I went to the Heartland Emmys last weekend in Denver with my oh-so amazing editor Jason Kerschner. The two of us somehow managed to score PlattForm’s first ever Emmy nomination … for a video PlattForm produced for a local charity, SAVE, Inc., which provides housing to men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS.

Just in case you missed it the first time … we scored PlattForm’s FIRST EVER EMMY NOMINATION.

Unfortunately, we also lost. But it’s an honor just to be nominated, right?

Whatever.

Between Jason’s muted sobbing and the thunderous applause for the drunk driving piece that did win, I had a Zen moment. I realized we were blessed to even be sitting at the awards gala … that we were fortunate enough to have the chance to tell the stories of these wonderful people LIVING with HIV/AIDS. Note I said “living” … not struggling, not dying, not succumbing.

According to the CDC, someone is infected with HIV every 13 minutes in the United States and there is one AIDS-related death every 15 minutes.

That being said … one of the interviewees from the piece unfortunately passed away before the video had been completed. And I always wanted to dedicate the video to him. So, if nothing else … this is my one opportunity to briefly tell you about Chef Jack.

When we visited Chef Jack, the first thing I noticed were the hundreds of stuffed bears he had sprinkled around his apartment. A quirky interior design choice? No, Jack had received a bear for every time he had been hospitalized. Hundreds of bears = hundreds of hospital stays. Jack was candid, he was honest and he actually took time to put me at ease. And I was determined to dedicate my Emmy win to him. Alas …

Working with the folks at SAVE, Inc. has been one of the single most uplifting and inspirational things I’ve ever done. And so even though we didn’t bring home the gold, I feel like we did, and I know Jack is up there and he’s uber-impressed.

Hey, Jack … maybe if you could help Angela Lansbury out? She’s been nominated 18 times for an Emmy and never won. I think she needs your divine intervention more than we do.