One Week Away!
2025 PBS Reno Spotlight Awards & Auction
Proceeds from annual gala support PBS Reno Curiosity Classroom workshops and
award-earning local productions including Wild Nevada and ARTEFFECTS
RENO, NV (SEP 5, 2025) – PBS Reno will host the 2025 Spotlight Awards & Auction one week from today on September 12, 2025, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. More than 600 PBS Reno supporters are expected to attend this year’s gala, which is the station’s biggest and most important fundraiser of the year.
“We are just one week away from the Spotlight Awards & Auction, where we will honor Jill and Par Tolles for their remarkable leadership and commitment to our region,” said Emma Glenn, PBS Reno Vice President of Development. “The Spotlight Awards gala is about lifting up changemakers whose impact is felt far beyond themselves, and the Tolles truly embody that spirit. Their dedication not only strengthens our community today but also inspires others to follow their example. We are thrilled to celebrate their contributions to our community.”
PBS Reno is excited to offer several exciting live auction items including trips to Hawaii, Palm Springs, and San Sebastián in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country; a massive silent auction, and a fun Mystery Wine Pull with all proceeds benefiting PBS Reno’s Curiosity Classroom workshops, award-earning local productions, and essential general operations.
“The Spotlight Awards & Auction is a signature PBS Reno event that salutes so many community leaders and donors,” said Kurt Mische, PBS Reno President & CEO. “It is also a major fundraising event for the station, and that takes on added importance given the loss of our federal funding.”
During the event, PBS Reno will also announce the winners of five categories: Extraordinary Individual, Extraordinary Student, Extraordinary Educator, Extraordinary Business, and Extraordinary Community Group. Each winner is the result of a month-long online voting process in July, during which PBS Reno received thousands of votes from the community.
Since 2020, the PBS Reno Spotlight Awards & Auction has celebrated more than 75 local businesses, non-profits, educators, and individuals. Past recipients of the PBS Reno Extraordinary Philanthropist award include Rick Reviglio, Brian Sandoval, the Carano family, and Sandy Raffealli.
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