Local Cinematographer and Communications Consultant Win 2021 Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation

       Chris Casaburi and Lisa Kaslyn take home the Community Event Activism/Rallies Independent Producer Award 

LAKE CARMEL ─ JUNE 15, 2021 ─ Videographer Chris Casaburi of executive PhotoVideo and Lisa Kaslyn of Prosper Communications, both Lake Carmel, NY, residents, were named Community Event Activism/Rallies Independent Producer category winners of the 2021 Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation. The awards program was established to honor and promote community media, community radio, and local cable programs that are distributed on Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access cable television channels.  Proceeds go to the ACM Foundation which is exclusively used for facilitating, preserving and promoting education in community media.

Designed to educate and encourage Putnam residents and visitors to support local eateries during the pandemic, the winning submission featured a series of powerful interview vignettes with Putnam County restaurateurs, as well as visuals demonstrating the safety and sanitization protocols that Putnam restaurants have implemented to ensure the health, safety and comfort of patrons during the pandemic. 

“Through the generous support of business sponsors, including Tompkins Mahopac Bank, Titan Concrete, Downey Energy, Schech’s Pool Spa Patio, and Christopher X. Maher, Esq., the Putnam County Business Council funded the development of a public service campaign to support our hospitality industry, which was among the hardest hit by COVID,” said producer Lisa Kaslyn.  “Working with a talented cinematographer, like Chris Casaburi, truly raised the bar on quality and enabled us to visually portray a true and persuasive story acknowledging our hospitality heroes.”

The Putnam County Restaurant Rally featured establishments from across the county, including Catherine’s Tuscan Grill, Clock Tower Grill, Cold Spring Depot, The Freight House Café, Limni, Mezzaluna, Florrie Kaye’s Tea Room, Dolly’s, Bucci Brothers Deli, Arturo’s, Savor Ristorante, Prato Trattoria, Valley Restaurant, Hudson Hil’s, Trattoria Sei, Le Bouchon, and the Riverview Restaurant. You may view the video here, https://youtu.be/Tc7ynpD_bNA, to meet some of Putnam’s extraordinary eatery bosses as they share their commitment to safety, good food, and great atmosphere.

Each year, nearly one thousand entries are submitted. These entries, or programs, are submitted and evaluated on several factors resulting in over 100 award winners. A panel of judges from the industry evaluates the entries. Awards are presented to the most creative programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats and move viewers to experience television in a different way. Prosper Communications worked with local public access channels in Carmel (Comcast Channel 21) and Putnam Valley (Channel 18) to broadcast the PSA to Putnam residents.

“The Hometown Media Awards celebrate both the excellence of work and the diversity of media that appears on community channels being produced around the country. The ACM Foundation is proud of their achievement and of how they represent their communities in their work,” said Mike Wassenaar, president & CEO, Alliance for Community Media.

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About the Alliance for Community Media (www.allcommunitymedia.org) 

Founded in 1979, the Alliance for Community Media is a national, non-profit membership organization committed to ensuring access to electronic media for all people.  The Alliance for Community Media carries forth its mission by educating, advocating and acting as a resource for the more than 3,000 Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) cable channels nationwide.

Contact: Prosper Communications | Lisa Kaslyn│lisa@prospercomm.com │917-723-6298