Six local Atlanta television professionals have been inducted into the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ “Silver Circle”, a prestigious honor for long-standing local television pros.
WAGA TV Fox 5’s Chief Meteorologist Joanne Feldman, CBS Atlanta sports anchor and reporter Sam Crenshaw, WSB TV reporter Tom Jones, WANF reporter Adam Murphy, WXIA/WATL anchor/reporter Cheryl Preheim, and Greg West from religious broadcaster WATC, all were inducted into the Silver Circle this year.
“Joining the company of so many respected and accomplished industry professionals blows me away. And the number of people who helped me get here over the last couple of decades is far too great to list here. But I am so grateful,” said Feldman on Instagram. “To family, colleagues past and present, managers who believed in me, and viewers who have trusted me – THANK YOU. I’ll never stop trying to live up to what this recognition means.”
NATAS awards the Silver Circle award to TV pros who have dedicated 25 or more years to “making significant contributions to the industry while providing meaningful leadership, mentorship, and service.”
“What I love most about what we do is we can’t do it alone,” said Preheim in an Instagram post where she tells of her sharing her Silver Circle moment with her mother, who was in attendance at the ceremony. “Thank you to all our producers, engineers, directors, photojournalists, editors, reporters, our sales and leadership team – everyone who works so hard every day.”
Other Georgia Silver Circle inductees are Troy Johnson of WAPT Jackson, MS, and Frank Sulkowski, WJCL Savannah, Ga.
Three were inducted into the Gold Circle, NATAS’s highest special honor: former Southeast regional NATAS president Evelyn D. Mims, producer and entrepreneur Rafael Ortiz Guzman, and former WMAZ Macon news director/general manager Dodie Catrell Bickley. The Gold Circle is for media pros with at least 50 years of service in the television industry. They must also have made a “significant contribution” to the Southeast Chapter of the NATAS. Previous Gold Circle inductees include former WSB TV and now WANF journalist Monica Kaufman Pearson, WSB/WXIA anchor John Pruitt, TBS executive Xernona Clayton, and former WAGA sports anchor Bill Hartman.
An induction ceremony was held on September 11, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, hosted by WSB TV morning anchor Fred Blankenship.
