A team from public broadcast TV station KVCR has brought home the Inland Empire’s first-ever Emmy Awards, and a recent Cal State San Bernardino graduate was part of the effort.
 
KVCR TV 24’s “Vietnam Speaks” won the Emmy in the category Military-Program or Special, and Ethan Mink, who this month graduated from CSUSB with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies, was part of the production team as a researcher.
 
The award was given during The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Pacific Southwest Chapter event on June 15 in Las Vegas. Along with Mink, the team included Kristy Cooper, Tim Stytle, Ralph C. Cooper Jr., Peter Young, Brad Greenwell, Ronnie Guyer and Eric Peck.
 
In addition, Mink served as an intern for the program “From Scratch,” which was awarded an Emmy in the Lifestyle Program-Program/Special category. Style, Greenwell, Kristy Cooper, Ralph C. Cooper Jr., Brian Korcok, Stacie Korcok, Jhoann Acosta-Idda, Jean Demery and Wayne Lewis were on that production team.
 
 “It’s definitely a big honor and a big sense of achievement in being nominated. KVCR is kind of a small station so it just emphasizes the good work there,” Mink said before the awards were announced. “It’s wonderful. I never imagined myself being part of a crew nominated for an Emmy. It makes me feel really proud.”
 
The Emmy is an award that recognizes excellence in the television industry, and is the equivalent of an Academy Award, the Tony Award and the Grammy Award. 
 
Stytle, a producer and director at Empire KVCR, praised Mink for his dedication and enthusiasm as an intern and as an employee.
 
“Ethan was eager to work and a quick learner,” Stytle said. “He was willing to do just about anything.”
 
In “Vietnam Speaks,” the program focused on three local Vietnam War veterans: an activist, a pastor and a director, who talked about their experiences, why they went to Vietnam, what happened while they were there, and how it has affected them today.
 
Mink’s job as a researcher included looking up photographs of the Vietnam War era and photos provided by the three veterans.
 
In “From Scratch,” Mink, went along on film shoots helping set up equipment and doing whatever was  needed to be done for the shoot.
 
“Makes me feel really proud,” said Mink, who hopes to work in the field of public relations or strategic communication. “Just going back and watching the program and realizing they appreciated the work I did on the program – it’s kind of a big deal.”