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U.S. Representative Upton Will Join APTS in Presenting Pat Moody with Coveted David J. Brugger Grassroots Advocacy Award

WASHINGTON—January 29, 2007—U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) will join the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) President and CEO John Lawson in presenting the prestigious David J. Brugger Grassroots Advocacy Award to radio personality and APTS Trustee At-Large Pat Moody.  The Brugger Award honors an individual or group within public broadcasting who has shown exemplary leadership in mobilizing grassroots support for public television’s legislative goals.

The award will be presented on February 13 at the annual APTS Capitol Hill Day luncheon. In nominating Moody for the award, Upton said: “Pat has been an invaluable advocate for both the public broadcasting community, and for the Twin Cities in southwest Michigan. His contributions to broadcasting and his hometown are immeasurable.”

Lawson said: “Pat Moody personifies the great community leaders who have sustained public broadcasting all these years. They have given us the grassroots support to maintain both our federal funding and our editorial independence. Pat represents the best of the best.”

Moody is executive vice president of the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce serving the greater Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Mich., area. As host of the “Moody in the Morning” radio show on WSJM Radio, Moody kick starts his day with a little humor, some vital information and often interviews with special guests, including appearances from Upton. Moody’s voice has garnered him much local praise—he’s been cited for thirteen consecutive years as The Herald-Palladium newspaper’s “Reader’s Choice” for Favorite Radio Personality.

In 2004, APTS honored Moody with the National Advocacy Award for work with Upton to save federal funding for the Ready To Teach program.  “Pat serves as an eloquent and enthusiastic spokesman for public television and radio stations,” Upton said. “I believe that Pat truly represents many of the best ideals that public broadcasting encompasses.”

Moody serves a broad array of civic organizations ranging from the boards of the local community and hospital foundations to his board role at WNIT Public Television,
Elkhart, Ind. He has also been elected by the public three times in the past 14 years to the Board of Trustees of Lake Michigan College, where he serves as vice chairman. “When he runs for reelection he usually is unopposed,” Upton said. He added: “Pat has no axe to grind and is very well respected. He truly is a foundation in the community.”

Moody’s public communications palette doesn’t end there. He is a freelance photographer for several local magazines and writes a weekly business column, “Moody on the Market,” which is direct-mailed to 42,500 homes in Berrien County each Saturday.  Recently, Moody began writing a local monthly business column, “Front & Center,” for The Cooperative Edge magazine.

Moody said he was “thunderstruck” to learn that he would receive the Brugger Award and added that much of the praise should go to Upton. “The awards and accolades truly belong to Fred and his colleagues who take up our cause and advance public media in the face of oftentimes strong opposition,” Moody said. “My role as catalyst just helps us jump-start the engine. Fred Upton is the one who gets behind the wheel and steers us to the winner’s circle.”

The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) was established to support the continued growth and development of a strong and financially sound noncommercial television service for the American public. As broadcasters make the transition to digital, APTS is working to ensure the federal government continues its commitment to universal public television services. APTS Action, Inc. is an affiliated organization of APTS.

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