2009 Board of Governors Emmy Award

The Board of Governors Award honors visionary, long-standing relationships that creatively and effectively use corporate, non-profit and broadcast resources to showcase the power of broadcasting to advance a mission or message. The award is presented to a broadcaster, advertiser or company, as well as a non-profit organization, each of whom has contributed to forward a cause.

2009 Recipients: Hockey Day Minnesota Honors the Minnesota National Guard

Fox Sports North, the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota National Guard created a partnership to honor and celebrate soldiers and military families across the state with a special broadcast and hockey game from a war zone during Hockey Day Minnesota on Jan. 17, 2009. Military members from the 148th Fighter Wing based in Duluth and the 834th Aviation Support Battalion based in St. Paul, both stationed in Iraq got a piece of home for the day.

The men and women of the Minnesota National Guard started the fourth annual Hockey Day Minnesota with a floor hockey game from a military base in Balad, Iraq.

Elements of the event included:

• Live coverage of the hockey game aired on FSN. The Wild and FSN incorporated features and live interviews with Minnesota soldiers overseas
• A worldwide texting initiative let military members communicate with their family/friends
• FSN commissioned a special website that allowed soldiers to have access to the Internet and send messages through the site to loved onesThe Minnesota Wild helped plan and organize the overall effort. The team sent hockey gear and custom Minnesota Wild jerseys to the troops in Iraq for their floor hockey game.The team also paid special tribute to the military members in attendance at the Minnesota Wild game that evening. The national anthem was performed by the Minnesota unit based in Iraq and was broadcast live in the arena via satellite.