March 26, 2003
By Paul Payton
The 15th annual JAMIEs [Jersey Awards for Media Innovation and Excellence], sponsored by MCA-I North Jersey and Princeton, were held in Paramus, NJ, on Saturday, March 22, 2003. A total of 3 Gold, 10 Silver, and 13
Bronze awards were presented in the categories of Training, Informational, Sales & Marketing, Broadcast & Cable and Multimedia, each divided into above- and below-$30,000 groupings. There were also winners in Performance and Editing. All of this year’s winners were New Jersey-based.
In a departure from previous entertainment segments of the program, two speakers addressed the group. Dick Van Deusen, co-founder of ITVA and Member #1, discussed coming trends in production (read his comments in the “Business” section); and Steve Gorelick of the New Jersey Film Commission discussed current production in New Jersey and a funding crisis which could close the Commission in July. (New Jersey residents and others who work in New Jersey may want to support the work and the continuation of the Commission. Call 973-648-6279 to see how you can help.)
The sold-out banquet and presentation featured many New Yorkers as presenters, including current New York Chapter President Corinna Sager; International President-Elect Emma Justice and former President George Cauttero, also a former Regional Vice President. Other dignitaries came from greater distances – former international Treasurer and New York Board member Jon Blankley from Connecticut, former ITVA International President Karen Rogers from Baltimore, former Priceton Chapter President and Awards co-founder Sharon McGuire from Pittsburgh, and former ITVA executive staffer Inez Wehrli all the way from Virginia. Many of the above are also involved with MCA-I’s charitable arm, the Chuck Webb Foundation.
“Our only disappointment was how few entries there were from our adjacent chapters, especially New York,” said Paul Payton, co-host of the event. “One easy qualification for entry is ‘work done for New Jersey-based clients,’ and we know many New York chapter members work west of the Hudson. We hope to see what you’re now working on at next year’s JAMIEs.”
“Despite the difficult social and economic times, everyone we’ve heard from has had positive reactions to the event,” said Pam Rutherford, North Jersey President and next year’s MCA-I Northeast Regional Co-ordinator. Pam also invited those interested in receiving next year’s call for entries to contact her at pamela@galaxy.net, or by phone at 201-272-3700 ext. 114.
To see how good our winners are, North Jersey’s April meeting (Tuesday, April 15th) will be the annual follow-up ‘Show And Tell,’ when we invite several winners to show long segments of their winning work and discuss how they did it. E-mail Pam at the above address to be notified of details for that and future North Jersey meetings.
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