Association of Public Television Stations Presents 2016 David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award to National Friends of Public Broadcasting

WASHINGTON — February 21, 2016 — The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award to the National Friends of Public Broadcasting for their outstanding work as lay leaders and advocates in the public broadcasting system.

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 Association.

“For over 40 years, the National Friends of Public Broadcasting has been dedicated to fostering volunteerism at all levels in public media,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS. “Under the leadership of Chairperson Dorothy Pacella, National Friends has worked in partnership with Protect My Public Media, public television and radio’s grassroots advocacy campaign, to significantly engage local station volunteers across the country to grow grassroots supporters of public media. From volunteers’ presence at community fairs and festivals to advocating for public media funding in both the halls of Congress and at state Capitols, National Friends' efforts are unwavering and extraordinarily effective. We are extremely grateful for this work, and we are honored to present the David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award to the National Friends of Public Broadcasting, who profoundly deserve it.”  

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the National Friends of Public Broadcasting and the thousands of public media volunteers across the country,” said Pacella. “It was David Brugger who, while President of APTS in 1995, enlisted the support of National Friends to rally station volunteers when public media's federal funding was threatened to be zeroed out. These volunteers, who are our stations’ best grassroots advocates, conveyed public media’s story to our Representatives so effectively that public media’s federal funding was restored and faith in the vitality of our system’s services was renewed. I am proud to chair the National Friends of Public Broadcasting and work daily with these passionate volunteers who tirelessly act as our community advocates at home and on the Hill. I share this honor with them.”

The National Friends of Public Broadcasting is a membership organization whose mission is to support volunteerism within public broadcasting through leadership, education, training, mentoring and recognition. National Friends is a resource that connects public broadcasting volunteer managers and volunteers to their public media colleagues around the country.

National Friends fosters a place where local volunteers can learn from each other, share information and work together to advance the cause of public broadcasting in their local community. National Friends is the central link between communities, local stations and public media as a whole in their ongoing endeavor to expand local connections to national programming.

The David J. Brugger Lay Leadership Award was presented to Dorothy Pacella, Chair of the National Friends of Public Broadcasting, during The APTS Public Media Summit on Sunday, February 21.

About APTS
The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization established in 1979. The mission of APTS is to conduct – in concert with member stations – advocacy, planning, research, communications and other activities that foster a strong and financially sound public television system providing essential public services to all Americans. Its affiliate APTS Action, Inc. promotes the legislative and regulatory interests of noncommercial television stations at the national level through direct advocacy and through grasstops and grassroots campaigns designed to garner bipartisan congressional support. For more information, visit www.apts.org.

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