KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- The Telly Awards has named Kansas City Kansas Community College as a Bronze winner in the 35th Annual Telly Awards for its piece, “Conversations with Robin.” KCKCC was selected from nearly 14,000 entries from all 50 states as well as numerous countries.
“Conversations” has been a main stay for the college’s cable station, KCEC-TV17 on Time Warner Cable and now on Google TV, for more than five years.
The program is Hosted by Robin Torez and produced by Michael Kimbrough through the Media Services department at the college. The show highlights local and national issues, in addition to also featuring various guests from the entertainment industry. A variety of local and national figures have been featured on the show including Jenna Bush, the former First daughter; mayors of the Kansas City, Kansas unified government; local Jazz artist Lonnie McFadden; Jeff Lanza, former F.B.I. agent; U.S. Congressman Kevin Yoder and many others. The program attempts to be an informative and entertaining vehicle for the community.
“’Conversations’ is not a program based on debating or interrogating guest,” said Michael Kimbrough, director of Media Services. “It is rather a program geared to inform and entertain viewers concerning local and national issues. Just as the college’s mission is to educate, so then is ‘Conversations.’”
The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 and is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs; the finest video and film productions and online commercials, video and films.
Winners represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, educational institutions, cable operators and corporate video departments in the world. For its 35th season, The Telly Awards once again joined forces with YouTube to give the public the power to view and rate videos submitted as part of the People’s Telly Awards.
A prestigious judging panel of more than 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents.
The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work – entries do not compete against each other – rather entries are judged against a high standard of merit. Less than 20 percent of this year’s 14,000 entries received the Telly.
“The Telly Awards have a mission to honor the very best in film and video,” said Linda Day, executive director of the Telly Awards. “Kansas City Kansas Community College’s accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production.”
Torez said “Conversations” has “been a joy to host.” She said it has proven to be a program with staying power because of the guests who have appeared on the show.
“We’ve featured many talented, informative and entertaining guests who were very delighted to come and sit with me for a conversation,” said Torez, who has been the host of the show for the last four years. “As I look back over the years and reminisce on the guests who have appeared on the show, I am in awe of its growth. We don’t debate with the guests, we converse, and I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss the wonderful things happening in our community and across the nation. I believe our approach of connecting the community with KCKCC has been the reason for our success and one of the reasons we won this award.”
Kansas City Kansas Community College I.S. Media Services is composed of a six-member staff. Each individual was a part of the “Conversations” production team. The “Conversations” crew includes Randy Royer, Eva Simmons, Jim Hermann, Dena Wesley and Jamie White.
“Each of these individuals were an integral part of the success of the program,” Kimbrough said. “They helped bring this success to the institution, division and department.”
For more information on the Telly Awards, visit www.tellyawards.com. For information on “Conversations,” contact Robin Torez, Kansas City Kansas Community College, at Rtorez@KCKCC.EDU or by calling 913-288-7200.
