Chapter events for September and October:
On September 20th the San Antonio Media Alliance Chapter held their
September luncheon at the Holiday Inn Select in San Antonio. The luncheon
topic was “HD Radio…a Digital World,” and was open
to the entire San Antonio media and advertising community. The guest
speakers were Ben Reed, Cox Radio San Antonio Market Manager, and
Mike McDonald, Director of Sales with Clear Channel Radio in San Antonio.
These guest speakers are true experts on the topic of Hi-Def radio,
and its affects on the ever changing San Antonio radio market. Their
entertaining and informative presentation even included a Hi-Def radio
demonstration, where the audience got a clear indication of the difference
that HD radio can make in listening quality. Mike McDonald even donated
an HD radio on behalf of Clear Channel Radio, to be raffled off to
one of the lucky luncheon attendees. Approximately $100 was raised
from the raffle, with proceeds to benefit the San Antonio AWRT Chapter’s
Scholarship Fund.
The San Antonio Media Alliance Chapter has been focusing most of
their time lately on preparing for their second annual SAMY Awards
and Charity Gala. This event will be held on October 19th at the Club
at Sonterra in San Antonio. The SAMYS, as they are affectionately
known, will recognize professional women and men in the local radio,
television, cable, and advertising agency media community who excel
in their field, and encourage promotion of women in the electronic
media profession. The silent auction held at this black-tie optional
event, will raise money for the San Antonio chapter’s college
scholarship fund. A portion of the proceeds raised will also be donated
to the DREAM Fund, Dedicating Resources to Employees of Advertising
and Media. Local TV and radio “celebrities” will be serving
as the awards presenters, as SAMA recognizes the “best of the
best” in the San Antonio electronic media community. This event
was such a huge success last year, and so far it’s shaping up
to be bigger and better this year, with over 200 people expected to
attend.
The San Antonio Media Alliance, A Chapter of AWRT, presented the inaugural 2005 SAMYS Awards and Charity Gala on Thursday, September 22, 2005 at the St. Anthony Hotel in downtown San Antonio.
The gala was a huge success. It was a full house and everyone had a wonderful time! Terri Walker, the AWRT Regional Director for our area and the presenter for the SAMA Distinguished Member Award, commented: “Wow! I was impressed with the SAMYS! All of you should feel very proud of the inaugural SAMYS.”
The San Antonio Media Alliance would also like to send out a thank you to all of the generous sponsors for helping to make this such a wonderful evening: Cox Radio, Inc., KENS 5, KWEX-TV, Univision Radio, Time Warner Media Sales, WOAI-TV, KSAT-TV, and Thompson Marketing, as well as the silent auction donors, and wonderful awards presenters. Kim Kerley, the emcee for the SAMYS, provided comic relief, making the evening even more entertaining, and of course the SAMYS would not have been the success that it was without the SAMYS volunteer planning committee.
Highlights of the evening include the chapter’s first ever Silver Award of Excellence being awarded to Mary Denman, and the SAMA Distinguished Member Award going to Carole VanBuren. The SAMA Chapter of AWRT College Scholarship was awarded to Elizabeth Mendez from San Antonio, who is a journalism major at Baylor University.
SAMY Awards were presented to the following recipients:
- TV Broadcast News Personality and/or Team: Steve Browne – KSAT
- Local Account Executive TV/Cable: Ashley Parker – KSAT
- Regional/National Account Executive TV/Cable: Fran Bickley – WOAI
- Sales Manager TV/Cable: Sara Fulmer – KENS
- General Manager TV/Cable: Judy Rettinger – Time Warner Cable
- TV Production Department/Manager: KENS Creative Services Department
- Radio Personality and/or Team: Lisle & Hahn – KISS
- Local Account Executive Radio: Pamela Board – KSMG
- Sales Manager Radio: Janis Maxymof – KISS/KSMG
- General Manager/Station Manager Radio: Dan Wilson – Univision Radio
- Radio Production Department/Manager: Award category dedicated to the memory of Leif Calberg of Cox Radio
- Agency Buyer/Planner: Regional/National: Brandon Thompson – Helen Thompson Agency
- Agency Buyer/Planner: Local Agency/Buying Service/In-house Agency: Debbie Hamilton – The PM Group
- Advertising Agency Management: Pat Roberson – Taylor West
Congratulations to all of the 2005 SAMY Award winners!
