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Lance Armstrong presented Yellow Springs filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar with a Cancer Control Leadership award for their 2006 documentary, "A Lion in the House."

Reichert and Bognar were honored on April 4 with the 2008 Susan Matsuko Shinagawa Livestrong Cancer Control Leadership Award. It was jointly presented by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC) at an ICC conference in Washington, D.C.

"It's kind of an embarrassment of riches," Reichert said. "This one is actually the most important we've ever gotten, from our point of view."

"A Lion in the House," a documentary on children with cancer, won a 2007 Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking. It was broadcast over two nights in June 2006 on PBS.

The Emmy Award honors high-quality television, "but this is really given to people who they view as leaders in the fight against cancer," Reichert said.

The Wright State University film professor and her daughter, Lela Reichert-Klein, are both cancer survivors.

"A Lion in the House" was selected by unanimous jury decision for the ICC award. "The jury is particularly impressed that Lion's innovative outreach program was woven into the fabric of the film early on," Susan Matsuko Shinagawa wrote, announcing the award.

Outreach coordinators Karen Durgans and Melissa Godoy were honored along with Reichert and Bognar.

Armstrong, a cancer survivor and champion cyclist, presented the awards backstage before the formal ceremony.

"It was amazing," Reichert said. "It was a really powerful experience to be given the award."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.