MISSOULA, Mt. – The US Forest Service in western Montana is the focus of an award-winning outdoor sports program produced by Urban American Outdoors, whose program, “What is the Forest Service?” was selected as a Bronze winner in the 34th Annual Telly Awards Film and TV category in June.
The Telly Awards program was founded in 1979 and is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films. The program was selected for the honors from among more than 11,000 entries from all 50 states and foreign contributors.
The winning episode was filmed November 12th to the 14th and produced by Urban American Outdoor Television (UAOTV), and spotlighted the Nine Mile Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest, according to Bob Shinn, the Forest Service’s Northern Region Civil Rights director. It was the first of three episodes that UAOTV filmed here in Western Montana. Two additional episodes were filmed between May 26 and June 3, and are in final production now. The episodes are part of a package that the agency has developed in partnership with UAOTV to highlight the Forest Service to a more diverse, urban population.
“Urban American Outdoors regularly reaches an audience that the Forest Service has had a difficult time reaching in the past for both employment and recreational opportunities,” stated Shinn. Nationwide the Forest Service is actively seeking to reach more diverse audiences with employment opportunities and locations that the national forests have to offer. Diversity and inclusiveness are focus areas for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and this recognition for the Forest Service in Montana is a key part of local support for this Departmental emphasis.
The award-winning episode features a number of local Forest Service employees on the job, talking about their love of the outdoors and their passion for the natural resources, its management and the life they enjoy living in western Montana.
Urban American Outdoors is owned and hosted by Wayne and Candy Hubbard, and is based in Kansas City. UAOTV has been promoting an outdoors lifestyle to urban America since 1999. Wayne Hubbard has earned national acclaim with more than 50 national broadcast awards, including an Emmy nomination, along with reaching millions of viewers weekly. Hubbard says he has received numerous questions about the Forest Service since the first episode aired, and has acted as an ambassador for Region 1 with urban youth.
“We are very much honored to be awarded the Telly for the work that we have done. One of the main things we set out to do was to tell a good story and to be able to work with an agency like the Forest Service that does so much for our country. It was a great adventure.” said Hubbard.
Shinn adds that the Forest Service has already been in talks to work with the Hubbard’s and UAOTV to film other episodes, including some possible feature work around next year’s 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act that will highlight the region’s numerous Wilderness areas.
View the first episode at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvJgLyUjbgc&feature=youtu.be
Urban American Outdoors wins Telly award
