Macomb Today

Sterling Heights Television recently received a 2023 Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation.

The awards program was established to honor and promote community media, community radio and local cable programs that are distributed on Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access cable television channels. 

SHTV’s Bob Sergott and Sterling Heights Police Department Captain Colleen Hopper were awarded for their work on a documentary titled “Every 15 Minutes: A Sterling Heights Story.” The ACM Hometown awards are highly coveted national awards for excellence in public programming nationwide, and The Every 15 Minutes Documentary won the “best of” award in the category of Original Film or Drama Access Center Professional.The documentary was produced for Every 15 Minutes, a program that began with the California Highway Patrol in the 90s. The program’s name is derived from the fact that every 15 minutes, someone dies or is seriously injured in an alcohol-related traffic collision. The documentary was produced through a public/private partnership effort among SHTV, Sterling Heights Police and Fire departments, Warren Consolidated Schools, the 41-A District Court, Henry Ford Health System, Utica/Van Dyke Towing, Wasik Funeral Home, EA Graphics and the Traffic Improvement Association. These partners collaborated on this project with the shared goal of warning the public of the dangers of drinking and driving and how it impacts so many lives.

“Our SHTV staff are regular winners of the ACM’s Philo Awards at the regional level, and now winning this award at the national level is a huge honor for SHTV and our community,” said Community Relations Director Melanie Davis. “It underscores not only the talent and creativity we have here at SHTV, but also the innovative ways the members of our police department work to tackle community issues.”

Each year, nearly one thousand entries are submitted. These entries, or programs, are submitted and evaluated on several factors resulting in over 100 award winners. A panel of over 150 judges from the industry evaluate the entries. Awards are presented to the most creative programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats, and move viewers to experience television in a different way.

“The Hometown Media Awards celebrate both the excellence of work and the diversity of media that appears on community channels being produced around the country. The ACM Foundation is proud of their achievement and of how they represent their communities in their work,” said Mike Wassenaar, president & CEO, Alliance for Community Media.

Original source can be found here.