The Gwinnett County Communications Department achieved a historic milestone by winning its first Emmy during the 50th anniversary of the Southeast Regional Emmy Awards ceremony over the weekend.

The award-winning series, “Upfront Gwinnett: Fighting Fentanyl,” competed against top television productions from Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina and Georgia. The achievement honorees are County spokeswoman Deborah Tuff who hosted and executive produced the series, producer Ryan J. Dennis, filmmaker and editor Brandon Davis, and edited by Derek Davis.

The idea for the series originated during an August 2022 meeting with County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson, Newton County Chair Marcello Bane, and Rockdale County Chairman Oz Nesbitt. Chairwoman Hendrickson highlighted the alarming rise in fentanyl use in the neighboring counties and emphasized the urgent need to address the issue in Gwinnett. The County's spokeswoman Deborah Tuff routinely attended these meetings with the chairwoman and began researching fentanyl and engaging with various stakeholders across the County. With full support from Chairwoman Hendrickson and the Board of Commissioners, Tuff developed a series tackling challenges the community faces.

In addition to addressing the spike in fentanyl-related deaths, Upfront Gwinnett spotlights solutions to everyday issues. The latest series, “Upfront Gwinnett: Suffering in Silence,” focuses on raising awareness about the various efforts to address the complexities of the mental health crisis.

The Communications Department also achieved another first at the 50th Emmy’s with a nomination for the advertisement launching Ride Gwinnett's new Microtransit program.

You can watch the ceremony and the team’s acceptance speech at the following link. You can also watch the Emmy-Award winning series on our YouTube channel.