CTPAA Board Member Rosa Gatti to Receive Award from CoSIDA
CTPAA board member Rosa Gatti, senior vice president, corporate communications and outreach, ESPN, Inc., has been selected to receive the 2003 Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award is presented to an individual who has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission. The award will be presented to Gatti during CoSIDA's annual workshop, which is being held in Cleveland, Ohio from June 30-July 3.

Gatti has been responsible for ESPN's public relations since July 1980 when she joined the then one-network in its first year of operation as director, communications. In the early years of ESPN, Gatti and her staff worked to build the communications department. Gatti served on the policy committee to help develop company guidelines and in 1992, she established ESPN's diversity committee to increase awareness of diversity issues in the workplace. Gatti also played a fundamental role in establishing relationships with ESPN's parent companies, ABC Cable Networks and The Walt Disney Companies. Recently promoted to senior vice president for corporate communications and outreach, Gatti is the investor relations liaison with The Walt Disney Company and is responsible for corporate outreach initiatives such as corporate funding, cause marketing initiatives, and employee volunteerism.

Before Gatti joined ESPN, she spent four years as the sports information director (SID) at Brown University. Gatti began her career in sports publicity and public relations at Villanova University, also her alma mater. Upon graduation, Gatti quickly rose from secretary in the sports information office to become the first female SID of a NCAA major division university.

In addition to serving on the CTPAA board of directors, Gatti is a member of the board of directors for The V Foundation for Cancer Research and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT).

 Support the Emma L. Bowen Foundation!

If you missed the Silent Auction at FORUM 2003, you still have a chance to help benefit the Emma L. Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media, Inc. The items below are up for bid, so take a look and treat yourself or someone else to one of these goodies! If interested, please contact Sarah Mockler at  services@ctpaa.org or 202/775-1081.

CTPAA donates all proceeds from the Silent Auction to the Emma L. Bowen Foundation each year. The Foundation is dedicated to offering minority students the support, education, and skills needed to obtain jobs in the media industry.

-Special edition Barney toy, commemorative Charlie Brown dispenser, and Norm Van Lier bobble head doll, donated by Fox Sports Net Chicago
Suggested bid: $30

-20 piece set of Pfatlzgraff dinnerware in Jamberry design, donated by Susquehanna Media Co.
Suggested bid: $92

-Inspirational basket for teens containing CD by Christian rockers Strange Occurrence and Steelroots back pack, T-shirt, baseball cap, and more, donated by Inspiration Networks
Suggested bid: $30

-Inspirational basket for children featuring toys, music, and episodes from Inspiration Networks, donated by Inspiration Networks
Suggested bid: $30

-Signed Pavel Bure New York Rangers jersey and NHL hockey stick, donated by Cablevision
Suggested bid: $180

-Hallmark gift basket containing Hallmark cards box set, 3 DVD's and more donated by Hallmark Channel
Suggested bid: $60

-Red and white canvas Adelphia gift bags (2) filled with Adelphia premiums, donated by Adelphia
Suggested bid: $30

-2 tickets to Late Night with Conan O'Brien, donated by NBC
Suggested bid: $60

 CTPAA Board Meets at National Show

During Cable 2003, popularly know as the National Show within the industry, CTPAA will hold a regularly scheduled meeting of the board of directors. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 10^th from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. in room S501A of the McCormick Place convention center located at 2301 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60616. The major items on the agenda will be the progress individual board level committees are making toward fulfilling goals in the association's strategic plan.

 Time Warner Cable Minnesota Youth Service Award

Five young people were recently honored as Time Warner Youth Service Award winners for their outstanding service to their communities. The five were chosen out of more than 50 individuals nominated for an award. The awards were presented in partnership with Achieve!Minneapolis, Junior Achievement and Metro District 4-H. The event was highlighted with a keynote address from United States Representative Mark Kennedy.

"Rarely do the good deeds performed by young people receive the credit they deserve," said Eric Brown, Time Warner Cable Minnesota division president. "That's why we founded the Timer Warner Youth Service Awards, to provide that recognition through an awards program and presentation of our winners on local cable television."

The winners Suhur Ahmed, Michelle Morris, Nisha Fernandez, Brandi Shingledecker and Tou Vang each received a $1000 U.S. Savings Bond and $500 was donated in their name to each individual's designated charity. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and United States Representatives Jim Ramstad and Kenndy awarded certificates of recognition to each individual.

 NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program

Applications for the third class of NAMIC's Executive Leadership Development Program are currently being accepted. The program is targeted to upper middle managers of color whose performance and potential clearly point them toward executive positions in the future. It is designed to help identify and nurture high potential managers of color; build and strengthen their skills, in preparation for senior positions; provide useful tools to help meet the unique challenges confronting people of color in business today; and assist industry retention efforts for management of color.

The University of California at Los Angeles' (UCLA) Anderson Graduate School of Management will host the third class as NAMIC's academic partner. The Anderson school is a pioneer in the area of executive development programs aimed at specific populations, such as African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and others. UCLA's office of executive education developed the customized program specifically for managers of color in the cable and telecommunications industry as its primary focus.

Thirty seats are available for the 2003-2004 class. Tuition for all four sessions is $9,500 plus travel, lodging and related expenses. Meals will be provided as part of the program's overall amenities. Applications are due by August 1, 2003. For additional information, please contact Kathy Johnson, Executive Director, NAMIC at 714/371-4077.

ESPN employees joined the Walt Disney Company's Operation Uplift, a volunteer project that gives employees the opportunity to send messages of encouragement and appreciation to United States men and women in the armed services. Juliet Gilliam, director, corporate outreach, ESPN, announced the program as "a great opportunity for employees to reach out to our troops and let our fans know someone is thinking of them."

ESPN has designed a postcard illustrating several images from ESPN's marquee marketing campaign, "This is SportsCenter" featuring anchors Linda Cohn, Rece Davis, Rich Eisen, Kevin Frazier, Kenny Mayne, Chris McKendry, Dan Patrick and Stuart Scott. The message writes, "Your friends at ESPN are thinking of you, wherever you may be" in red, white and blue lettering.

Disney's Operation Uplift was founded in 1995 during Operation Desert Storm in an effort to express appreciation to troops overseas from people back in the States. For more information, contact Alison Lazar at alison.lazar@espn.com.

For information on how your organization can join CTPAA as a corporate member, please contact Steve Jones at 202/775-1083. For membership details, go to http://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/linktosite.cfm?message_id=11722&user_id=CTPPA&recipient_id=2707054&site=http://www.ctpaa.org/mcorp.shtml.