LEEDSVILLE — Having the opportunity to produce a television show about his hometown that will be featured on Pennsylvania-based PBS station WPSU-TV’s “Our Town” series is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Allensville native Cole Cullen. It felt like. .
Exceeding expectations in both viewership and donations certainly made it more appealing.
As a producer on WPSU’s “Our Town: Big Valley,” Karen described winning the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Award for Community Service as “the icing on the cake.”
“It’s pretty great,” Cullen said of the Sept. 21 announcement. “This announcement is especially special because this is my hometown.”
He learned he had won the award Sunday in Conemaugh Township, near Johnstown, as he and his wife, Kari, prepared to drive their U-Haul back to Mifflin County after a high school marching band competition. It was when I was working.
“The drive home was fun because I was floating,” Karen said of the three-hour round trip to Mifflin County.
“Luckily, I was still in the parking lot,” said Karen, who received a text message from a colleague who attended the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awards ceremony. “I was very excited to see the news.”
This year marked Karen’s fourth Emmy win, but her first for her series “Our Town.” His last Emmy win was in 2016, when he won for videographer and editor. “I won that award for writing,” he recalled.
This Emmy’s hometown connection certainly made it even more special. Work on the project took four to five months, including interviews with more than 25 local people.
“I started interviewing people in early May and it aired in early September,” he said.
Karen acknowledged that planning “Our Town: Big Valley” was a risk because PBS programming is funded by member donations.
“There are a lot of places in the Big Valley that don’t have cable coverage,” Karen explained. “Broadcasters want to make money from the promises they make during the show. It was really marketed for online viewing. We got a really good response.”
Karen added that the Emmy Awards for Community Service recognize excellence in community service through an organized effort to raise awareness and gather support for one or more worthy community causes. .
“Our Town: Big Valley” was the 109th episode of WPSU’s long-standing community service and outreach efforts dating back to 1996.
With Karen spending so much of his life here, it’s easy to see why he considers the entire Big Valley – Allensville, Belleville, Milroy, Reidsville and the surrounding areas – his home. When WPSU-TV announced that the Big Valley would be featured in its “Our Town” series, Karen couldn’t have been more excited.
Karen, the station’s lead producer of local content, is part of a production team that has been working on the Big Valley corner for the past two months, meeting and interviewing local residents, collecting photos and footage and spending hours on end. I edited the camera work. (I created this last summer, so “last 2 months” is meaningless)
Over the years, the production team has worked with residents of more than 60 central Pennsylvania towns and communities to celebrate what’s unique and special about them.
In addition to the positive impact these programs have within the community, this project has attracted more than $2 million in financial support from individuals and businesses to support WPSU’s programming and production efforts.
WPSU’s “Our Town” concept has become a successful model that many public media organizations across the country have successfully implemented in their regions.
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