A couple of producers from Salina Media Connection will be recognized by their peers.

According to the organization, producers Paul Kirkwood and Nona Miller will be recognized this year during the Midwest Film Festival.

Kirkwood’s Decision: Salina County Jail Vote received a Merit Award in the documentary/feature category. Nona Miller’s Let’s Go – Germania Park also received a Merit Award for Short Form Documentary Feature category. Her program was also recommended for program sharing with other media organizations.

Paul Kirkwood is a graduate of Fort Hays State University where he majored in Media Studies and served as a video editor content producer for Tiger Media Network.  Hannah Stambaugh, Saline County Deputy Administrator assisted Kirkwood by providing content support for the program which featured community interviews and scenes from the Salina Jail.  Decision: Salina County Jail Vote was designed to inform Saline County voters about the upcoming new jail project and vote. The program was aired on SMC’s local Channel 21 prior to the new jail vote which passed 12,444 to 10,600.

Nona Miller attended the University of Colorado and Kansas Wesleyan University with studies in Creative Writing. She is an adjunct instructor at KWU with extensive experience and serves as the curator of education at the Smoky Hill Museum.  Miller previously served as a board member and chairperson for SMC.  Let’s Go-Germania Park, was designed to be a brief, fun, virtual field trip, encouraging people, especially young people, to be curious about and engage with stories of the past.

“We are excited to be recognized by the Best of the Midwest Media Fest. This is the first award received by SMC producers in several years. With our staff and new equipment, the quality of our programs, community outreach have improved,”  according to Greg Stephens.

SMC is Salina’s TV station and operates like a community media makerspace with programs aired on Cable Channel 20 and 21.

Besides city, county, and USD 305 meetings. Other programs include Spanish Connection, Kids’ Connection, University United Methodist Church’s Sunday services, JAB-IT Tuesday Technology, FAQ Friday’s by the Saline County Health Department, Artist Express, Strictly Salina, Legislative Forums, Liberty Football, Your City in Action, Salina Connected, Thad Beach’s All Aboard, The Pulse, CAPS, graduations, parades, local PSA’s, news, and other features.