Debuting last October and featuring Officer Tom Dorsey as Beetlejuice, Romeoville’s latest Halloween public service announcement has won a Hometown Media Award. The Romeoville entry took the top prize in the Public Health Programming category for Access Center Professionals, beating out 14 other videos.
Each year, nearly one thousand entries from across the country are submitted to the Alliance for Community Media Foundation. These entries are evaluated on several factors resulting in over 100 award winners. A panel of 150 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.
The duo behind the video, Communication Specialist Mark Serratore and Community Media Production Liaison Kevin McHale, also took home a Hometown Media Award for the Halloween themed Addams Family PSA in 2022.
“People pay attention to creative videos and are more likely to retain the safety information that comes across,” said Mayor Noak. “Mark and Kevin have created a number of tremendous videos and it’s great to see them recognized by their peers.”
In celebration of this award, the video has been re-released with a gag reel attached to the end. It can be viewed on the VOR-TV YouTube channel as well as on the Village of Romeoville’s Facebook, Instagram, and X.