INDIE SHORT FILM GRAND PRIZE WINNER COMES FROM MARYLAND
"Hot Flash," a film written by Barbie DeSantis and directed by David DeBoy, won the Grand Prize in a worldwide competition for independent short films. The film was produced by Barbie DeSantis and Ty Ford. More information can be found at http://www.indieshortfilms.net/id71.html.

GREG WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES "IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE" ON PBS
Honoring Black History Month, the program aired nationwide on PBS on Thursday, February 11 and was broadcast on NPR on Friday, February 12. Featured performers include Yolanda Adams, Morgan Freeman, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Natalie Cole and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

NAOMI JACOBSON NOMINATED FOR HELEN HAYES AWARD
Naomi Jacobson has been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, for her perfomance in The Winter's Tale at Folger Theatre. The 2010 Helen Hayes Awards, honoring excellence with one of the most prestigious theatrical honors in the country, will be presented on April 5 at the Warner Theatre and the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.

CHUCK THOMPSON NARRATES "DOGTOWN" ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
"Dogtown," now in its fourth season, takes a look at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, one of the county's largest no-kill animal facilities. On 33,000 acres of Utah canyon country, the sanctuary rehabilities sick and wounded dogs from all over the country. Airs Friday nights at 8:00 PM on the National Geographic Channel.

"MY GENERATION" GOES NATIONWIDE ON PBS
AARP's TV program, "My Generation," has gone nationwide on PBS and will debut here in the DC area on WETA, Channel 26, in February. The many helpful features on the program include topics such as health/fitness, reinventing oneself, finance, etc. The program is co-hosted by Greg Williams.

LANCE LEWMAN NARRATES "WHAT DARWIN NEVER KNEW" FOR NOVA ON PBS
Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles. What explains this explosion of living creatures—1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million to go? The source of life's endless forms was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin brought forth his revolutionary idea of natural selection. But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered. What actually drives evolution and turns one species into another? To what degree do different animals rely on the same genetic toolkit? And how did we evolve? "What Darwin Never Knew" offers answers to riddles that Darwin couldn't explain. Breakthroughs in a brand-new science—nicknamed "evo devo"—are linking the enigmas of evolution to another of nature's great mysteries, the development of the embryo. NOVA takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today. Scientists are finally beginning to crack nature's biggest secrets at the genetic level. The results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin's insights while revealing clues to life's breathtaking diversity in ways the great naturalist could scarcely have imagined. One hundred and fifty years later, scientists decode nature's greatest mysteries—a two-hour special. Aired December 29, 2009 on PBS.

SAG HONORS VOICEOVER ACTOR SHELDON SMITH
Washington, D.C. (December 1, 2009) — Screen Actors Guild announced today that Washington-Baltimore Branch member Sheldon Smith will receive the 2nd Annual Howard Keel Award for his tireless contributions to the Guild. Smith joined SAG in Detroit in 1968 and will receive his honor at the Regional Branch Division’s annual board meeting in May. “I am honored and humbled by this recognition,” said Smith. “To me, it reflects the gratitude I have for my membership in the Guild and in AFTRA. Being a union member has afforded me professional opportunities I would not otherwise have enjoyed and my earned union benefits have allowed me to be a full-time working actor with a long and rewarding career.” Based in Washington, D.C. since 1986, Smith is an award-winning actor/narrator and perhaps the best-known voice of Republican media campaigns in America. He is a four-time winner of the Peer Award for Voiceover/Narration, most recently the 2009 Peer Gold Award for A Restless Giant - The Ever-Changing Nature of Mount Rainier, produced for the National Park Service by Henninger Productions. Smith is also the recipient of 19 Telly Awards, multiple Pollie Awards and Reed Awards, and a CINE Golden Eagle Award, among other recognitions. For more than 30 years, he has specialized exclusively in voiceover. Among his contributions to the Guild, Smith serves as a member of SAG’s National Financial Core Task Force, and his passion is for both internal and external organizing. For the past several years, he has presented a very popular workshop nationwide which teaches members how to convert non-union work into union jobs. Smith has also participated in every Branch Wages & Working Conditions Committee for both the Commercials and Industrial Contracts for over 20 years. “Sheldon has lent his time, energy, intellect and considerable talent to an extraordinary number of efforts that have benefited not only Washington-Baltimore members, but members across the country,” said SAG 3rd National Vice President David Hartley-Margolin. “Sheldon’s service has been tireless, staggering, and offered for years without regard for recognition, making him more than deserving of this distinguished award.” Named for the legendary actor-singer and former SAG president, the Howard Keel Award is annually presented to persons who make a significant contribution to the promotion of Screen Actors Guild and to the welfare and benefit of members in their Branch, or nationally, as part of the Regional Branch Division. About SAG Screen Actors Guild is the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists’ rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents over 120,000 actors who work in film and digital motion pictures and television programs, commercials, video games, industrials, Internet and all new media formats. The Guild exists to enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists’ rights. SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Headquartered in Los Angeles, you can visit SAG online at SAG.org .

PRODUCER'S HANDY DANDY TALENT SWEEP VOICEOVER AWARDS IN NOVEMBER
AFTRA/SAG talent from the Producer's Handy Dandy won every single award in all voiceover categories at the TIVA-DC Peer Awards celebration held Saturday, November 14. Gold awards in voiceover were won by Kathryn Klvana, Sheldon Smith, Melissa Leebaert and Dude Walker, with Brenna McDonough, Lance Lewman, Don Hagen, Gale Nemec, Greg Williams, Leebaert and Walker taking home awards at the Silver and Bronze levels. Additionally, McDonough and Craig Sechler won Gold Awards for on-camera performances, and Erik Synnestvedt, Pete Papageorge, Lewman and Williams also were recognized for on-camera excellence. The gala evening was held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Congratulations to all from "The Mid-Atlantic's Best Voiceover Resource."

NEW PRODUCER'S HANDY DANDY VOICEOVER CD RELEASED
The 2009/2010 Producer's Handy Dandy CD has been mailed to nearly 10,000 producers, agencies and studios up and down the east coast and across the country. If you haven't received your personal copy, you can request one here.

WELCOME NEW CD MEMBERS
Please check out the demos of the newest voices on the 2009/2010 CD: Jennifer Massey, Joy Haynes, Bob Armfield , Elizabeth Parsons, Jeannie Johnson, Johnny Holliday, Victoria Ray, Bob Moore, Roberta Masters and Diana Sowle.

CONTEST WINNER NAMED

Congratulations to Jay Chapin at Biz Video Solutions, Rockville, Maryland, who won a Samsung 40" flat screen HDTV in a promotion celebrating the release of the 2009-2010 Producer's Handy Dandy CD.