Addison’s Alley cherishes regional Emmy win

He doesn’t have a fancy den to showcase it or a trophy case to put it in, but with a soon-to-be 2-year-old son running around the house, it’s probably just as well.

So at least for the foreseeable present, Addison native Barry Alley will keep his New England Emmy Award safely tucked away in a corner basement office.

“It was nice to be nominated, but I was really hoping deep down I was going to get one,” said the 29-year-old Narraguagus High School alumnus. “It was the second time I was nominated and the first time I brought one home.

“I’ve been in the business for 10 years and who knows? I may not ever get another one, but I’ll be cherishing this one a lot even if I do.”

Alley was honored with the award for the work he did as the primary photographer on Fox Sports Net New England’s retrospective special on former Boston Celtics general manager and coach Red Auerbach titled: Legend of Red. He’s one of seven people honored for their work on the special which won FSNNE its only Emmy his year.

The award was presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the recent 28th annual New England awards ceremony May 7 in Boston. Legend of Red won for outstanding sports special.

The award, which is a slightly scaled-down version of the famous national Emmy Award featuring the golden angle holding a globe, is almost identical to its more famous award. The difference is its smaller size and rectangular base.

Alley said his main duties primarily involved spending one day with Auerbach at his Washington D.C. home as well as his favorite haunts in the nation’s capital.

“You just hit record and keep on rolling. I must have used at least four hours of just pure footage,” Alley said. “Just witnessing the memorabilia and artifacts he had was amazing. Back in the day, they traveled overseas a lot to promote the NBA and he had ivory tusks and stuff from China, artifacts everywhere, and all kinds of awards and stuff. Everywhere you looked, there was something fascinating to see.”

Alley said it was difficult to pick his favorite part of the special.

“I think just spending some quality time with a man like him was awe-inspiring,” he said. “He is Mr. NBA basketball and that was a special experience I’ll always remember.

“I think he’s 87 and he still drives around D.C. and gets together with a bunch of old buddies at a restaurant called the China Doll once a week. They just eat and swap stories and have a great time.”

Alley is the primary cameraman for FSNNE’s Celtics coverage. In an ironic twist, however, he wasn’t working the night of Boston’s game seven upset loss to sixth-seeded Indiana in the first round of the NBA playoffs because it was the same night he was to attend the Emmy awards event.

Since Alley isn’t the primary photographer for FSNNE’s Red Sox coverage, this is a slower time of the year for the Husson College New England School of Broadcasting graduate, whojust got back from a family vacation in Mesa, Ariz. Things will be heating up for him in another week when he attends the New England Patriots mini-camp June 9-11 in Foxborough, Mass. Until then, he’s enjoying his time with wife Andrea and son Timothy at home in Manchester, N.H.

So does life feel any different after winning an Emmy?

“Well, maybe at work. I’ve been getting a little heat from the guys. They keep talking a lot about a raise and this being great for my contract negotiations, but no, not really. I don’t get my own parking space and it’s still every man for himself.”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net.