It may be Oscar season, but James Walsh '84, M '85 is still basking in his Emmy win.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences New York Chapter recognized Walsh for “Technical Achievement in Television Production” in April 2007. It was the first Emmy nomination and win for Walsh, whose career has roots in his experience at Oswego State.

The winning entry was a two-and-a-half minute production titled “Horizon” for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers annual award ceremony in 2005. It took nine months to build the sequence projected on three 20-foot-wide screens at the society gathering.

“We were invited to pitch for this job, we did it and it was pretty intense,” said Walsh, who owns JPI Creative Group with his wife, Jeanne Harris Walsh '85. “Once we got it, it was like, ‘Now how are we going to pull this off?’”

Syncing the three massive screens to project the same video sequence proved the biggest challenge. The technical feat also gave JPI the nod over competition from the likes of NBC, the Yankees Entertainment and Sports network and WPIX-TV, New York City’s CW affiliate.

“It was like David versus Goliath,” Walsh said. “We were so excited about getting the nomination, we thought that would be the peak.”

Instead the Walshes walked away with an Emmy. The couple met in the 1980s while students at Oswego, where Walsh played Laker hockey and Jeanne majored in music and theatre.

The two founded JPI Creative Group in Middletown Township, N.J., after they married about 20 years ago. The company produces commercials and promotional pieces for a healthy base of clients today.

Walsh got his start with the New York City Department of Education, which appointed him to launch a television studio and programming. His interest in electronics and background in technology helped him to excel in the production field.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in technology, Walsh earned his master’s in education at Oswego and continues to teach television production at a Staten Island intermediate school.

Because of Jeanne’s roots in the city of Oswego – her father, Fritz Harris, founded WSGO radio – the Walshes make it back to campus two or three times a year with their two daughters, Chelsea and Courtney.

JPI Creative did not get a nomination in this year’s Emmy award ceremony slated for April 6 in New York, but Walsh said he has even larger aspirations as he looks beyond “Horizon.”

“The Academy Awards are next,” he said.

— Shane M. Liebler

PHOTO CAPTION:
James '84, M '85 and Jeanne Harris Walsh '85 celebrate their Emmy win.

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