 "Photo: Jami Bonner")
Two SUU students stood out among a record number of applicatants in this year’s Broadcasting Education Association Competition, winning four awards between the two.
Chris Holmes, a masters of communication student from Springville and Kipp Howard, a senior English major from Kingston, N.Y., were notified they had won the awards on Feb. 12.
The BEA awards are given out annually for students’ work in newspaper, radio and broadcasting; Holmes and Howard were selected for their work in radio broadcasting.
Holmes earned three awards. He received a third place award in the Hard News Reporting category for his story Auto Woes Hit Home, a second place award in the Radio Newscast category for his news show Friday Journal, and an honorable mention in the Student Specialty category for his half-hour documentary on the SUU-Dixie State rivalry.
Howard took third place in the radio drama category for his play The Last Night of Charles Baker.
According to the BEA Web site, more than 690 students from 76 schools across the country competed in the BEA competition this year.
The competition had a record number of submissions this year because of a new internet submission option Power 91 Station Manager Cal Rollins said.
Holmes and Howard will receive their awards and present their projects at the BEA Convention in Las Vegas April 15 through 17, according to the BEA Web site.
This is the second year Holmes has won a BEA award. Last year he received a best of festival award for his work in radio.
Holmes said he is “very grateful” to receive awards this year even though he didn’t do as well as last year.
“I was a little disappointed ... but after talking to Cal Rollins and (Communication Department Chair) Jon Smith I learned there were three to four times more applications than in past years so the competition was much more competitive,” Holmes said. “After finding that out, I felt very lucky to be among the winners.”
Holmes attributes his success in the competition to the SUU Communication Department.
“I am grateful (for) being a part of the (SUU) communication program,” Holmes said. “I think the fact that we are able to compete on a national level speaks a lot of the program we have.”
Howard’s winning play was first performed live in the SUU Black Box during the 24-Hour Theatre.
After seeing it performed live, Howard decided he should turn the stage show into a radio play.
“The play chronicles two criminals who botch a crime and only one of the criminals gets out alive,” Howard said.
Howard enlisted several other students to help perform and create the radio play.
Howard has produced and created two other radio plays. However, he said The Last Night of Charles Baker is his best produced radio play.
He said he was surprised when he found out he won the award.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought The Last Night of Charles Baker would ever be heard or seen by people, or for the play to win any kind of award, let alone a national award,” Howard said.
Howard’s and Holmes’ award winning work is available at http://beafestival2010.wordpress.com/.
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