Honoring Our Financial Management Leaders

Earlier this week, we held Media Finance Focus 2013, the 53^rd annual conference for MFM and BCCA. The conference is widely regarded by attendees as the most valuable professional education experience available to them, which makes me proud. However, one of my favorite parts is when we recognize the members who have contributed so much to the life and fabric of our associations.

It’s interesting to see how the interests and focus of our award winners have changed since we began recognizing their support. As the business becomes more technology-focused, they too are more technology-focused, helping us to continue to be on the leading edge of market trends.

The honorees were selected by the MFM board of directors, and have given their largesse in a wide variety of ways. Their actions range from holding leadership posts on the board, to taking on new strategies that expand the Association’s revenue stream, to leading educational programs, to sponsorship and special chairman duties during our annual conference and CFO Summit.

The beneficiaries of these contributions extend well beyond the current and future members of MFM and BCCA. The efforts of these outstanding individuals ripple across the industry. With that in mind, I would like to tell you about this year’s honorees and ask you to join me in thanking them for their work, which has helped to lift all our boats.

2013 Distinguished CFO Award — John Kampfe

The 2013 Distinguished CFO Award was presented to John Kampfe, executive vice president and CFO of Turner Broadcasting System. In addition to serving on the MFM board, John has been a great supporter. He lets us know when we need to be looking at certain issues and when he stepped off the board, he helped us to recruit Cheryl Ingram, the company’s senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer, who has risen through the organization and currently is board chair.

John has been at Turner for more than 20 years. His present position involves a heavy basket of responsibilities. He oversees all domestic and international financial operations across a wide swathe of divisions and activities: from news and entertainment to mergers and acquisitions. The properties he helps to guide include 100 branded channels in 200 countries. He also is responsible for TBS’s global technology and operations group; serves on the company’s executive committee, and works closely with Turner’s parent company, Time Warner, on financial forecasting and reporting.

I recall with particular fondness a conversation I had with John right before a panel we presented at the Cable Show. I commented on how calm he was. He responded in his distinctive drawl that he was like a duck, calm on the surface and paddling furiously under the water. When you look at all he’s accomplished, you know it’s got to be true.

2013 Chairman’s Award in Honor of Edward Deichman — Bill Fitzsimmons

Bill Fitzsimmons is the recipient of the 2013 Chairman’s Award, which we renamed last year in memory of Edward Deichman. Ed, who had been senior vice president and controller of Media General’s broadcast division, chaired the MFM board for a couple of terms before and after Bill’s term as chairman in 2008-09.

In addition to the many contributions Bill made during his board term and his service on our strategic planning committee, he played an integral role in renaming the organization, to MFM, and served as an advisor during the period when we welcomed in members of INFE (the International Newspaper Financial Executives association). He was also instrumental in introducing our organization to the people at Oracle, who now provide so much back-office technology to our industry. Bill retired earlier this year following 30 years in financial management posts at Time Warner Cable’s predecessor companies and Cox, where he spent 20 of those years, serving most recently as the company’s senior vice president of finance and chief accounting officer.

BCCA Contributor Award — Mindy Sugarman

The BCCA Contributor Award is presented each year to a member of BCCA whose efforts have helped to advance the credit and collections practices of our member companies and the industry as whole. This year’s honoree, Mindy Sugarman, credit and collections manager for the Gray Television group, has set a high bar for contributor recognition. Mindy’s contributions to BCCA exceed a long list of activities that includes organizing and moderating sessions at our annual conference, beta testing the Electronic Media Credit Application (EMCAPP) and helping to put together last summer’s Media Credit Seminar.

One of the things I really enjoy about Mindy is her wry sense of humor. It won’t surprise those who know her to learn that her favorite TV genre is police shows, which she says have a lot in common with the work of a credit and collections professional. As Mindy explains, both involve “starting at the beginning with a question or mystery and getting to the end with closure.” Putting these procedural practices to work, Mindy has developed a very successful “formula” for determining credit-worthiness, which she has shared over the years with other MFM and BCCA members, helping all our businesses to achieve the success ratios of those police shows.

2013 Peter F. Szabo Career Achievement Award — Michael Denson

When you mention EMCAPP, you have to mention Katz Media Group’s Michael Denson, the visionary behind the project and our 2013 Peter F. Szabo Career Achievement Award honoree. When he first suggested the idea of an industry-wide EDI that would allow advertisers to enter one credit application that would be accepted by every media outlet, I thought it would never fly. It’s a pleasure to admit I was wrong. EMCAPP has transformed from an idea and it is taking off, largely due to Mike’s deep commitment and extraordinary work on the initiative.

While EMCAPP may represent his largest contribution, it is by no means the only one. Mike, who is vice president, network credit and collections at Katz Media Group, has served on the MFM board twice, first as an elected board member and now as BCCA’s board representative. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for TFM — The Financial Manager magazine, a member of the BCCA Committee and he is currently re-editing the BCCA Credit & Collection Handbook, which he first edited back in 2004. In addition to his work on behalf of BCCA, Mike has been actively involved with the New York Media Credit Group (NYMCG), where he has served serving as chairman of the organization during three separate periods.

Working Capital and Rainmaker Awards

MFM and BCCA honored four Rainmakers and four Working Capital Award winners during an awards ceremony sponsored by BMI that also featured an amazing  performance by BMI songwriter Chris Wallace, who is most widely recognized for his hit song Remember When (Push Rewind) which has been on the U.S. Airplay Top 100 for more than 30 weeks.

MFM’s Rainmaker Awards recognize members who have helped MFM and BCCA expand in significant ways. This year’s honorees, whose contributions range from helping to organize and run a highly successful CFO Summit to leadership on one or more of our standing committees, are:

• Carey P. Hendrickson, senior vice president and CFO, Belo Corp.
• Bob Rollins, corporate credit and collections manager, Raycom Media
• Rich Schmaeling, senior vice president and CFO of LIN Media
• John Zito, director of tax compliance for Harron Entertainment

Our Working Capital Awards recognize members who focus attention on the associations’ goals — and help to achieve them. This year’s award winners have helped us achieve our goal to serve as the industry’s pre-eminent educational resource for financial management, which in turn has helped us to achieve higher levels of participation in our continuing professional educational (CPE) programs and to meet our overall membership goals. They are:

• Bob Cole, regional controller, Morgan Murphy Media
• Linda Fritts, a member of the law firm Dow Lohnes
• Brian Pendley, a partner at Ernst & Young in the firm’s assurance practice
• Harry Vasels, CFO, South Central Media

Thanks to the efforts of TFM editor Janet Stilson, principal at Heritage Masterpiece and frequent writer for a number of industry trade publications, you can learn much more about all of our award winners in the magazine’s current issue. A complimentary copy of the publication will be available on our website for a limited time.

My hat is off to these honorees and all the members who help us make MFM and BCCA such vibrant associations. Their efforts have also helped to advance the quality, efficiency and professionalism of our industry’s financial practices.

Mary M. Collins is president and CEO of the Media Financial Management Association and its BCCA subsidiary. She can be reached at [email protected]. Her column appears in TVNewsCheck every other week. You can read her earlier columns here.