Better Business Bureau Presents Lifetime Achievement Award Posthumously to Carol Cooling-Kopp of NBC 5 on March 20
Chicago, IL – Carol Cooling-Kopp will posthumously receive the James E. Baumhart Lifetime Achievement Award from the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois (BBB) at the 87th Annual Dinner Meeting on Thursday, March 20, 2014 at the Chicago Downtown Marriott.
“Carol Cooling-Kopp was an outstanding individual, and this was shown through her hard work and dedication with both the Better Business Bureau and NBC 5,” said Steve J. Bernas, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Her dedication to her work and to supporting the BBB mission will always be remembered.”
This award is named after James E. Baumhart, the immediate past president of the BBB. He dedicated 43 years to the BBB and its commitment to enhance an ethical marketplace.
“The Baumhart Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a person who has made an outstanding contribution in support of the BBB’s mission,” said Bernas. “It is presented only when there is a person worthy of the award.”
Cooling-Kopp worked behind the scenes of NBC-TV and Channel 5 for a total of 30 years and earned multiple Emmy Awards for her work. She joined Channel 5 in 1983 as a Community Relations Assistant and moved up the ranks into several management jobs in different departments, including an Administrator in Community Operations then Producer to Executive Producer in Program Operations and Manager to Director in Broadcast Operations. Her final job at NBC-TV was the Director of Special Events Programming in 2002 and she moved to executive management in 2008.
During her career Cooling-Kopp covered eight marathons and 15 auto shows. With the marathon, she forged ties with charities, sponsors and sports teams to create a memorable event and coordinated broadcast specials with the Chicago Auto Show, especially the “First Look” event. She had the ability to understand both the production side and the business side of both events.
“Carol was the heart and soul of NBC 5. She was a true professional and welcoming ambassador both internally and to all our community partners. She loved her job and strived to make a difference in everything she did. We are proud to have known and worked with her,” says David Doebler, president and General Manager of WMAQ-TV.
Cooling-Kopp was born in South Bend, Ind., and graduated from Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. In 1979 she received her bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University. She joined Channel 5 as a community relations assistant in 1983, where she was immediately noticed for her attention to detail and ability to coordinate large-scale events early on.
She is scheduled to be posthumously inducted into the Silver Circle of the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
