WASHINGTON - February 27, 2018 - America's Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the Pillar of Public Service Award to David Lowe, President and General Manager, KVIE in Sacramento, CA. The Pillar of Public Service Award recognizes the contributions of an extraordinary leader in one of public television's three essential public service missions: education, public safety and civic leadership.
"I am delighted to present the 2018 Pillar of Public Service Award to David Lowe, President and General Manager of KVIE in Sacramento, California," said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS. "David and his colleagues at KVIE are true leaders in public safety. Under David's leadership, the station coordinated with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, to pilot the use of datacasting to deliver critical early earthquake warnings faster than ever. The field trials showed that the public television datacasting system can deliver earthquake alerts and warnings in less than 3 seconds - the first time that has ever been achieved.
"Based on these breakthrough results, KVIE launched an ongoing partnership with the Office of Emergency Services to fine-tune off-the-shelf datacasting equipment to achieve automated transmission of earthquake alerts and warnings in under 3 seconds. When an earthquake hits, every second counts. In addition to alerting the public, the early warnings, delivered through datacasting on public television spectrum, will trigger automated safeguards, such as opening firehouse doors that may jam from the tremors. We are extraordinarily proud of David's commitment of time, resources and passion for our public service mission in public safety, and I'm honored to present him with the Pillar of Public Service Award."
"I am honored to accept this Pillar of Public Service Award," said Lowe. "KVIE is fully committed to our role in public safety. Television isn't what we do; it's just how we do it. Our reason for being is one of service-through helping people achieve their highest potential. They can't do that if they are not kept alive. I share this award with everyone at KVIE, with special thanks and appreciation to our chief engineer Mike Cappi, all of our station colleagues in California, and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, specifically Art Botterell."
David Lowe is the president and general manager of KVIE, the PBS station in Sacramento, California. He has led the station since 2008 after joining as a vice president in 2001.
Lowe's prior experience includes marketing positions with a Fortune 500 company, a publicly traded software company and a venture capital backed software start-up. He has served as president and treasurer for the California Public Television association and on the national PBS Digital Advisory Council, PBS Development Advisory Committee and the PBS Communications Advisory Committee. His local board service has included American Leadership Forum, California Hall of Fame Advisory Board, Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, Los Rios Foundation, Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Sacramento Metro Chamber.
Lowe received his B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He is a graduate of the UC Davis Executive Program, Leadership Sacramento program, and American Leadership Forum Class XIII. Lowe was named in Sacramento Magazine's Power & Influence 100 and the Sacramento Business Journal's 40 Under 40.
The 2018 Pillar of Public Service Award was presented to David Lowe during The APTS Public Media Summit on Tuesday, February 27, 2018.
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About APTS
America's Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system that provides 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