Wilmington, Del. (March 29, 2018) – Council President Dr. Hanifa Shabazz announced today that several members of the staff of WITN-22, the City’s public television station, will receive honors both from the Delaware Press Association and The Photography Gala Awards.

WITN Senior Producer Yesenia Taveras was recognized with the 2018 Best Television Talk Show honor in the 2018 Communications Contest held by Delaware Press Association (DPA), for La Conexión/The Connection. She collaborated with Station Manager Paul Kennard, Production Supervisor Paul Colsey, Producer and Editor Saquan Stimpson, and Social Media and Web Content Producer Lorener Wooten on the production.

La Conexión/The Connection is a 30-minute television talk show that debuted in February 2013 with the goal to connect the Latino community to local programs, services and events. La Conexión, which is Spanish for The Connection, served as a platform for guests to speak in Spanish and/or English about their programs and services. This award-winning episode highlights The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, which is a nationally recognized 125-mile self-guided driving tour that includes 17 Wilmington owned small businesses. To view this episode, visit https://youtu.be/s2dPqVrUCPA.

Taveras and Colsey also earned the 2018 Best Television Advertising award for “Skill vs. Will,” featuring Roy Jones Jr. vs. Bobby Gun. The pair co-produced the first 30-seconds of the video featuring boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. vs bare-knuckle legend Bobby Gunn. The video was created to promote a championship fight for the vacant WBF World Cruiserweight title. The fight took place on February 17, 2017 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. To view the segment, visit https://www.facebook.com/WITN22/videos/10154111657445927/.

The annual DPA Communications Contest is open to all professional communicators in Delaware and encourages and rewards excellence in communication. The contest is judged by out-of-state communications professionals to ensure impartiality and provides an opportunity to compete in various print or electronic broadcasting fields.

“I am exceedingly proud to share the news of these accomplishments with all Wilmingtonians,” said Shabazz. “The talented, experienced and well-trained crew that staffs our City’s television station works collaboratively to produce high-quality and effective programming on a daily basis, and these awards are reflective of their hard work and dedication to sharing important information with our residents.”

President Shabazz noted that, while WITN-22 is a public television station, it often looks more like a traditional cable television channel.

“While our channel does air public meetings and events, WITN-22 does much more than that,” she explained. “Our original programming often rivals that of some of the larger television and cable networks, and challenges conceptions of the limitations of what a public station can be.”

Producer and Editor Saquan Stimpson has also been recognized with first-place honors in the category of “Editorial and Current Affairs” by The Photography Gala Awards. The recognition, part of the organization’s 11th Pollux Awards, came from Stimpson’s entry of a photo (included below) he took of Delaware State Police officials on a rainy day carrying the casket of Corporal Stephen J. Ballard, who was shot and killed in the line of duty last year. Visit https://t.co/bNMFVfJUop for more on his award.

“Whether it is during public meetings or at community events or occasions, Saquan has an eye for photography, and a true talent for capturing images that tell the story of what is going on,” President Shabazz said. “Just as this photo powerfully conveyed a difficult moment for all Delawareans, Saquan routinely lends his talents to conveying important news and information with Wilmingtonians.”

The awards competition included entries from more than 400 photographers hailing from 52 countries, with over 4,400 total photographs submitted across various categories.

“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the WITN staff,” said Paul Kennard, WITN-22 Station Manager. “It’s great to see that our hard work and professionalism is being recognized by our peers in the industry.”

For more information, and to sign up to receive information like this from City Council, visit www.WilmingtonCityCouncil.com.

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May 5, 2017 – Wilmington, Delaware. U.S. – Fellow troopers carry the casket of Corporal Stephen J. Ballard during his funeral services held at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. Ballard was gunned down Wednesday April 26, 2017 in a parking lot when he approached a suspicious vehicle. The passenger jumped out and began firing at him. Ballard fell after being hit, and the shooter continued to fire rounds into the trooper before fleeing to his family’s Middletown-area home. (Credit Image: © Saquan Stimpson via ZUMA Wire)