And the winner is...

Saturday night, the Lower Great Lakes Regional Emmy Awards Gala was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Downtown Marriott.

Channel 3 walked away with Emmy awards in three of the top categories: Outstanding Evening Newscast, Outstanding Weekend Newscast, and Breaking News for The Shooting at Success Tech. We also won for Feature News Report within 24 hours for 'Eliot Ness: Not Untouchable.'

News Director Rita Andolsen proudly accepted the Breaking News award on behalf of a number of her staffers. She told the gathering that 'this award was one that embodied what Channel 3 is about and what makes me proud to be a part of the team. Our Success Tech coverage was award winning because it was truly a team effort, from the General Manager leading the charge all the way down. Every department was involved in the coverage of the day. We provided hours of live coverage on a story that was literally in our front yard, turned our station into a command post for our local police, school district, and city and played host to local stations, NBC affiliates and the networks. We knew we won the story that day. Tonight, our peers rewarded our efforts.'

I echo Rita's sentiments! Award or no award, you get a great feeling at the end of the day when you know you have done the best you can! And when you know you truly went above and beyond and then receive accolades from your peers, it makes it so much sweeter!

Congratulations to: Rita Andolsen, Lydia Esparra, Danielle Fink (yours truly), Tom Genovese, Dave Grendzynski, Maureen Kyle, Lisa Lowry, Chris Mizell, Scott Newell, Julie Ocepek, Mike O'Mara, Brandi Paulson, George Payamgis, Monica Robins, Romona Robinson, Amanda Subler, Dave Summers, Paul Thomas, Kim Wheeler, Tim White, Al Wohl, and Carrie Young.

SportsTime Ohio also picked up a few awards for Sporting Event/Game Live with 'Indians on Deck' and Graphic /Animation for 'Cleveland Indians Baseball.' A big Congratulations goes out to: Brian Anderson, Greg Golya, Jim Murphy, Al Pawlowski, Mike Pocta, Michael Symonds, Joe Von Enck, and Ian Zeigler.

Congratulations to all the winners! For a view of the complete list of winners, CLICK HERE!