PBS Reno Announces 2025 Spotlight Awards & Auction Winners
 Annual gala celebrated local philanthropy and raised over $355,000 for
PBS Reno’s Curiosity Classroom workshops and local productions 
 

 

RENO, NV (SEP 16, 2025) – PBS Reno is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Spotlight Awards & Auction, which took place Friday, September 12 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. 

The gala also celebrated the contributions of Jill and Par Tolles – the Extraordinary Philanthropists of 2025 – for their multiple avenues of philanthropic work throughout the community including public service and reducing homelessness.

“It is an incredible honor for both of us to be recognized in this way,” said Jill and Par Tolles. “The Spotlight Awards do more than celebrate accomplishments; they illuminate the spirit of service, generosity, and community that define northern Nevada. Being part of this evening has left us humbled and inspired.”

The winners of the 2025 Spotlight Awards & Auction are the culmination of more than 13,000 votes placed by the community throughout July:

Coffee N’ Comics won the Spotlight Awards for Extraordinary Business. Helix Electric LLC and Microsoft were the other two finalists recognized in this category.

Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation won the Spotlight Award for Extraordinary Community Group. Nevada Women’s Fund and RennerVation Foundation were the other two finalists recognized in this category.

Debbie Smith, an advocate for children with cancer, won the Spotlight Award for Extraordinary Individual. Becky Hall, Community Engagement Manager for the Nevada Mining Association, and Derek Beauvais, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada, were the other two finalists recognized in this category.

Katie Rossi, an Early Childhood Strategies teacher at Caughlin Ranch Elementary School, won the Spotlight Award for Extraordinary Educator. Gilbert Lenz, an Agricultural Mechanics teacher at North Valleys High School, and Roni Green, a Career and Technical Education teacher at Reed High School, were the other two finalists recognized in this category.

Hailey Annis, a student at Mamie Towles Junior High School in south Reno, won the Spotlight Award for Extraordinary Student. Ameerah Mapp, a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, and The VC Silver Circuits were the other two finalists recognized in this category. 

“We are so pleased to have the honor of presenting our Spotlight Awards to so many deserving individuals and organizations whose work has been voted on by our community,” said Kurt Mische, PBS Reno President and CEO. “We are honored to have had over 600 of our friends and supporters attend, who helped us raise $355,000 to support the vitally important work we do. And it is so important for us to recognize and thank community leaders like Jill & Par Tolles, who set such a positive example of giving for all of us.”

About PBS Reno

As of November 2024, PBS Reno is enjoyed by more than 540,000 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