October 2006

Winners of 2006 Public Television Leadership Award Honored
at PBS Development Conference

KNPB CEO and President Kliff Kuehl accepts the 2006 Public Television Leadership Award on behalf of the E.L. Cord Foundation. Photo Credit: Bob Blanken

PBS honored the 5 winners of the 2006 Public Television Leadership Award on Friday, October 6 at the closing banquet of the annual PBS Development Conference. This year's meeting brought together over 800 fundraising professionals from around the nation in Baltimore , MD. The awards recognize individuals, organizations and corporations who, through their sustained commitment, have secured major funding for public television and whose efforts have resulted in lasting benefits to their station and/or the PBS system at large.

Individuals, organizations, and corporations were nominated for the Public Television Leadership Award by PBS member stations. The Development Advisory Committee, a group of station professionals who provide ongoing counsel and guidance to PBS, selected honorees based on their ongoing commitment to local stations and to public broadcasting, specifically, their use of talent and resources for extraordinary actions, and ability to secure major funding.

"This year's recipients of the Public Television Leadership Award worked tirelessly to ensure public television fulfills its mission to provide programming and services of unparalleled quality. The ongoing commitment and generosity of these extraordinary people and institutions provides a strong foundation for public broadcasting in communities around the country," said Paula A. Kerger, PBS's president and chief executive officer.

E.L. Cord Foundation; KNPB, Reno, NV: The E.L. Cord Foundation first donated operational funding to KNPB in the form of underwriting in 1985. In the past 21 years, over $3 million has been invested in operational and capital campaign support. Kliff Kuehl, President and CEO of KNPB noted, "The generous financial contributions of the E.L. Cord Foundation challenge other corporations and organizations to invest in the community services that Channel 5 provides." The $3 million capital campaign to build a new facility for the station started in 1989 with an initial gift of $50,000 from the E.L. Cord Foundation, and ultimately the trustees of the foundation granted $507,500. The $6 million capital campaign to fund the conversion to digital television commenced in 1999 with a $500,000 gift from the E.L. Cord Foundation, which was the first installment of their $1 million dollar investment.

Other award recipients include Jim and Barbara Goodmon of North Carolina ; Liberty Mutual in Boston , MA ; Carmen Carmichael Murphy of Elkhart , IN; and the O'Neill Family of Peoria, IL.