NewTV Honors Volunteers, Local Stars at Annual Red Carpet Awards

A number of local volunteers and television hosts were honored last week as part of 's annual Red Carpet Awards.

The ceremony was held Thursday, April 26, and featured more than 15 awards including a new Viewer's Choice Award, which was determined through a poll on NewTV's Facebook page.

Aside from the award winners, the local cable channel also recognized NewTV Board Member Tom Concannon with a Lifetime Achievement Award. was also honored with the Community Partner of the Year Award. 

According to the NewTV website, the Red Carpet Awards will air on NewTV in the coming weeks. 

A full list of the Red Carpet Award winners is below:

• Volunteer of the Year - Laura Johnson

• Community Partner of the Year - Newton-Wellesley Hospital

• Lifetime Achievement Award - Tom Concannon

• Community Producer of the Year - Robert Santonastaso

• Community Series of the Year - Neighborhood Cooking with Candy Gold

• Program of the Year - The Tish MacIntosh Show

• Viewer's Choice Award - Nicole

• Most Valuable Intern - Alexi Reibman

• Best High School Magazine Show - TC Talk

• Best Sports Coverage - Newton North TV

• Best After School PSA - Grace Enselek and Rachel Bindman of Franklin Elementary School

• Best After School Music Video - Nicole Solari, Marielle Bosco, and Emily Mansfield of Horace Mann Elementary School

• Outstanding Political Programming - The Newton League of Women Voters

• Outstanding Advocacy Programming - Senior Scene

• Outstanding Cultural Programming - Books and Beyond

In addition, a full press release about the awards was issued by NewTV and is included below:

NewTV hosted its 21st Annual Red Carpet Awards Ceremony on April 26th. The full house affair featured some very tasty Italian food, drinks and desserts. We were blessed to have so many of our student members in attendance. There were some awesome award winners again this year. The NewTV crew outdid themselves as usual. The facility looked spectacular and the award categories were creative and spot on. I have to say I had a blast and we think everyone who attended did as well.

An event like our 21st Red Carpet Awards Ceremony does not come together without the help of some very special people.

The NewTV Board of Directors believes this to be the premier event of the year…and we could not agree with them more. They support it from every aspect they can and we thank them for that. Kevin Conroy, the President of NewTV, was in attendance and spoke to the importance of recognizing the many volunteers and community producers we enjoyed working with over the past year. Many other NewTV Board members were seen throughout the studio chatting with members and visitors alike.

The City of Newton is a willing participant in the success of NewTV’s Annual Red Carpet Awards. We appreciate our friendship with Honorable Mayor Setti Warren and the entire Board of Aldermen. Our relationship with the City goes well beyond the array of programming on our Government Channel. They recognize the many benefits we provide the citizenry and each of them have bought into our mission and direction. For that we are truly grateful.

Community Partners is the fastest growing aspect of NewTV. More and more businesses are witnessing the meteoric rise of NewTV, not only here in Newton but outside of our borders as well. NewTV was recognized as the Best Community Media Center in all of New England and New York for 2011. We just learned that we have been nominated twice for the upcoming 2012 Emmy Awards. Village Bank was, again, this year’s sponsor of our Red Carpet Awards. We thank Ken Brennan and his team for supporting our membership and each members’ right to produce creative television programs.

The staff of NewTV continues to excel in their positions. They are a finely oiled machine that justs keep putting out a great product day in and day out. I am blessed to be able to work with them every day. They certainly make me look good and that’s no easy task.

And last but by no means least, NewTV would not be who we are without you…our members, volunteers and producers. Your talents and opinions are what makes our Community Channel bust at the seams. We are proud of your work and this annual event is our way of telling you this. We want you to feel comfortable, relaxed and supported at all times. We may not always agree in what you are saying but definitely agree that you have the right to say it. So once again, THANK YOU! Thank you for being a big part of our success and for your level of commitment. As I said at the Red Carpet Awards…We like you, we really like you!