'Colonel Campbell’s Final Flight' Wins Multiple Awards

Colonel Campbell's Final Flight, a short film by The Association of Former Students, won five honors in the 39th Annual Telly Awards and another in the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards.

Colonel Campbell's Final Flight tells the story of U.S. Air Force Col. William Campbell ’52, who was finally laid to rest by his family alongside his wife in Arlington National Cemetery in 2017, more than 48 years after he was shot down during the Vietnam War.

To read more of Colonel Campbell’s story and to watch the 12-minute documentary, visit tx.ag/ColonelCampbell.

Marty Holmes '87, The Association's vice president of marketing and programs, said he was "delighted that the hard work of our team is receiving such tremendous recognition. They are extremely talented and love what they do and it shows. I am also proud of Col. Campbell and the men and women that preserve our freedom."

The Circle of Excellence awards program recognizes outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing at member institutions of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. They are judged by peer professionals at schools, colleges and universities as well as by professionals from outside education.

Colonel Campbell's Final Flight won a bronze Circle of Excellence Award. The judges called it "a sobering and sensitive account" and noted that a sensitive subject "was handled with compassion, never veering toward the maudlin or exploitative."

The Tellys honor excellence in video and television across all screens and are judged by leaders from video platforms, television and streaming networks, agencies, and production companies. Other winners in of the 2018 awards include Lucasfilm, ESPN, National Geographic, HBO, Vice, Vimeo, BuzzFeed, and Mercedes Benz.

The film was honored in five separate Telly categories:

• General-Not-for-profit for Non-Broadcast – GOLD.
• People's Telly: Non-Broadcast Production for Non-Broadcast – GOLD. This award was voted on by the public; only three entries were selected for Gold awards.
• People's Telly: Video / Shows / Segments for Online – SILVER. This award was also voted on by the public; only one entry was selected as Gold and three as Silver.
• General-Documentary: Individual for Branded Content – SILVER.
• General-Documentary: Individual for Non-Broadcast – BRONZE.

The full list of the 39th Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners.

The film was created by a team working under the guidance of Randy Reyes '01, The Association's director of marketing. Andrew Kilzer '07 directed, Clay Taylor '08 was director of photography, Lindsay Caudle was the film editor, and Sue Owen '94 was a story contributor. Reyes and Owen are Association staffers; Kilzer, Taylor and Caudle are with TexAgs Production Group.

Through generous gifts to The Association, we are able to be HERE for Aggies during their days as students and former students, THERE for Aggies as they make their way around the world and EVERYWHERE that the Aggie Network needs us to be. Visit tx.ag/give to make a gift.