Washington State Fire Fighters' Association Ad Campaign Wins Telly for Best Not-for-Profit PSA

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Aug 2, 2013) - The Telly Awards has named the Washington State Fire Fighters' Association (WSFFA) and Try This Films LLC (www.trythisfilms.com) as Silver (the highest level) and Bronze award winners in the 34^th Annual Telly Awards for a series of public service announcements and a mini-documentary created as part of the statewide "Be There" (www.justbethere.info) volunteer firefighter recruitment campaign. Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films.

Working with Compelling Technologies, the WSFFA and the Washington Fire Chiefs, Try This Films produced a series of ground-breaking public service announcements (PSAs) to support the Be There campaign, which raises public awareness of the critical role volunteer firefighters play in communities and to support recruitment and retention efforts. The Bronze Telly was awarded to the group for a mini-documentary produced specifically for the Be There corporate sponsorship program, aimed at informing local businesses on the benefits of financial support and employee participation at volunteer fire departments.

The documentary-style 90-second and 60-second spots feature actual volunteer firefighters speaking to the camera with stories both humorous and heart-rending about a community member they rescued. Executive Producer Michelle Harden of Compelling Technologies worked with Director John Helde and Producers Susan LaSalle and Rachael Ellison-Taylor to create the winning PSAs. Director of Photography Lars Larson shot the spots, which were scored by Dennis James of the indie band Truckstop Souvenir, and edited by Dan Larson.

"This was a true team effort bringing together the knowledge base of the WSFFA and the creativity and technical skills of Try This Films to the benefit of all of our rural communities who rely on volunteer firefighters," said Michelle Harden, Executive Producer. "The team at Try This Films transformed our ideas into a powerful set of personal stories that people across Washington can relate to and be inspired by. These videos have been a huge help to recruitment efforts."

A prestigious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work -- entries do not compete against each other -- rather entries are judged against a high standard of merit.

"The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video," said Linda Day, Executive Director of the Telly Awards. "Try This Films and the WSFFA accomplishment illustrates the their creativity, skill, and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production."

The winning campaign is currently running on local television stations Washington State and can also be viewed at justbethere.info. More information on the Telly Awards is available at tellyawards.com.

About the Be There Campaign
In the State of Washington there exists a volunteer firefighter staffing challenge that consists of both a recruiting and a retention problem. Overall, volunteers have not been recruited rapidly enough to keep pace with attrition. To address this challenge, the Washington State Fire Fighters' Association and the Washington Fire Chiefs, funded by a federal SAFER grant, created the "Be There" Campaign to raise awareness of the critical role volunteer firefighters play in communities and to support recruitment and retention efforts. More information and videos from the "Be There" campaign can be found at justbethere.info.

About Try This Films
Try This Films creates motion pictures that cut to the heart of the human experience. Founder and director John Helde brings over twenty years in film to bear on crafting compelling features, documentaries, commercials and brand films. Working with actors or non-actors, his style emphasizes emotion, humor, honesty, and exquisite photography. His films include the award-winning Hello, with Eric Stoltz, and feature documentaries Made in China and Field Work: A Family Farm. Advertising and brand clients include Alaska Airlines, Wong Doody Crandall Wiener, Washington State Fire Fighters' Association, Partners for Our Children, Seattle Public Library and more. More info at www.trythisfilms.com.