And the Emmy goes to John Davidson ('96). After only one year with Maryland Public Television (MPT), Davidson has won an Emmy for audio post-production work on the TV documentary Clickety Clack Christmas Trains. The show covered the history of trains in Maryland, including the nation's oldest railway, the Baltimore and Ohio.

Davidson is audio post-production supervisor for Maryland Public Television, where he mixes the sounds added to documentaries. "I love coming to work every day," he says. "I love working on the SSL board [TV lingo for digital mixing consoles]. When I first started, I worked at several post production studios like Bell Atlantic Video Services to learn the finer aspects of operating this highly specialized equipment. "

After submitting some of his work to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) to be considered for a 1998 Emmy, Davidson learned that his was one of only three nominations in the "individual craft/ audio post-production" category. He was awarded an Emmy on June 12, 1999, at the NATAS Capitol Region ceremony in Washington, D.C.

"Some of my coworkers told me that is the fastest they've ever heard of anyone winning," says an ecstatic Davidson. "I feel honored to be recognized while being so relatively new in my field. Even though the regional Emmy awards are not televised like the national ceremony, it's nice to know that we are all judged on the same stringent criteria. There are 17 NATAS regions throughout the country. Winning in this category is very rewarding because it was for an "individual craft," which means I won on my personal talents alone. It's overwhelming."