APTS Honors Outgoing Leader Pat Butler with Lifetime Achievement Award, and Recognizes Lonna Thompson with Champion of Public Broadcasting Award

Posted on February 29, 2024 in ATSC News

Two very familiar leaders in the public broadcasting sector won recognition this past week as America’s Public TV Stations (APTS) met for their annual gathering in Washington.

America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) has presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Patrick Butler, president and chief executive officer of APTS. Rarely awarded, the APTS Lifetime Achievement Award is given to leaders who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to public broadcasting over the course of their careers.

Champion of Public Broadcasting honoree Lonna Thompson has served APTS for 30 years, as general counsel, regulatory counsel and corporate secretary in addition to her current responsibilities. She also served as acting or interim CEO twice, in the course of her service with four APTS presidents.

Butler served as president and CEO of APTS for more than 13 years, making him the longest serving leader of the organization. Butler recently announced he will retire this year.  During Butler’s tenure, federal and state funding for public broadcasting has reached record levels, with 40 of 50 state governments now providing funding to support the work of public TV stations.

Under Butler’s direction, APTS has pursued a strategy to help stations achieve “greater success through greater service,” concentrating on three pillars of local public service: education, public safety and civic leadership. These services encompass lifelong learning, multi-hazard emergency communications, and chronicling heartland America’s culture,

history and public affairs.  Butler joined APTS after 18 years at The Washington Post, where he founded the conference business now known as Washington Post Live.

Lonna Thompson Lauded

In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the association, Ms. Thompson has negotiated several national carriage agreements with satellite companies, cable companies and telecommunications carriers, ensuring that the programming of America’s public television stations reaches the largest possible audience.  She also guided the station community through the first-ever auction of broadcast spectrum by the Federal Communications in 2017, and she has helped manage the transition of more than two dozen stations to the new ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV broadcast standard.

Thompson has been with APTS since 1994. Before joining APTS, she was a communications lawyer in private practice for 10 years. While in private practice, Thompson represented broadcast and public safety clients.

The Champion of Public Broadcasting Award is given to political leaders and other individuals who safeguard the ability of local public television stations to provide education, public safety and civic leadership services to their communities.

>>>Read the full story on TV Tech here.

Posted in ATSC News