"My School Rocks!" wins PBS Development Inspiration Award

On May 18, 2011, WTVI accepted a 2010 PBS Development Inspiration Award for the first year of the "My School Rocks!" competition. Andrew Jackson, Independence, Lake Norman, North Mecklenburg, Rock Hill and West Charlotte high schools competed in the first annual WTVI and MSR Magazine competition for the right to claim their choir as the "Most Rocking School in the Carolinas." Congratulations to WTVI producer Jere Thomas for heading this successful project that recognized Lake Norman as the winning school choral program with a $5000 prize and raised $18,000 for WTVI. Inspiration Award winners were recognized at the PBS Annual Meeting in Orlando.
View YouTube clips from the 2011 competition.

National Memorial Day Concert airs live on Sunday, May 29, 2011

The nation's premier event is broadcast live on the eve of Memorial Day from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C The television event features a mix of dramatic readings, documentary footage and live musical performances, along with an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists. Airs Sunday, May 29, 2011, at 8 p.m.

The multi award-winning event will be co-hosted for the sixth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI:NEW YORK) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna J(CRIMINAL MINDS), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veteran's causes and supporting our troops in active service.

Joining Sinise and Mantegna for the 22nd annual broadcast will be: distinguished American leader Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.); American Idol winner Kris Allen; Academy and Emmy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest; King of the Blues B.B. King; classical superstar Hayley Westenra; and America's beloved tenor Daniel Rodriguez, the New York city policeman who united the country after the September 11 terrorist attacks. They will perform with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly (additional talent to be announced).

Freedom Riders stop in Charlotte

Forty College Students took a 2011 Student Ride, a journey retracing the historic civil rights bus rides that changed America. Accompanied by original Freedom Riders, the students participated in the bus ride from May 6-16, 2011 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the original rides.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for college students committed to learning from history and applying these lessons today, the ride was also a catalyst for a national conversation about the role of civic engagement today.

Kicking off in Washington, DC, the ride rolled through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, stopping along the way at historically significant locations, namely Charlotte, NC.

On May 9, 2011, WTVI, Levine Museum of the New South, The National Humanities Center, First United Presbyterian Church, Johnson C. Smith University, and UNC-Charlotte offered a sneak preview of the film "The Freedom Riders." The film airs on WTVI on May 18, 2011, at 9 p.m.

WTVI adds executive producer Rick Fitts to develop new programs

CHARLOTTE, NC (May 4, 2011) – WTVI, Charlotte’s PBS television station, has added local producer/director/editor, Rick Fitts, as executive producer. Fitts is a 14-time Telly Award winner and owner of Fitts Production Associates.

A longtime collaborator with North Carolina Dance Theatre (NCDT), Fitts began working with NCDT in 1988 as producer, multi-media director and scenic designer for John-Pierre Bonnefoux’s “Seeing Through.” In 2010, Fitts and NCDT’s Sasha Janes won a Telly Award for the documentary “Glass Houses” that shows the behind-the-scenes work on creating a new ballet. Fitts is also a former partner and vice president of production services at Tribble Creative Group.

“I look forward to developing new programs for broadcast that meet WTVI viewers’ expectations of quality content they can trust,” says Fitts. “We have some creative projects in the works that the community will be excited to see.”

Corporate production credits for Fitts Production Associates include special widescreen programmed event entertainment, film projects and corporate award shows in the United States, Australia, China, Germany, France and South Korea.

Fitts also works with a wide range of non-profits and has a 15-year history producing media for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte as well as Johnson C. Smith University, Leadership Charlotte, The Governors’ NC Conference for Women, Girl Scouts of America and Pride Magazine. Fitts is an active volunteer in the community, and he is working with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte's Prayer Breakfast committee, producing the live event on May 5, 2011, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Crown Ballroom.

“Rick brings more innovation and experience to our WTVI team, and his community connections will help build new relationships and continue relationships with long-time collaborative partners like the Arts & Sciences Council, Foundation for the Carolinas, the League of Women Voters and the United Way,” says Elsie Garner, CEO at WTVI.