The 39th Annual Telly Awards, the premier award honoring video and television across all screens, has recognized the City of Murfreesboro’s local documentary The House Still Standing as winner in two categories: General Documentary and Biography.
The House Still Standing tells the stories of Burrell Gannaway, one of Murfreesboro’s first aldermen, and King Daniel Ganaway, a descendant of a slave who became a celebrated African-American photographer.
Documentary writer/narrator Mike Browning and CityTV video producer Michael Nevills collaborated to produce the historical documentary for airing on CityTV. The film highlights the work of genealogists Tim and Brenda Fredericks and Daryl Webb, whose research of their ancestral past unsilenced the story of their African-American ancestor.
The House Still Standing first aired as a special edition of Murfreesboro Storytellers in November 2017; its airing continued with a celebration of Black History Month in February 2018.
View the documentary here:
“We want to thank the Telly Awards for recognizing the work of these dedicated genealogists who should be recognized as historians in their own right,” said City Public Information Officer Mike Browning. “The Gannaway/Ganaway histories are compelling stories of early nineteenth-century America and twentieth-century Black migration. We simply wanted to present the history in a way more people in Murfreesboro and across the globe could gain a deeper appreciation for the history, the work by genealogists and the Murfreesboro property.”
Genealogists Tim and Brenda Fredericks, of Indianapolis, and Murfreesboro native Daryl Webb first visited the Gannaway home and slave cabins in Murfreesboro in June 2016. Browning, a Public History graduate from MTSU with lengthy television experience, accompanied them as they visited the structures still standing on property in the Barfield area. Tedious research led them to the property after discovering that Tim’s great-grandfather, King Daniel Ganaway, had descended from slaves. Tim’s family history had been silenced until the truth was uncovered.
Fredericks, who grew up white, and his African-American wife, Brenda, tell the story of how Tim’s family history was kept secret until they uncovered that his African-American grandfather was from Murfreesboro. Through their ancestral journey, they have helped other relatives, black and white, discover their newfound interracial family history.
Tim and Brenda Fredericks and Daryl Webb
“The CityTV team continues to demonstrate television production at the highest national level,” said communications director Alan Bozeman. “The City of Murfreesboro and viewers of CityTV on numerous platforms, including YouTube and Roku, benefit from the highest professionalism and award-winning excellence.”
Additionally, the Telly Awards recognized the City of Murfreesboro’s Kids Recycling PSA as the 2018 winner in the General-Children category.
Video Producer John Padgett, an 11-year veteran of CityTV, earned the prestigious Telly for his 3-minute promotional video in partnership with Rutherford County Solid Waste.
That video can be viewed here:
“The Kids Recycling PSA has not only been used through our social media and television platforms, but to supplement recycling curriculum in Rutherford County classrooms daily,” said Rutherford County Solid Waste public media relations specialist Hannah Bleam. “The PSA has been successful in promoting our solid waste messaging in Rutherford County because of its utilization as an educational and grade-level appropriate resource for our environmental educators and local teachers. John did an excellent job with ensuring that the length, quality and content of the video would be attractive to students and educators.”
For more on the Telly Awards, visit tellyawards.com.
