The Renaissance Center wins 4 Midsouth Regional Emmys

February 1, 2003

The Renaissance Center received four trophies at the 17th annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards handed out Saturday at the Opryland Resort.

The center received two awards for Hallowed Ground, its documentary on preserving Tennessee’s Civil War battlefields, while Production Manager Ken Tucker received three Emmys for his work on Tennessee’s Wild Side, Ain’t Got Long to Stay Here and Hallowed Ground.

Tennessee’s Wild Side, produced in cooperation with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Nashville Public Television (NPT), was named the winner in the Best Magazine program. A family oriented outdoor adventure show, Tennessee’s Wild Side takes viewers from one end of the state to the other in seeking out interesting and entertaining segments highlighting outdoor activities from hunting, fishing and camping to hang gliding, mountain biking and conservation efforts.

“Tennessee’s Wild Side has become the jewel of our production efforts and is extremely popular across the state,” said Doug Jackson, executive director of The Renaissance Center. “Without the assistance of the TWRA and the support from public television, this program and its message of appreciation for Tennessee’s wildlife and abundance of outdoor activities would be quieted.

“We are extremely proud to be recognized by our peers in the television industry in this area,” said Jackson. “We are a growing production facility and these awards along with our past awards emphasize the quality of the work we do in comparison with the many television stations and full-time production houses in the region.”

Opened in 1999, The Renaissance Center is a nonprofit arts and technology education and performing arts center with an active Multimedia Department producing cable television programs, a weekly outdoor show for PBS and other special video projects.

Headed by former WSMV anchor and reporter Steve Hall, the Multimedia Department at The Renaissance Center includes an impressive collection of award-winning writers, producers, directors, photojournalists and postproduction personnel. The four awards handed out last week bring the center’s total to seven Emmys in three years, while receiving 20 nominations over that span.

Founded in 1957, The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), best known for the internationally recognized Emmy Award, is a nonprofit, professional organization dedicated to improving the quality of television at all levels. NATAS strives to raise industry standards, encourages those new to the profession, and provides a forum for the exchange of ideas on industry problems and concerns. The Nashville/Midsouth Region, founded in 1984, encompasses the states of North Carolina (except Asheville) and Tennessee, and the television market of Huntsville, Ala.

“These awards underscore what we at The Renaissance Center already knew: we are privileged to work with some very talented people in the field of television production,” said Hall. “As we continue to grow and expand our work, we expect The Renaissance Center’s reputation as a quality production facility will continue to reach new people. We’re already pushing our boundaries and expanding into the area of concert video production on the heels of our successful debut with Three Dog Night Live with the Tennessee Symphony.”

At Saturday night’s awards presentation, The Renaissance Center received Emmys for:
Best Magazine Program - Tennessee’s Wild Side, a weekly outdoor adventure program now in its fourth season on PBS stations across Tennessee. Jackson is the show’s executive producer while Hall and Tucker are producers and Tucker oversees postproduction work as well as working as a videographer;
Best Special Event/Post Production - Ain’t Got Long to Stay Here, a program starring American Negro Playwright Theatre founder Barry Scott as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Taped at The Renaissance Center’s Performance Hall in March, Scott and Tucker were the producers while Tucker also was editor and in charge of all post-production work;
Best Editor/Non-News - Ken Tucker, for his work on Hallowed Ground: Preserving Tennessee's Civil War Battlefields. Commissioned by the Tennessee Wars Commission and funded by a grant from Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, the documentary examined how the state's Civil War battlefields are vanishing due to growth and development and the need to preserve them;
Best Writer/Non-News - David Van Hooser, for his work on Hallowed Ground. Van Hooser wrote, directed, produced and appeared in the documentary, which aired on PBS stations across the state.

“Tennessee’s Wild Side was our first major television production endeavor,” said Jackson. “And as our first venture out of the gate it has been very successful by being aired on all public broadcasting stations in Tennessee as well as spawning a syndicated version shown on regional cable. For it to be recognized as the best magazine-format program being shown in this region is an endorsement for all the hard work Steve and his department put into each episode.”

“Hallowed Ground was a very inspiring program to be associated with,” said Van Hooser. “Traveling all over the state and seeing how much of our history and heritage is simply being built over gave all of us a sense that something very important to who we are is about to vanish and, once gone, will never be reclaimed.

“Also getting to work with Barry Scott, who narrated the program, as well as Ken Tucker and all the talented people of The Renaissance Center made the program a joy to make.”

Tucker, The Renaissance Center’s first employee of the year in 2000, manages the postproduction work on all of the center’s Multimedia Department projects. He has been editor of Tennessee’s Wild Side since its beginning as well as all other major projects such as Hallowed Ground, Ain’t Got Long to Stay Here, the Three Dog Night concert and others.

“In postproduction work, I put the pieces together into the final program that the viewers end up seeing,” said Tucker. “But without all the work that takes place before that stage, I’d have nothing to work with. We have wonderful people at every stage, from the studio to the control room, from behind the cameras to behind the scenes. No program is the work of just one person, but the collective effort of many and we have a tremendous group of people to work with.”

The Renaissance Center continues to produce quality programming for the Local Access Cable Channel in Dickson County as well as its other television and concert video production work.

“The art of effective communication - good storytelling - is the focal point of the Renaissance Multimedia Center. The process of producing quality video and television begins with creativity and is complimented with cutting edge technology,” said Jackson. “Our writers, producers, videographers, editors and animators are proven and award-winning professionals who understand the importance of crafting the right message for the intended audience.”

For more information on The Renaissance Center’s Multimedia Department, call (615)740-5511. The Renaissance Center is located at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

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