Creating the Sweety Bicycle Blowout was a great adventure for all of us involved in the process. Through this program, we had the unique opportunity to address the issues of nutrition and exercise while also putting a spotlight on the extreme efforts companies use to market their products to young people. The result is a fun program that should help adults and kids open a dialog about the flashy marketing of unhealthy products and why they affect the choices we make everyday.

I did not fully understanding how serious the epidemic of childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes is in our society until meeting with Dr. Stephen Ponder of Driscoll Children's Hospital, Janie Bell of the American Diabetes Association and Dr. Melissa Wilson. They recognized that television is a great way to reach young people with healthy lifestyle messages, and their enthusiasm resulted in the creation of this program. In fact to honor the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Ponder we choose to name the key kid contestant in the program "Steven."

The result of that meeting was the formation of an 18 member advisory board made up of medical and nutritional experts, plus concerned community members. A special thanks goes to each member of this group for reading drafts of the script and for providing direction on how to creatively reach kids while entertaining them.

The team that works behind the scenes of a television program like the Sweety Bicycle Blowout has a special bond. All involved believed this was not just another TV gig, but a program with a message that can really impact lives. For this reason I know that every member of the production crew gave 110% to see this project through to completion.

A special thanks to Associate Producer Nicole Gloor who kept me focused on the project, and found many ways to overcome obstacles that come up with creating a high quality television program on a modest budget.

Congratulations to Jason Marton for writing a creative script that met the goals set by advisory board while adding his special touches of parody and humor.

Thanks to my long time friend and "Sweety" Director Tim Thomson. After working with Tim on Justice for my People: The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Story, I hoped that we might find another project on which to collaborate. When we discussed shooting the project in high-definition, Tim was hooked, and I knew his vision would make the program look like a million.

To the entire team that came in from Houston to work on the program, I'm grateful. Kirk Markley gave us all a new appreciation for what could be done with a few dozen rolls of spandex with his incredible set design. Chris Hogan provided his skills for lighting and cinematography to give the program its wacky cartoon feel. Norma Catlin helped in so many different ways with costumes, make-up, props and encouraging the actors and crew.

We were so fortunate to gain the skills of Monica McLeod Sawyer who created the entire "Sweety" corporate look with logos and designs for every product in the program, the website and DVD cover. Thanks to Gracie Martin of the Ensemble Group team who coordinated the creation of the website and the interactive game.

Thank you to John Frank of KEDT who worked for several weeks as the on-line editor using a new editing platform in the high-definition format. We learned a lot together in this process, and like always you provide patience, and thoughtful advice on how to make a program look and sound its best. Plus a special thanks to KEDT's Chief Engineer Cody Blount who kept our new HD taping and editing equipment up and running.

To our incredible cast of adult and kid actors, you are the greatest. The part of Tad Adman was a perfect fit for Kippy Edge. I'm so glad that we finally found a project to work on together, besides the KEDT Auction. You're a great talent, and your commitment to do anything that benefits children is a trait admired by all who meet you.

To Elias (Steven), Lance (Milo), Sarah (Jill) and Aislynn (Kelle) you are each talented actors with bright futures – no matter what you choose to do in the future. Thank you all for bringing realism to your on-screen characters – even when some things they did seemed silly, and for keeping all the adult "kids" energized through those long studio taping days.

For all the other actors and extras in the program, I am grateful to you for adding your faces, voices and talent to the Sweety production.

To the staff, management and board members of South Texas Public Broadcasting - I sincerely thank you for your support.

And finally, to Perry & Haas, L.L.P., Driscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation, and the Children's Heart & Health Institute of Texas who supported this production with their financial contributions, thank you.