Canon U.S.A. Receives 2007 Public Television Leadership Award At PBS Development Conference

Canon U.S.A., Inc., was honored with a 2007 Public Television Leadership Award for the Company’s sustained commitment to and funding for public television. The award was presented at the PBS Development Conference being held in Palm Desert, Calif., October 3 – 5, 2007.

Individuals, organizations and corporations were nominated for the Public Television Leadership Award by PBS member stations. The Development Advisory Committee (DAC), a group of station professionals who provide ongoing counsel and guidance to PBS, selected honorees based on their ongoing commitment to local stations and to public broadcasting.

Canon U.S.A. has provided corporate underwriting for NATURE since 1990. Produced for PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York, NATURE has won nearly 400 awards for its programs about wildlife and natural history. NATURE can be seen on PBS Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET (check local listings).

NATURE is public television’s leading showcase for natural history and wildlife films. Now celebrating its 26th anniversary season, this Peabody and Emmy award-winning PBS series has raised the environmental consciousness of millions of Americans by celebrating the beauty, diversity and value of the Earth’s species and habitats.

“We are honored to receive the prestigious 2007 Public Television Leadership Award,” said William Reed, senior vice president and general manager, Corporate Communications, Canon U.S.A., who accepted the award on behalf of Canon. “Our corporate philosophy of Kyosei – all people, regardless of race, religion, or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future, emphasizes our commitment to supporting a wide range of environmental programs that raise awareness for the need to preserve and conserve our planet for future generations.”

“Canon understands and appreciates the power of images to teach and enlighten, and its support of NATURE over the past 17 years has helped raise the environmental consciousness of viewers at home and students in classrooms across the country,” said Barbara Bantivoglio, vice president for Institutional Advancement at Thirteen. “On behalf of Thirteen’s CEO, Bill Baker, and its president, Neal Shapiro, I am pleased to congratulate Canon on this prestigious award.”

Canon has also helped make 1.2 million NATURE educational, print materials available to science teachers nationwide in grades 5-8. In addition, it supplied cameras to the National Teacher Training Institute’s workshops in New York, where educators were taught classroom strategies to integrate NATURE video, online and print materials into the curriculum. Canon is also a co-sponsor of NATURE’s event at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival for the third year and integrates the program during the company’s annual Earth Day festivities.

In addition to the PBS Nature series, Canon U.S.A. supports a wide range of environmental education and conservation initiatives, including the Canon Envirothon, one of North America’s largest high school environmental education competitions; scientific research and educational programs at Yellowstone National Park; and many additional local programs. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com/environment.