his love for the industry, science and the outdoors.
Don Clossin, Senior Photographer ▪ KHQ, Spokane. Clossin knew from an early age that he would work in TV news and he’s been at KHQ his entire career, joining the station in 1978 when shooting and processing 16mm film was the norm.
Mike Ross, Anchor/Executive Producer ▪ KTUU, Anchorage. Ross began his career in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and has worked as a reporter, anchor and news manager at KTUU since he joined the station 13 years ago.
Rhonda Shelby, Meteorologist ▪ KATU, Portland. Shelby started at KOMO in 1988 as a producer and joined KATU in 1983 as the station’s community relations director and as a meteorologist.
Todd Sonflieth, Senior Videographer/Editor ▪ Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland. Sonflieth joined OPB in 1983 as part of the studio crew and as a field audio tech. He helped launch “Oregon Field Guide,” now in its 30th year on air.