WASHINGTON – February 28, 2023 – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the 2023 David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award to Diana Enzi, representing WyomingPBS.
Elected to the WyomingPBS Foundation Board of Directors in 2020, Diana Enzi has been a tireless advocate for public broadcasting, both on the national and State levels. In addition to the foundation board, Mrs. Enzi serves on its Outreach and Events Committee and has helped organize screenings of Wyoming PBS programs, generated ideas for such programming, and connected Wyoming PBS with new friends and supporters across the State.
As the wife of the late U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, who was a faithful supporter of public broadcasting and federal funding for local stations for more than two decades, Mrs. Enzi has been, and continues to be, an influential and effective voice highlighting the important role of local public television and the need for continued federal investment in public media. Senator and Mrs. Enzi were partners in life for more than 50 years, from running shoe stores in Gillette to representing Wyoming in the United States Senate.
Mrs. Enzi has also been an active member of the board of the National Job Corps Association, which said upon her retirement in 2021, “Her commitment to education for young people has made a great impact on many students’ lives.”
“Diana Enzi has been a quiet but extraordinarily effective advocate for public broadcasting for decades,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations. “She marshals her amazing network of friends and admirers in Wyoming for the benefit of Wyoming PBS in countless ways, and she was a beloved ambassador for our work on Capitol Hill with Senators and spouses alike for a quarter of a century. We are deeply indebted to her for advancing bipartisan support for public television over so many years, and we are honored to present the 2023 David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award to Diana Enzi.”
“I am excited to be part of the public broadcast organizations because I feel it is important to tell the stories of people, places, eras and issues,” said Ensi. “With high tech communication and information reduced to memes and abbreviated texts, we need to hear the stories from the voices and hearts of those who experienced them. And our children need to know we cared enough to do that.”
Diana Enzi and her husband, Mike, started their first shoe store in Gillette, Wyoming, soon after they married. They later owned two more stores in Miles City, Montana, and Sheridan, Wyoming. They were very involved in their community. She has been a member of business-related organizations, serving as chairman of the downtown Heart of Gillette and as president of the Chamber of Commerce. She also served the state on the Wyoming Private Industry Council for seven years and on the State Council on Vocational Organization. Enzi was tasked with reading grants for the U.S. Department of Education’s Even Start. She was also active in community organizations like Rotary and P.E.O. and in her church.
In Washington, D.C., Enzi continued her involvement in community. She was a member of the Senate Spouses, president of the International Neighbors Club 4, a member of the honorary board of N Street Village and chair of several fundraising galas for nonprofits. Elaine Chao, secretary of the Department of Labor, appointed her to a term on the national Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship, where she helped develop policy to prepare the American workforce for sustained employment. Enzi also was a board member of the Marshall Legacy Institute, which toils to rid affected areas of the world of deadly land mines, thus protecting people and animals and the land on which they live. She helped launch CHAMPS, children against the land mine problem, where children raise funds to train and place dogs and handlers who find and eliminate mines. Wyoming children were the first to raise quarters and fund a land mine-detecting dog that saved lives in Sri Lanka for eight years. Enzi was appointed to the National Job Corps Association to develop programs to train young people for jobs and life. Enzi is now a professional volunteer.
Enzi graduated from Sheridan High School in 1967 and obtained a Bachelor of Science in social science and a master’s degree in adult education from the University of Wyoming. Enzi is a lifelong learner.
Diana Enzi married Michael B. Enzi in 1969. They have three children, Amy Enzi Strom, Brad Enzi and Emily Enzi McGrady, and are grandparents to Trey and Lilly Enzi and Megan and Allison McGrady.
The APTS board of trustees created the David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award in honor of its former president and CEO, David Brugger, the longest-serving leader of the organization.
The 2023 David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award was presented to Ms. Enzi during the APTS Public Media Summit on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.
###
About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org