Why We Dance: The Story of THON, a documentary created by Penn State Public Broadcasting that premiered last fall, has been nominated for a 2013 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for Best Documentary.

The hour-long documentary chronicles the year and efforts leading up to THON 2012, including interviews and commentary from the 2012 THON Overall Committee and THON volunteers from various organizations. Why We Dance premiered on WPSU on the eve of THON 2013’s first canning weekend in September 2012 and has since been made available on DVD. A portion of DVD proceeds are donated to the Four Diamonds Fund.

“We are thrilled to learn that “Why We Dance” has been honored with an Emmy nomination,” said Jeff Hughes, executive producer of “Why We Dance.” ” Not only does it recognize the hard work of the WPSU-TV production team, it also celebrates and honors the inspiring work of all who’ve worked to make THON what it is today.”

In addition to Why We Dance, seven other Penn State productions and one individual were honored with Emmy nominations on Thursday, including:

• College/University News: General Assignment: ComMedia for “Jerry Sandusky Sentenced”
  
• College/University: Longform- Nonfiction: ComMedia for “In the Game- Episode 201”
• College/University- Sports: ComMedia for “The Future of Boxing in America”
• Entertainment: Program/Special: Penn State Public Broadcasting for “Music Theatre Spotlight 2012”
• Sports: Program/Series: Penn State Public Broadcasting for “Penn State Basketball: In the Paint”
• Sports: Program/Series: Penn State Public Broadcasting for “Courtside with Coquese: One Step Closer”
• College/University Newscast: “The Centre County Report” for their Nov. 2, 2012 broadcast
• Editor: Program: Cole Cullen of Penn State Public Broadcasting

Winners will be announced on Saturday, Sept. 7 at a ceremony in Philadelphia. Congratulations to all nominees!