News -- Oak Park, Illinois

VOP-TV original productions win national programming awards

Award-winng VOP-TV Manager Joe Kreml at work in downtown Oak Park with the help of Community Relations Director and frequent on-air talent Cedric Melton.

Sept. 28, 2011 – VOP-TV, the Village of Oak Park's municipal television station, has continued its winning ways in national competition, garnering seven awards in its budget category, including three first place finishes for original programming productions.

The awards were presented by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), a non-profit professional association that recognizes the accomplishments of municipal television stations through annual programming awards.
More than 700 entries were submitted this year by municipal television station operators from across the United States and Canada. The awards, announced Friday at NATOA's 26th annual gathering in San Francisco, recognize excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia and electronic programming produced by local government agencies.

Mini Murals Adorn Oak Park El Tracks, which chronicled efforts to transform the blank concrete walls along the Union Pacific Railroad into artists' canvases, took top honors in both the public education and community awareness categories.

A stop-smoking spot, Molly Shortbreath, that spoofed a Martha Stewart cooking show, was first in the public service category, and second in the use of humor category.

Saving Ash Trees, a video featuring Village Forester Jim Semelka discussing the devastating impact of the Emerald Ash Borer and a way to use the trees after they have been taken down, finished second in the community awareness and public education categories, as well as third in the category for profiling a city/county department.

VOP-TV Manager Joe Kreml

VOP-TV Manager Joe Kreml produces, films and edits all Village of Oak Park videos, many of which feature municipal employees and residents in a variety of roles. Kreml’s original videos have won nearly three dozen industry awards since he joined the Village's Office of Communications & Cable TV in 2001.

In addition to broadcasting public information programs such as these most recent award winners, the station also produces public service announcements, broadcasts Village Board meetings and airs information on government-related services and events.

Emergency information also can be found on VOP-TV, which is broadcast on Comcast channel six and AT&T Uverse channel 99. In addition, many VOP-TV original programs are posted on YouTube at www.youtube.com/vopnews and at www.oak-park.us/voptv.

For more information on VOP-TV programming, call 708.358.5775 or e-mail voptv@oak-park.us.