October 22nd, 2001

Scotts Valley, CA -­ Sand, sunscreen, lifeguards . . . just another day at work? It was for Scotts Valley-based Tam Communications crews this summer, as they tirelessly worked the Santa Cruz, California beaches to assemble three hours of television to be aired next year on Discovery Health.

The three hour docu-series titled "Lifeguards: On Duty" follows the Santa Cruz City Beach lifeguards. Santa Cruz is the only lifeguard service where the lifeguards are responsible not only for emergencies occurring on city beaches, but also on the mile-long Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. These lifeguards must be prepared to handle a variety of emergency medical and rescue situations, as well as social encounters, from lost children to hysterical parents, rowdy teens to a recurring cast of local homeless characters.

Production, which began in May and will wrap on October 28, occurred over the entire summer, including the weekends when the beaches were at their busiest. Executive Producers Tam and Susan O'Connor Fraser working with Producer Kim Clark are now turning to the task of molding the abundance of raw footage into compelling TV.

"We have always tried to focus on a different type of reality program," comments Executive Producer, Tam O'Connor Fraser. "This isn't just about action. It¹s about people. I've always been fascinated by the people who make this type of work their life's calling, or even those who choose to spend the summer in what might seem to be a glamorous job but really isn't. That's part of what we want to portray."

"Lifeguards" is the first series produced by Tam Communications for Discovery Health Channel. Other Discovery Network projects include eight prime time specials for the flagship Discovery Channel and 26 half-hour episodes of "Vacation SOS" for the Travel Channel.

Tam Communications is a leading digital media company, servicing corporate and entertainment clients by combining technical, creative, and communications expertise in the realms of video, interactive multimedia, and web. The company's expanding spectrum of original entertainment programming—developed for broadcast, cable, syndication, and other venues—airs worldwide. Tam Communications is a privately held company located in Scotts Valley, CA. Please visit our web site at www.tamcom.com.