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Diego Emmy Awards |
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THE SAN DIEGO EMMYS!!!
28th ANNUAL PACIFIC SOUTHWEST AREA EMMY AWARDS
By Ronny T. Baylor
I have produced the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards for the San
Diego NATAS Chapter for 14 years. This year’s show, held in
the Grand Ballroom of the prestigious U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown
San Diego, was among the best that we have done.
The Master of Ceremonies this year was English Actor John Anthony
Blake. Robert Stack called him "The funniest, wittiest and smartest
MC that I’ve seen in years." This was certainly the case for
this years EMMY Awards on June 15th. Blake had the audience
rolling in the aisles. Along with Blake, we showcased three
different entertainers. The show was kicked off with The Steps
of Praise. This 25 person group came bursting through the ballroom
doors to open the show and got the audience rocking on their
feet. The group has many television appearances under their
belt including the Jay Leno Show.
Khara Rice made a special guest appearance with one of her famous
songs as she started on stage and came out into the audience.
Aubrey Sharfman and Jilla Webb teamed up during another entertainment
moment. Sharfman accompanied on piano while Webb used her dynamic
vocal ability to energize the audience.
One of the things the Pacific Southwest Chapter is so proud
of is the Scholarship Program. In eight years, we have been
able to raise the money given to scholarships from $4,000 to
$24,000. The main reason for this is due to the President of
the Chapter, Esther Jane Paul. "The Emmy is the most prestigious
award a television professional can receive, recognizing outstanding
achievement in regional television." We try to return part of
this by helping outstanding students with their education in
the television field. While other organizations are cutting
back, we are moving forward with our Scholarship program.
Like all shows, the Emmy show takes months to plan. Besides
the Pacific Southwest Board of Directors which numbers 25, there
were 13 people on the planning committee and it took 44 people
on the production team to make the Emmy’s shine this year. You
know it’s a successful show when everyone stays till the end,
and this year was no exception. The show was fast moving, well
written and produced with something for everyone.
We tried something new this year and scheduled an intermission
midway through the show to serve a buffet dessert. I thought
we would lose a few people at this stage however, I was happy
to see everyone return to their seats when master of ceremonies
Blake came out on stage. We had a "Live" Announcer who sat below
the stage with an "On the Air" sign which was illuminated each
time he spoke. The presenters were at the microphones when he
finished their introductions cutting down on "dead air."
We had a floor director at the bottom of the steps to make sure
someone was ready to speak when we came out of tape. He also
informed the truck of the correct person speaking for CG purposes.
We had 59 television categories broken into 22 award groups
using 9 groups of presenters. The show really moved. The production
truck was provided by Adelphia Cable from Sherman Oaks. Production
Manager, Larry Jones and his group of 5 engineers certainly
have their act together.
We have used this group for many years and they have certainly
added to the production of the show. A total of 92 Emmys were
given out during the course of the evening. We received many
accolades for the quality and speed of the show. After the event,
a VHS tape is produced which is made available to whoever would
like it. We also have a professional still photographer to capture
all the highlights of the evening. We have tried many venues
in the past and have always included dinner with the event.
It was an evening filled with excitement and elegance AND the
show held the audience till the end.
Ron Baylor is currently an Executive Producer of Operations
for Clear Channel Television. He has held many television news
positions including Executive Producer of Special Projects,
Producer, Assignment Desk, News Photographer and Editor. He
has worked for the major television networks and at stations
in the Los Angeles, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas
areas. Besides producing the Emmy Awards for the past 14 years,
Ron has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Pacific
Southwest Chapter. Ron has also been honored with a number of
awards such as Emmy, Golden Mic, and Press Club Awards. He plans
to return to the Los Angeles television market in the near future.
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