KQED | About KQED: News and Events: Remembering Tom Fanella

May 29, 2007 --- With more than thirty years in public broadcasting, veteran broadcasting professional Thomas E. Fanella served nineteen years as president and chief executive officer of the KTEH Foundation, parent company of San Jose public television station KTEH and Central Coast public television station KCAH, before merging with KQED in San Francisco. Fanella was a courageous leader who worked with colleagues and board members to plan and execute the successful merger, creating the stations' new parent company, Northern California Public Broadcasting, where he held the post of executive vice president for Television Broadcasting. Prior to his move to the West Coast in 1988, Fanella served as chief operating officer for QED Enterprises and vice president for Marketing for Metropolitan Pittsburgh Public Broadcasting. During the period 1975-1984, Fanella served as vice president for Marketing at his hometown public television station, WCNY, in Syracuse, New York.

"Tom was an outstanding public television professional in every sense of the word. Over the span of 32 years in public broadcasting, he has been a leader and a team builder in markets he's served – including Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and for the past 19 years, San Jose. We are grateful for Tom's tremendous contribution to our industry, to KTEH and most recently to NCPB, and the courage with which he helped facilitate the merger while bravely fighting cancer. Despite his recent illness, Tom consistently has maintained an incredible positive spirit that has been an inspiration to us all," says Jeff Clarke, president and CEO of NCPB.

Throughout his career in public television and in other non-profit arenas, Fanella continually designed and executed record-setting revenue and audience-generating campaigns. His impressive list of successful campaigns included auctions, major telemarketing and corporate campaigns, the design and implementation of video product marketing programs, and the completion of several capital campaigns. During his career, Fanella won more than thirty PBS and CPB awards, and is the only individual to have won the coveted PBS Overall Development Award six times, and did so in three different broadcast markets.

Under Mr. Fanella's leadership, KTEH produced many award-winning original productions on subjects ranging from environmental conservation, science, the arts, children and diversity. Among KTEH's most recognized productions is Cadillac Desert, a four-part series on water issues in the region, which won a DuPont Columbia Baton, in addition to dozens of other awards. Among other national productions presented by KTEH were Computer Chronicles, Internet Cafe, Uncommon Knowledge, Betting it All, and Real Science.

Fanella served on many national committees including chairing the PBS National Development Advisory Committee. In addition, Fanella served as a senior member with the National Society of Fundraising Executives.

John M. Sobrato, former chair of the KTEH Board of Directors and current vice chair of the NCPB Board of Directors says, "Tom Fanella inspired everyone around him to make KTEH a very relevant and important part of the Silicon Valley community. His leadership of the station through very challenging times was a model of determination and skill. Tom was dedicated to the mission of public broadcasting — presenting the best programming available and reaching out into the community to educate and inform. Tom has not only served the viewers of KTEH but he has created community partnership and engagement that will serve the entire Silicon Valley for years to come."

"Without Tom's thoughtful leadership, the merger between KQED and KTEH would not have been possible. Tom's extraordinary commitment to the South Bay community and public television's role in serving that community was evident to everyone involved in the creation of Northern California Public Broadcasting. We will miss terribly his enthusiastic spirit and the powerful energy he brought to every task," says Nick Donatiello, chair of the NCPB Board of Directors.

Craig Brush, president and general manager of KCOS, El Paso adds, "Tom was both a cherished PBS colleague and dear friend for 29 years. A consummate professional, he passionately committed his career not only to PBS' mission, but to advancing the careers of many others, who will continue to keep alive his extraordinary legacy for KTEH and for public television nationally."

For the past year, Mr. Fanella had been battling cancer. The official cause of death was heart failure.

Fanella is survived by his wife, Susan Hayes. Memorial services will be announced shortly. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests donations in honor of Mr. Fanella be made to KTEH and mailed to 1585 Schallenberger Road, San Jose, CA 95131-2434.

The memorial service will be at 3pm, Saturday, June 2 at the Chapel of the Hills, 615 North Santa Cruz Avenue, Los Gatos.