WFMZ Channel 69.1 and the State Theatre of Easton won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for its presentation of the 2010 Freddy Awards, the annual special that showcases Lehigh Valley high school musicals and the young actors, actresses and singers who perform in them.

The award was presented Saturday evening at Loew’s Philadelphia Hotel during the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards Presentations. Accepting the award were WFMZ General Manager Barry Fisher, Executive Producer Shelley Brown and Jaime Balliet, senior vice president-Marketing for the State Theatre. It is the second time since the Freddy’s program began in 2003 that the show has been recognized with an Emmy from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

“The Freddy’s is a three-hour live television show that inspires and motivates excellence in the arts and showcases for the community the high quality of musical theater being performed by high school students in the region,” Fisher said. “We truly enjoy the chance to honor the many students who participate in these productions every year, and to be recognized by our broadcast peers for this work adds more luster to their accomplishments.”

Fisher said the Freddy’s would not be possible without the work done by Shelley Brown, president and chief executive officer of the State Theatre, and her staff.

“They work tirelessly throughout the year preparing for this show,” he said.

The Freddy’s broadcast was honored with a 2005 EMMY Award for Outstanding Performing Arts Program, and has received 2 additional EMMY Nominations, 6 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Awards, including the 2008 Award for Outstanding Television Program Designed for Children, and 2 Associated Press Award for Public Affairs. The 2008 FREDDY program was the subject of a feature-length film documentary, “Most Valuable Players,” which premiered last month on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

WFMZ was nominated for nine Mid-Atlantic Emmys in 2011, including Best Newscast/Evening – Medium Markets for the “69 News At 5” and “69 News at 10;” General Assignment Report Within 24 Hours for “Biker Church” by reporter Pam Cunningham and photojournalist Kyle Hall; and “69 News In Haiti: Continuing Coverage” by reporter Jaccii Farris and photojournalist Lee Jenkins; and Business/Consumer News or Feature for “What Can Davis Save Us.”

Farris and Jenkins were also nominated in the Documentary category for “Aftershocks: Earthquake in Haiti” and Farris was nominated for On-Camera Talent – Special Assignment and writer Amy Unger was nominated in Writer-News/Commentary/Short Form category.

WFMZ-TV can be seen in more than 2.5 million homes throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey and is carried by Service Electric, RCN, Blue Ridge, Blue Mountain, Comcast, Verizon FIOS, Cablevision, Wire Teleview and other cable providers.

WFMZ-TV and its parent corporation, Maranatha Broadcasting Inc., have been in the forefront of the digital and high-definition revolution with a series of innovative offerings that have been announced in recent years. In addition to introducing the first Accu-Weather station in the country in 2001, Maranatha this year announced the addition of two new digital channels – Memorable Entertainment (ME-TV) 69.3 and Retro Television (RTV) 69.4, which both offer the best of the classic television hits of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.