Cape Ann TV honored its volunteers Thursday evening, June 18, at festivities held at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. One hundred twenty-three volunteers were honored, one hundred seven of them for work in television production, bringing government, educational, and community programming to Cape Ann viewers.

Robert Quinn, of Gloucester, received Cape Ann TV's first "Volunteer of the Year Award". Mr. Quinn is devoted to documenting Gloucester Lyceum and Cape Ann Museum events and, as a volunteer, has given tirelessly to many community organizations and special events through video, including service to communities other than his own. He gets a special kick out of the fact that he raced in the first "Soap Box Derby" on Centennial Avenue in 1946 and now has recorded "The Fish Box Derby," and that, being a Sawyer Medal recipient himself, he has now provided coverage for these awards decades after graduating from Gloucester High School in 1951. Mayor Carolyn Kirk made a surprise presentation of a special citation to Mr. Quinn stating "Our community is better off today because of you and your selfless spirit of giving and dedicated volunteerism." Similar honors from State Senator Bruce Tarr and State Representative Ann Margaret Ferrante await presentation as the two were delayed on Beacon Hill due to an evening vote.

Another highlight Thursday was the announcement of two prestigious awards the local station and one of its producers will be receiving from the Alliance for Community Media in Portland, Oregon on July 18th. The first is the Hometown Video Awards highest honor "Overall Excellence in Government, Education, and Public Access Programming." "This award means more to me than any we've earned to date," said Sinikka Nogelo, Executive Director. "It's our first as Cape Ann TV. It's also our first in the midsize category, but in the low end of the budget scale, so we've won over stations that are nearly twice our size in operating funds and in staff. So clearly, this award is a credit to all the volunteers in this room and those listed on the program."

The second is an individual first place award to Gordon Baird in the Visual Arts - Non Professional Division for his special, "Greenheads, the Movie." Mr. Baird is a Gloucester representative on the Cape Ann TV Board of Directors and is a past winner in the comedy category for an episode of the series "Gloucester Chicken Shack."

For helping make the evening possible, Cape Ann TV and its volunteers are grateful to the following sponsors: BankGloucester, Gorton's, Cape Ann Savings Bank, First National Bank of Ipswich, Rockport National Bank and T D Banknorth.