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D. Kent Norton – Chairman of the Board and C.E.O
Born and raised in Ogden, Utah (Ogden High School, 1969), Kent Norton attended the
University of Utah on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude in
1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Communications. He was
a member of the Alpha Tau Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and the National
Honor Society. He received his Juris Doctorate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School
at Brigham Young University in 1978. He is a member of the Utah State Bar Association
and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1987. He
practiced law with the Salt Lake City firm of Backman, Clark and Marsh. Thereafter,
he chose to pursue a variety of real estate and small business development ventures.
For thirty two years, Kent was seen as the weekend weathercaster on the NBC affiliate
for the intermountain area, KSL TV5. He has given considerable time and effort to
numerous charities and other public service commitments, as director or trustee
and also as master of ceremonies for many fund-raising and recognition events. These
include the Utah Division of the American Cancer Society, The Children's Miracle
Network, the annual Easter Seals Telethon, the Deseret News / KSL Sterling Scholar
Awards, and Operation Kids. He has served as one of the managing directors of The
Sutherland Institute, a Utah-based public policy think-tank.
John Marsh – Chief Operating Officer
John Marsh is our versatile production specialist. A graduate of Brigham Young University,
John's 30-year career in television includes membership in the prestigious Director's
Guild of America. John worked in Hollywood for many years as a staff and freelance
stage manager on numerous television shows. He opened his own production company
while still freelancing as a DGA member. The production company he started, Spotlite
Video Productions, is still one of the premier production companies in Northern
California.
In 1989, Mr. Marsh joined Broadcast International to head up their television production
division. He built a viable television production department from the ground up
including designing versatile sets.
In 1997, Mr. Marsh became the Executive Producer for the Lawyers Communication Network.
This network was a joint venture between Broadcast International and the American
Bar Association. He oversaw the acquisition and production of hundreds of hours
of programming for this new network. He was directly responsible for up to 14 television
production crews working simultaneously at each annual ABA conference. He also oversaw
the editing of these programs after each convention.
In 2000, Safeway Stores, Inc. asked Mr. Marsh to be the manager of the Safeway Satellite
Network. He built a 2000 site network from the ground up. His responsibilities included
the supervision of the satellite network and the in-store music for this Fortune
50 Company.
Todd Maurer – Executive Vice President
One of the original developers of the Starfish Television Network concept, and the
author of the initial business plan, Mr. Maurer brings 20 years experience in the
nonprofit industry to the executive team.
Before joining the Starfish staff full time, he served as Chief Marketing Officer
for Thanksgiving Point, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring the minds
and renewing the spirits of young and old by providing unique learning experiences,
family-friendly entertainment and opportunities for discovery in a safe and beautiful
environment. During his time at Thanksgiving Point the organization experienced
4 consecutive record years in revenue and attendance and established a premiere
brand in the region.
Prior to that he served as senior vice president of The Children's Miracle Network
working with cable and broadcast television executives on various television properties
promoted by the charity. Mr. Maurer served on the senior management team of The
Children's Miracle Network, helping to create and implement fund-raising efforts
resulting in $260 million annually. It was during this time that the idea of a television
channel dedicated to serving the nonprofit industry was first envisioned.
An award-winning writer and producer, Mr. Maurer is also skilled in the development
and implementation of marketing, public relations and fund-raising campaigns. He
is experienced in sponsorship development and sales as well as television programming
sales.
Mr. Maurer graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's
Degree in Communications.
Melodee Paul – Vice President, Operations; Part-time volunteer
With over 27 years of experience in the broadcast industry, Melodee Paul is one
of the leading women in the industry who has helped develop and deploy many Business
Television Networks around the world for corporate, non-profit organizations, and
religious associations. She has also demonstrated the ability of managing complete
production and transmission services for multiple special events and projects around
the world which include:
Special Events - Major national, regional, and local events including: corporate
product launches, corporate communication and training events, telethons (Children's
Miracle Network, Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy, etc.), Pay for View events (concerts,
wrestling, boxing), special network shows (Academy Awards, MTV Awards, Miss Universe
Pageant, Miss America Pageant, Golden Globe Awards, etc.), back-haul feeds for award
winning shows (Oprah Winfrey Show, NightLine, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight,
etc.), media tours, press tours for multiple movie releases, live news and election
coverage, religious programming - special events (The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, etc.), emergency production and transmission for disasters and
news breaking stories such as wars, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, terrorist attacks,
and multiple OTO and annual broadcasts, President George W. Bush Campaigns (2000
and 2004). Provide production and transmission services for White House Communications
Administration when the President cannot be at an event live. Provide production
and transmission for NASA TV for shuttle launches, special events, town hall meetings
and round table discussions.
Sports Events - Olympics (Atlanta Summer Olympics, 2002, Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
Opening and Closing Ceremonies), ESPN, Fox Sports, Nascar, NBA, NFL, NHL, Major
League Baseball, IHL, Golf Channel etc.
Syndication - Paramount, Warner Brothers, Group W, Viacom, King World, UPN, Twentieth
Century Fox
She has served as Sr. Account Executive for EventCom Technologies by Marriott; Account
Executive, Special Events Manager, Project Manager and Customer Support for GlobeCast
North America; Account Manager for Grey Advertising - Los Angeles; Account Manager
for Cole & Webber Advertising - Salt Lake City; Traffic Manager, Public Service
Director for KISN/KLUB Radio - Salt Lake City; Traffic Manager, Public Service Director,
Operations Assistant for KTNV-TV - Las Vegas; Traffic/Customer Service, Assistant
Program Director for KLAS-TV - Las Vegas.
Mark Shattuck – Vice President, Production/Engineering
Mark graduated from Brigham Young University in 1983 with a BA degree in film and
television. He has professional experience as cameraman, producer, director, editor
and engineer.
Mark worked as technical manager for 2 of the Brazilian television networks at the
1994 World Cup Soccer broadcasts in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has directed
live international broadcasts for companies such as NASA and Hewlett-Packard. Whether
working in Tokyo, Dublin, Cancun or locally, Mark loves operating a camera, too.
He has produced many hours of training programs for high tech and agricultural companies
in Silicon Valley and the farmlands of Northern California.
Mark has enjoyed producing content that makes a difference. For example, he has
edited over 30 programs that train high school students how to safely operate and
drive a car. He edited a series of training videos in both English and Spanish for
parents to educate them on how to care for their newborn baby. The most entertaining
training program teaches elementary age students the "Food Guide Pyramid." It is
an orientation video using a game-show theme, produced for the American Cancer Society.
Besides a training experience and a very creative background, Mark also has many
years of experience as a technical director and systems engineer. From 1984 to 2007
Mark managed Spotlite Video Productions, a successful broadcast production, post-production
and equipment rental facility. He has built several television studios, editing
facilities and even a number of broadcast production trucks.
One of the most memorable productions was for the BBC. Mark worked as the technical
manager, with the producer, from London, for several months to create the first
ever live national broadcast in the UK from 8000 feet under the Monterey Bay. The
technical pre-production work paid off. The live program and webcast was so technically
advanced and the content so engaging that it was the second highest viewed program
ever for the BBC History channel.
Mark has won many awards for his work, including the McFarland Lifetime Achievement
Award at the 2001 San Jose Joey awards. Of all the awards on his wall, however,
the one that brings the biggest smile to his face is his 1974 Boy Scout Eagle rank.
Lawrence Scott – Vice President, Finance
Larry has co-founded and successfully operated his own company for five years. He
also served as Vice President, Business Development for a successful Internet company
(Vehix.com) and prior to that spent over 20 years in senior management positions
with an international hotel corporation ( Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts).
He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Organizational
Design and his Masters in Business Administration from The Georgia Institute of
Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. His focus and expertise has been in business management
and financial controls. He was responsible for the budget and labor controls for
all company owned and operated hotels, which was in excess of $150 million annually.
During his tenure in the hospitality industry he was recognized as General Manager
of the year in Utah by his peers and received the national hotelier of the year
award from the American Hotel and Motel Association. Mr. Scott has donated many
hours in community service serving on various non-profit boards (Utah Museum of
Natural History, The Hansen Planetarium, Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau,
Wasatch Adaptive Sports, and The Boy Scouts of America).
Board of Directors
The Starfish Television Network is a registered dba of The Starfish Television Network
Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation and 501(c)(3) tax--exempt public foundation
which will be governed by a board of directors. At present, they are:
D. Kent Norton, Chairman (See bio above)
John L. Marsh (See bio above)
David Spafford (bio requested)
National Advisory Board
The board of directors will receive information, advice and direction from the National
Advisory Board. These people will be selected based on their experience and expertise
in related fields, such as the cable television, non-profit and advertising industries,
and because of their shared vision in The Starfish Television Network.
Joseph G. Lake – Chairman and Senior Advisor
In 1983, Joseph G. Lake co-founded The Children's Miracle Network (CMN), the largest
children's charity in the world. Since its inception, CMN has raised over $2.6 billion
for children's hospitals. He retired after 18 years as Executive Vice President.
In addition to his executive position, Joe also served as Executive Producer of
CMN's annual 21-hour television event.
Joe currently serves as co-chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Larry King Cardiac
Foundation and as a member of the Board of Governors for Operation Smile. In addition,
Joe served six years on the Drew Bledsoe Foundation board, with 2 years as chairman.
In 1995, Joe was inducted into "International Who's Who of Professionals."
In addition to receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from the University
of Utah, Joe also earned a Business Law Degree from the University of Southern California
(USC).
Joe is a member of the National Advisory Board of the National Council for Youth
Health Reform, working with Pulitzer prize-winning columnist, Jack Anderson, and
a member of the President's Club for the Republican National Committee.
Terry Planell – Honorary Advisory Board Member
With over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry, Terry Planell is one
of the first Hispanic women to have succeeded in both Spanish and English-language
television.
Ms. Planell has served as Senior Vice President of Globecast in New York; Senior
Vice President, Broadcast Group of Skyview Media Group in New Jersey; Senior Vice
President, Programming and Production of Eurochampions in London, UK; Director of
Programming and Special Events for Univision's, WXTV-41 in New York; Vice President
and General Manager WHCT-TV 18 in Hartford; Director of Programming and Operations
at WWOR-TV in New York; together with owning her own management consultancy company.
Ms. Planell has been recipient of numerous accolades for her contribution to the
broadcast industry.
Dale Murphy – Honorary Advisory Board Member
Former Major League Baseball player
(bio requested)
Ron Maines – Honorary Advisory Board Member
Founder of The History Channel
(bio requested)
Jeff Martin – Honorary Advisory Board Member
Executive Director of the Council of Foundations
(bio requested)
Bruce Trachtenberg – Honorary Advisory Board Member
Executive Director of Communications Network
(bio requested)
Ed Smart – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Susan Lawrence – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Kent Derricott – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Leigh Steinberg – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Marilyn McCoo – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Billy Davis, Jr. – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Michael Lloyd – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
Leanza Corenett – Honorary Advisory Board Member
(bio requested)
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