Athens, Ga. – Jody B. Danneman, executive producer and president of Atlanta ImageArts, Inc., Marietta, has been awarded the Dean’s Medal for Communication Leadership from the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Danneman, a 1988 telecommunication arts alumnus of the Grady College, is the third recipient of the medal and was honored in a ceremony held in Grady’s Peabody Suite on Friday, April 24.
The Grady College Dean’s Medal was established in 2007 to honor an alumnus who plays a significant role in a communication event that rises to the status of case study in one of the journalism and mass communication disciplines.
Danneman, 43, is recognized as one of the premier, award-winning producers in the Southeast with more than 20 years experience in broadcast television, encompassing all facets of the industry. Atlanta ImageArts, a multi-media production house offering services for broadcast, corporate communications and live events, produces the George Foster Peabody Awards presentation held each year at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. UGA’s Grady College has administered the Peabody Awards since the program’s inception in 1940.
“Jody serves as producer for the entire spectacular production that involves multiple cameras, special sound and lighting equipment, and special recording procedures,” said Horace Newcomb, director of the Peabody Awards and Grady professor of telecommunications. “His interactions with major media talent such as Brian Williams, Ted Koppel, Katie Couric and the creators and cast of major entertainment programs are uniformly praised for the professionalism he exhibits.”
His client list extends far beyond this international event, however. Danneman has written and produced the Georgia Music Hall of Fame production on Georgia Public Broadcasting for the past several years, and has produced various video presentations and live events for Delta Air Lines. His diverse credits include PricewaterhouseCoopers’ annual meeting, and the Georgia gubernatorial inauguration’s statewide broadcast. He regularly produces work for Delta Tau Delta, his UGA fraternity, for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Kraft Foods, and many other corporate entities.
In November 2008, Danneman produced Grady College’s Centennial Gala at the Athens Classic Center. “Jody made it a pivotal moment in the life of the college, a truly transformativegathering that honored the remarkable audience in a Waldorf-quality way,” said Grady College Dean E. Culpepper Clark. “Not only did Jody produce the Centennial Gala and showcase the spectacular evening, but he produced the video tribute to the Grady Fellowship and the student interviews that debuted that evening. On top of everything, he donated his time and talents to us pro-bono as a gift to the college.”
Danneman serves on the Grady College Alumni Board and on the board of directors for Delta Tau Delta fraternity. An ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church, he serves on the boards of HomeStretch, an organization that helps local homeless families overcome their housing crises, and HobNob, a start-up company that assists college students with career discovery and placement.
His professional work has been recognized with several Emmy nominations and he has received multiple Telly and Communicator Awards. In 2008, he received Delta Tau Delta fraternity’s highest honor when he was inducted into their Distinguished Service Chapter.
Danneman is a native of Atlanta, where he lives with his wife, Sally, and daughter, Marianne.
Previous recipients of the Grady College Dean’s Medal are Tim Mapes, vice president of marketing for Delta Air Lines, in 2007, and Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop, in 2008.
Established in 1915, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers seven undergraduate majors including advertising, broadcast news, magazines, newspapers, public relations, publication management and telecommunication arts. The college offers two graduate degrees, and is home to WNEG-TV, the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu.
