PBS Characters visit local boy COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (kamu) -

The cake was ready, the kids were in place, and the music was playing- but the kids were waiting on Maya & Miguel, the surprise National PBS Characters for Jay McNeill's first birthday party, July 12, 2008 in College Station, Texas.

The characters were won by Jay's parents James and Allyson McNeill during the KAMU Super Auction in May. Giving back to the community through KAMU TV was important to the parents, according to Allyson, We wanted to contribute to KAMU since it provides educational programs for Jay to watch while I work at home .

When Maya & Miguel made their appearance at the party, smiles went across the faces of all forty guests in attendance, which included friends, parents, grandparents and great grandparents of the birthday boy. The PBS duo danced for the kids to the familiar Maya & Miguel song and then made their rounds for pictures and of course, cake.

This party was an important one to Jay's family, not only because he was turning one, but because Jay's birth was a tough one for parents, James and Allyson, as Jay spent his first 8 days of life in the St. Joseph Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. Therefore his parents wanted his first birthday to be something to remember. James said, We wanted to make sure this was special and to celebrate it with friends, family and Maya & Miguel, as he watches the PBS characters daily .

In addition to Maya & Miguel Jay also enjoys Word World, Kaiou, It's a Big, Big World, Sesame Street, Clifford, Between the Lions, and Super Y- all PBS kids programs. James and Allyson say they were PBS kids too, as they grew up on Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow and Mr. Rogers.

KAMU TV is the non-commercial public television station serving the Brazos Valley region and is funded through viewer support. The annual Super Auction and pledge drives are fund raisers for the station to pay for the educational non-commercial programming.

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