Silver Circle & Gold Circle

Each year, the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inducts qualified candidates into the Gold Circle Society and the Silver Circle Society. The Gold Circle recognizes individuals who have dedicated 50 or more years in the industry and the Silver Circle Society recognizes individuals who have dedicated 25 or more years in the industry.

Inductees into these prestigious circles come from engineering, editing, production, photography, news, management, promotions and sales, as well as the education broadcast journalism arena. We are honored to have these individuals in our region and extend our congratulations to the current year's inductees.

2009 Nominations for Gold and Silver Circle

If you would like to nominate an individual for Gold or Silver Circle please fill out a nomination form. Please make sure to include biographical information on the individual you are nominating. Please note that if the individual you nominate becomes an inductee we will ask for your assistance in creating a 2-3 minute DVD of that individual's career to show at the ceremony. The deadline for the 2009 nominations to Gold and Silver Circle Society will be February 20, 2009. Any questions please contact the NATAS office.

2008 Gold and Silver Circle Inductees

Congratulations 2008 Gold and Silver Circle Honorees

Gold Circle Inductees

Larry Martel began his career in the mid-fifties doing “The News of the Day” from the University of Arizona.  Upon graduation he moved back to his hometown in New York and landed a job working for a small radio station.  From there he has worked for newspapers, magazines, wire services, a few networks and then returned to Arizona as part of the first All-News Station – KPHO in 1961.  He eventually moved across the hall to the TV side and remained with KPHO for 38 years as one of Channel 5’s journalists. 

In addition to his work at Channel 5, Larry taught a News Writing class at ASU for 22 years.  Larry has retired a few times only to find himself drawn back to what he loves to do and that is work in the industry.  Currently, he is writing, producing, directing, editing and narrating for Peoria 11.

Jack Miller has been creating Arizona’s soundtrack for more than 50 years.  Today, you will find him in his studio at Canyon Records, still growing strong at age 75.  In the mid-1950’s Jack went to work at Ramsey’s Recording Studio in Phoenix as chief engineer and audio mixer.  By playing with the audio equalization and running the sound through a 10,000-gallon water tank behind the studio, he was able to “shape” and “color” the music.  It became the “Phoenix Sound” and a string of hits put the city, the studio and Jack on the industry’s map.

The success was Jack’s ticket to Hollywood and RCA’s Studio Center of the World.  He mixed and produced records, commercials, movies and television shows for dozens of the biggest stars in the world:  Henry Mancini, Dean Martin, Jefferson Airplane and The Rolling Stones. 

After his stint and rising career Jack wanted to return home to Phoenix.  As Chief engineer and audio producer for Audio Recorders of Arizona, he was the first choice of every ad agency in town and made radio and TV commercials for Lou Grubb Chevrolet, Hallmark Homes, Bashas’ Markets and a hundred other advertisers.

In 1975, working with the engineering departments of KOOL-TV and Motorola, Jack produced the first quadraphonic audio broadcast in history.  In 1977, he started his own Jack Miller Productions.

Jack is and has always been a leader in audio technology.  He was one of the first recording engineers in Arizona to adopt digital recording.  Long before the major studios in Los Angeles and new York, Jack replaced tape recorders with computers.

In 2000, Jack Miller Productions merged with Canyon Records, one of the world’s premier producers of Native American Music.  In just the past five years his work has been honored with a Grammy Award and five Grammy Nominations.

2008 Silver Circle Inductees

Ron Bergamo was a veteran TV station General Manager with background in advertising, media, and PR.  His work experience included:  Leo Burnett Advertising and NBC Television Network in Chicago; Eller Outdoor and Metromedia Television in Kansas City; sales management with Belo Broadcasting in Dallas; and TV General Manager positions over CBS, WB and Fox television stations in Texas, Kansas, Tucson and Phoenix.  Up until his death he was the President/COO/Partner of Arizona based Londen Media which owns and operates KAZ-TV (AZ-TV).

A Phoenix native, Ron remained active in the community and helped on boards such as:  The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Eller School of Management, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Fiesta Bowl committee, Boys & Girls Clubs, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Symphony and many others.  He was a past chairman of the Arizona Broadcasters Association.  Ron also served on the University of Arizona Alumni Association’s National Board from 1984-1991 and was honored by that organization in 1995 receiving the Distinguished Citizen Award.

Begamo is listed in Who’s Who in America, held a bachelors degree from the University of Arizona, and an MBA from Northwestern University.  His wife Jane and three grown sons, all live in the Phoenix area.

Tom Chauncey is the man who created the financial and political foundation for what became the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.  He was a member of the School’s founding Board and has remained its most active trustee for all these years.

As a young lawyer, working as in-house attorney for Channel 10, it was Tom Chauncey who led the campaign to convince the Arizona Supreme Court to allow cameras in our state’s courtrooms.

He started his career as a news photographer just after graduating from high school.  He worked his summers in college in the newsroom at KOOL.  He got his Law Degree from ASU and became the second editorial face of Channel 10, alongside Homer Lane. 

He is a strong defender of the First Amendment and a champion of courageous reporting.  He is one of the leading broadcast attorneys in the West.  His life has been dedicated to the law, broadcasting and community service.

Lin Sue Cooney For more than 20 years, Arizona viewers have counted on Lin Sue Cooney for balanced, local news. Lin Sue anchors 12 News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. with Mark Curtis. Lin Sue is at the forefront of the station's breast health initiative, Buddy Check 12, and also reports on touching stories of courage in a segment called, Against All Odds, paying tribute to the everyday heroes among us.

A respected journalist, Lin Sue has been honored as the Valley's "Best Anchor" by the Phoenix chapter of American Women in Radio and Television. She also has won numerous awards for her news reporting and community service efforts including six Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards. Many of Lin Sue's stories are centered around children and education.

Lin Sue began her career in Beaumont, Texas. She came to Phoenix from WFAA-TV in Dallas where she was a news reporter and co-host of "PM Magazine.

Lin Sue graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and Political Science from Willamette University in Oregon. She holds a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Off camera, Lin Sue devotes time to numerous Valley schools and charities. She and her husband and four children currently reside in the Phoenix area.

David Luna With over 30 years experience in the television industry, David Luna has been a leader in developing educational and promotional programming serving the needs of a diverse community.  David has been instrumental in developing programming that leverages community partnerships to reach and educate a wide audience on critical topics such as teen suicide and emergency preparedness.  David’s educational programming is also cutting edge in reaching out to an increasingly diverse and Spanish-speaking audience.  His leadership in the area of community outreach has been crucial in providing stellar educational programming to the 38th largest city in the nation.

Currently, Luna directs and manages Mesa Public Schools’ educational television channel 99, including programming selection, acquisition, and playback on Cox Cable and Cable America.  He develops and produces instructional design, promotional and interactive educational programming; coordinates satellite teleconferences and multi-media productions.  Maintains and administers the Educational Television Department and audio-visual center.  He is responsible for the purchase and selection of district audio-visual materials and equipment.  Administers an approximate budget of $500,000 and supervises 12 employees.  Project highlights include 200 original video productions per year for use by Mesa Public School staff and airing on Channel 99; collaborations with Mesa Community College on original video production; collaborations with The Arizona Republic on original video production for “Tough Talk” series.

Awards and recognition comes from ASPRA for Award of Excellence “Bilingual Informational DVD,” City of Mesa Fire Department Award “Preparedness Video Presentations, ASPRA Award of Excellence “Extracurricular Activities,” and Award of Excellence “Renuiones Communitarios,” along with numerous other awards that span over 10 years.

Richard McKee is the man behind the lens.  He got his start as a medical photographer at Duke University Medical Center and spent the next 10 years as a production photographer and chief photographer at WTVD in Raleigh Durham.

In 1981, Richard McKee  moved to Phoenix as news photographer at KOOL TV and eight years later became the station’s assistant chief photographer and in 1991, KSAZ's chief photographer.  He retired in 2005 to develop a small business in fine-arts photography in the Denver area but his imagery and story telling thru his camera will not be forgotten.

Mike Serres literally worked his way up from the bottom- during his 28 years at KUAT in Tucson- from a student, to on air announcer, independent producer, promotions assistant, creative service manager  to become Assistant General Manager of KUAT TV in Tucson. He has been the Producer/Host of Arizona Almanac since 2000 along with being KUAT's Assistant General Manager. In 2005 he was elected as PBS communications Professional of the Year.

John Vasseur has worked for over 26 years in the TV and video industry.  Early in his career he worked on a nationally syndicated, Emmy Award-winning baseball children’s show called, “The Baseball Bunch.”  This job opened the door to get an entry level position at Major League Baseball Productions in New York City.  He worked for MLBP  a little over 4 years and then about 6 years a the sister company Sports NewSatellite before returning to Arizona in 1993.

John worked in the freelance arena for Phoenix 11, the Diamondbacks and FOX Sports before being hired in 1997 as a full-time producer at FOX Sports Arizona.  It was here that John created, produced and directed all of their magazine shows, including “Diamondbacks Poolside,” Runnin’ with the Sun Devil,” Teein’ Off with FOX Sports AZ,’ and others.  He was the first person at FOX Sports AZ to be nominated for an Emmy Award and the first to win a Telly Award.  He was also the first Senior Producer when FSN began their daily news shows.

In 2003, John was picked to be the Producer of the first-ever locally produced TV show from a casino, “We’ve Got Your Game.”  This show was slated for 16 weekly show that would last 4 months.  The run recently ended after 215 shows lasting four and half years, much of that success because of John Vasseur.

John has covered Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals, Final Fours, Stanley Cups, US Opens in both golf and tennis, All Star games, college bowl games and many others.  John also enjoys giving back.  He has produced the charity video for Santa Claus Classic and now the Christmas Classic for the last 10years.  He has produced videos for prostate cancer, Thunderbirds Charities, The First Tee, Braeden’s Playground and numerous charity golf tournaments.

Gilbert Zermeno (Z) has been in the television business for 25 years.  During that time heas been involved in countless memorable television moments from Phoeninx to the Middle East.  He has worked as a producer, photographer, and always seems to be able to land the exclusive interview. 

Z started his career as a production intern in Amarillo.  Three years later he was shooting video at the top-rated TV station in Phoenix.  Z rose throughout the ranks and became an investigative producer for KPHO.  He retains that job title today.

Z embodies the best of the Southwest Chapter.  While many photojournalists who have been in the business this long simply “punch the clock,” Z still pushes himself every day and uses his experience to capture news and images few other photographers in the valley can.  Z manages to work tiring hours including nights and weekends while being about the most engaged father and husband I know.  This is a balancing act few broadcasters are able to carry out.  Z is now teaching a new generation of photojournalists at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School.  His experience and enthusiasm are sure to help enable these students to succeed in business that has been good to Z.

Z’s technical skill, understanding of what it takes to be a life-long broadcaster, and his accomplishments make him an ideal candidate for induction into the Southwest Chapter Silver Circle this year.

Resources

• Past Gold and Silver Circle Inductees

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