Southeastern students honored by Emmys
Thursday, June 1, 2023
by: Tonya Lowentritt 
EMMY WINNERS- Three Southeastern students were recently honored by the Suncoast Emmys of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with an Emmy Student Production Award for a television commercial they produced for the Salad Station. The winners were (from left) John Williams of Denham Springs, cinematographer; Jenna-Francis Duvic of Loranger, producer; and Ross Chauvin of Houma, video editor.
HAMMOND – Students at the Southeastern Channel have been honored with a college
division Student Production Award given by the Emmy Awards’ Suncoast Region of the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
John Austin Williams of Denham Springs, Ross Chauvin of Houma and Jenna-Francis
Duvic of Loranger received the Student Production Award in the “Commercial” category.
In addition to the winning commercial, the Southeastern Channel had three other
Student Production Award nominations. They were in the “Fiction: Short Film,” “Editor,”
and “Newscast” categories.
The students and their productions were honored in the Emmy Suncoast Region,
comprised of television stations and production companies in Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Puerto Rico. Students at the Southeastern Channel have now been named
Emmy winners 23 times with 73 nominations.
“Being recognized by the Emmys is the highest honor you can receive in television,”
said Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon. “These student awards are
measured against the Emmy standard of excellence. If no productions in a category
achieve that standard, then no award is given. Since so few are given, we’re absolutely
thrilled that John, Ross and Jenna are joining such elite company.”
“I feel honored and grateful to be a student Emmy winner,” said Duvic. “I am
proud I helped create something meaningful enough to be honored by the Emmys. It shows
that hard work really does pay off.”
The winning commercial was produced for the Salad Station, the salad restaurant
chain that offers fresh local produce daily. The Salad Station opened its first restaurant
in downtown Hammond in 2012 and in the past 10 years has grown to 30 locations throughout
the South, including seven on the Northshore.
The commercial titled “The Salad Station: Lettuce Bring Fresh to You,” focuses
on catering services provided by the restaurant. It was produced by Duvic, while Williams
was the cinematographer and Chauvin the video editor. The production was a class assignment
for Comm 424: “Television Advertising Production,” taught by Southeastern Channel
Operations Manager Steve Zaffuto.
“Working and collaborating with a team for a project like this was a great experience
in preparing me for work in the real world,” Williams said. “After graduating I quickly
adapted to the workforce, as I had already experienced much of what it would be like
while still in college. In the television and film industry, working with a team is
the nature of the business. I got a good taste of what to expect after graduation...
right here at Southeastern.”
In the college “Newscast” category, the June 28, 2021, episode of the Southeastern
Channel newscast “Northshore News” was nominated. Lauren Hawkins of Ponchatoula produced
and co-anchored the show with Trinity Brown of Baton Rouge. Reporters contributing
stories to the newscast were Hawkins, Taylor Nettle of Lacombe, Jordan Kliebert of
Mandeville, Anaclaire McKneely of Amite, Kaylor Yates of Baton Rouge, and Joliette
Vincent of Luling.
In the “Fiction: Long Form” category, Williams’s short film, “Pit Stop,” was
nominated. The 15-minute suspense film follows Lydia, a young lady played by Nettle,
who finds herself lost in a desolate location trying to meet up with her friends.
After being captured and held hostage by an apocalyptic conspiracy theorist, played
by Jordan Alfred of Lacombe, Lydia must find her escape.
Williams produced, directed, shot, edited and co-wrote the film with Nettle.
For his editing of the film, Williams was nominated in the “Editor” category for the
Emmy Student Production Award. He produced “Pit Stop” for his senior portfolio project
in Comm 498 taught by James O’Connor, head of the Department of Communication and
Media Studies.
Winning in the “Commercial” category marked the third time that Williams has
been honored for a Student Production Award by the Suncoast Emmys, the most by any
Southeastern student. In previous years he won for “Director” with his short film
“The Overthinker” and for “News Feature” with “July 4th in Baton Rouge,” on the student
newscast “Northshore News.”
Williams has worked as a marketing producer for WGMB-TV Ch. 44/WVLA-TV Ch. 33
in Baton Rouge and a cinematographer-editor for Anntoine Marketing and Design in Hammond
since graduating, and now as a cinematographer-editor for Louisiana Public Broadcasting
in Baton Rouge.
“The Southeastern Channel was the best collegiate experience I could’ve asked
for as an introduction to the film and television industry,” Williams said. “I got
hands-on experience with state-of-the-art technology, brilliant professors and instructors,
and well-designed, detailed courses. Anyone interested in television and film-related
professions should check out The Southeastern Channel.”
“The Southeastern Channel has prepared me for a career in television and film,”
Duvic said. “I learned many things about directing, editing, producing, writing, and
more from them.”
In its 20 years of existence, the Southeastern Channel has won over 500 national,
international and regional awards. The channel can be seen on Spectrum Cable 199 in
Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany and St. Helena parishes and on mounthermonTV.com
for viewers in Washington Parish. In addition, the live 24-7 broadcast can be seen
on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, the Spectrum App, and the channel’s website at thesoutheasternchannel.com,
which also offers programs via video on demand. The Southeastern Channel is available
on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
