Two Weeks Left to Submit Nominations
for the 2026 PBS Reno Spotlight Awards Gala
RENO, NV (APR 16, 2026) – There are two weeks left to submit nominations for the 2026 PBS Reno Spotlight Awards Gala.
Nominations are now open online for five Extraordinary categories: Extraordinary Student, Educator, Individual, Business, and Community Group. Nominations must be submitted by April 30, 2026, and the community will cast votes for 15 finalists in July.
“It’s always heartwarming to see all the nominations come in every year,” said Holly Hutchinson, PBS Reno Event Coordinator. “We have so many amazing people in our community, working hard to make the world a better place. As a community-owned public television station, we’re proud to be able to highlight these amazing people through Spotlight!”
The winners will be announced during the 2026 Spotlight Awards Gala on Friday, September 18, 2026 at the Reno Ballroom in downtown Reno.
“This is an exciting time for us as we get closer to announcing our nominees for this year’s Spotlight Awards Gala,” said Dave Santina, PBS Reno Director of Local Content. “This community is full of people and organizations contributing with their unique ingenuity, innovation and kindness, and it’s heartening to see their friends, neighbors and partners nominating them for special recognition of their good work.”
During the Spotlight Awards Gala, PBS Reno will also celebrate Nick and Debbie Rossi, the Extraordinary Philanthropists of 2026. Nick and Debbie Rossi prioritize giving back to northern Nevada by focusing their efforts on numerous northern Nevada nonprofits dedicated toward assisting families and children with a wide variety of services. These nonprofits include but aren’t limited to Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, Catholic Charities, The Children’s Cabinet, Food Bank of Northern Nevada, University of Nevada, Reno Athletics, University of Nevada, Reno College of Business, Bishop Manogue High School, and many more.
“Our annual Spotlight Awards Gala gives us the opportunity to recognize and thank those in our community who provide consistent leadership and service, which benefit all of us,” said Kurt Mische, PBS Reno President and CEO. “Nick and Debbie Rossi have given this leadership in their personal and professional lives and are worthy to follow in the steps of our previous honorees.”
The PBS Reno Spotlight Awards Gala is the biggest and most important fundraiser of the year for the public television station that has served its community since September 29, 1983. The event features an extravagant dinner program and an exciting auction featuring dozens of items including trips, dinners, tickets, and many more packages. Admission, sponsorship, and auction information are available online now.
About PBS Reno
In fiscal year 2024-2025, PBS Reno reached 592,189 monthly viewers in northern and central Nevada and northeastern California across several platforms including three broadcast channels (PBS Reno 5.1, Reno Create 5.2, and PBS KIDS on PBS Reno 5.3), a YouTube channel, YouTube TV, online, livestreams, and digital platforms. PBS Reno provides PBS national programming and award-earning, locally-produced content, with many local segments posted weekly to PBS Reno’s YouTube channel. PBSReno.org provides engaging interactive content, including the video portal at watch.PBSReno.org that streams all locally-produced content and most PBS national content. PBS Reno serves students, teachers, parents and caregivers through immersive educational services including Curiosity Classroom workshops that bring classroom lessons to life with standards-based lessons and activities. Through the support of local corporations and foundations, as well as thousands of individual members, PBS Reno has been delivering public television and educational services to the communities it serves since September 29, 1983.
Contact us:
Membership Questions: membership@pbsreno.org
Programming Hotline: programming@pbsreno.org
Phone: 775.600.0555
Address: 1670 N. Virginia St. • Reno NV 89503