The St. Tammany Parish Public School System’s educational television channel has won another Telly Award, this one for the work of Charles “Tiger” Edwards and David Williams in a video  that tells the story of the Girls Soccer Team from Northshore High which won five state championships in a row from 1986 to 1990.

Superintendent W. L. “Trey” Folse, III, presented Edwards and Williams with their prestigious awards at the July 12 School Board meeting, saying that the Channel 13 video was one of 11,000 entries from all 50 states and several other countries.

“They competed against the most respected production companies, television stations, and corporate video departments in the world. It is a huge honor for Channel 13 as well as our School System to receive this outstanding recognition,” Superintendent Folse stated.

He congratulated Edwards and Williams and handed them the Telly Awards while the audience applauded. The Telly Awards recognize outstanding local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, acknowledged to be the finest in videos and films.

The winning video was shown at a reception held prior to the Board meeting. Entitled “Following in the Footsteps of These Girls,” the production told the story of the girls soccer team’s continuous victories from the first year girls soccer was sanctioned to hold a state championship. Overall, they achieved a 75 game winning streak through 1990. “They were the first high school girls soccer team in the nation to win five state championships in a row, establishing them as not only the best team in the nation, but also Northshore High as having one of the premiere soccer programs in the nation,” said Parish Athletic Director Larry Favre.

The Telly Award is just one of the many honors and awards Channel 13 has garnered throughout its history. 

 “Channel 13 does wonderful things for our School System,” Superintendent Folse stated. “I constantly run into people from across the parish who tell me they watch a variety of programs on Channel 13.” The media outlet is an effective and popular outreach of the schools to the community and helps spread the good news of our public school system, Folse stated.

Edwards thanked the Board for the opportunity to produce the award-winning video. “We are honored to tell the story of the hard work and persistence of these coaches and student athletes which had previously gone unnoticed. Their story is a story that has a much more far-reaching effect than they realized at the time,” he said. The recognition being given the team 25 years after their accomplishments made the award-winning video an emotional and personally rewarding project for Edwards.

“Without the platform that is Channel 13, none of us could tell the story of the students, the teachers, the administrators and alumni that make up this school district,” he concluded.

In 2010 Channel 13 won a Telly Award for a video telling the story of Ashlee Stokes, a Northshore High School student critically injured two and a half years ago in a tragic accident in which her car was hit head on by a drunk driver. The video was shown at the 2009 Teen Focus on Safe Driving with considerable emotional impact.

At the October, 2010, Board meeting Director of Broadcasting Dr. Melody Swang and Channel 13 Producer John Harrison were honored by Superintendent Folse for creating the award-winning video “Becoming Ashlee Again,” which has become a tool nationwide for illustrating the consequences of driving and drinking. The video continues to impact students across the country as it raises public awareness of the dangers of driving and drinking. It is being used by many organizations, police agencies, and high schools in their driving safety initiatives.

Dr. Swang thanked the Board for its support of Channel 13 and its continuing effort to capture the historic moments and tell the story of the St. Tammany Parish Public School System.

Judges for the Telly Award competition come from all over the United States, representing large advertising agencies, television stations, production houses, and large corporate video departments.