| PIC Instructional Video Wins Emmy | |||
| By Vernon Robison Moapa Valley Progress Published July 8, 2009 An instructional video which was produced last year through the local efforts of the Partners in Conservation (PIC) organization has in the Children’s Program category. The award was announced during a ceremony held last month in San Diego, California. The video, entitled Respect the Ride, is aimed at pre-teen children and focuses on the topic of responsible Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use. The video was one of a two-part series on the subject. The second video was aimed at an older teen-age group. |
 Moapa resident and champion ATV racer, Josh Fredrick, is interviewed by Dan Garrison of Joshua Tree Productions at the Logandale Trails System for a set of instructional videos released last year by the local Partners in Conservation organization. One of the videos won an Emmy award last month. |
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| The project actually began back in 2002. PIC Administrator, Elise McAllister, who is also credited as the Executive Producer of the two videos, explained that the PIC organization was interested in bringing a ‘responsible use’ message to a youth audience in a format that would capture its interest.
“We had this idea that kids ‘tune-out’ most of the regular educational messages geared to them because the presentation of those messages doesn’t catch their attention,” McAllister said. “So we wanted to use a MTV-style, fast, graphic-busy format with music and audio that kids normally listened to-to deliver our responsible use message.” With this idea, PIC wrote a grant proposal to the Desert Conservation Program and the concept received funding through the Southern Nevada Public Management Act (SNPLMA) to go forward. |
 Motorcycle racer, Jenna Ellis, is interviewed by Dan Garrison of Joshua Tree Productions at the Mesquite Motocross Park for an instructional video released last year by the local Partners in Conservation organization. |
PIC contracted with Joshua Tree Productions, a Las Vegas company, to produce the videos. Most of the footage was shot at Logandale Trails and at the Mesquite MotoCross Track. The goal was to show the difference in these two settings: specifically the difference in their appropriate uses.
“One of the main messages we wanted to get across was that closed tracks (like Mesquite Motocross Track) are the place youth should go to ride all out: to go fast, do whoop-de-whoops, and to race,” McAllister said. “On the other hand, trail riding is where you go to enjoy being with family and friends, etc, where staying on roads and trails is what you do, not tearing up the desert.” |
| To further bring the message home, McAllister felt that the videos needed the right spokespeople to deliver the message. “We wanted to depict youth, who had made a name for themselves (in OHV sports), to deliver that message-kind of a positive use of peer pressure,” McAllister said. “We wanted the audience to hear from youth that were looked up to and respected for their accomplishments.”
Featured in the videos were several local celebrities in the OHV world. Logandale residents Lisa and Darren Kelley and their son David Kelley were highlighted in the pre-teen video. David has won several national ATV championships. In the video for teens was featured Moapa resident Josh Fredrick. Frederick has won numerous national championships and appears in commercials for Can-Am ATVs. “He is one of the truly elite in the sport,” McAllister said. Also appearing in both DVDs is Jena Ellis, a female motorcycle rider who has placed nationally and regionally. “She is a real fireball who is well-known regionally,” McAllister said. Jena’s brother, Jason operates the Mesquite Motocross Track. “We appreciated the ‘stars’ of our videos,” McAllister said. “They willingly contributed long hours to this project because they believe in responsible and safe OHV use, practice what they preach, and lead by example. Free copies of the DVD are available through the PIC organization. “They are available for anyone to use with their scout groups, school groups, church youth groups or even for their families to view,” McAllister said. The free DVD with both videos can be ordered by calling PIC at 864-2579. |
