Paul Braun, a 30-year veteran of the cable industry known for his involvement with Cable Positive's Denver chapter, died Monday (March 15) after a short illness at age 58, according to Time Warner Cable's National Division.
Braun, who was elected into the Cable Pioneers in 2008, was a key organizer of "Positively Cable," the annual musical revue that poked fun at the cable industry and raised money for HIV-AIDS-related charities including the Volunteers of America Rainbow House and the Mi Casa Resource Center for Women. The first event was in 1999, and over the years the productions raised more than $1 million.
Braun was awarded the prestigious national Brad Wojcoski Award for Community Leadership from Cable Positive in 2001.
He and Erica Stull, a former Adelphia public-relations executive, wrote the lyrics for many of the song parodies in the shows and also performed in them, employing the skills he learned directing comedy revues in high school. Braun co-created a comedy troupe in Denver, Loose Change, according to a Positively Cable program bio.
The VP of programming and public affairs at the Time Warner Cable National Division, based in Denver, Braun was very active in programming and public affairs. He co-founded the Front Range Chapter of the National Federation of Local Community Programmers (NFLCP), now the Alliance for Community Media.
He also served as a board and/or committee member for the National Academy of Cable Programming Executives, the CableACE Awards and the Association of Cable Communicators.
He was raised in Muhlenberg Township, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1973. He earned a masters degree in telecommunications from Bowling Green State University in 1977 and completed his MBA from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business in 1982.
Braun moved to Denver in 1978 and is survived by his wife, Susan, three daughters, Emma, Abby and Molly.
His family, friends and colleagues "will greatly miss his creative flair and unbridled enthusiasm," Tom Feige, the head of TWC's National Division, said in an email to division employees Tuesday.
On Monday, March 22, there will be a rosary at 9:30 a.m. and funeral Mass for Paul Braun at 10 a.m. followed by a reception at the Church of the Risen Christ, 3060 South Monaco Parkway, Denver.
