On Saturday, August 11, the Sun Prairie Media Center hosted several of its member producers at the first annual Sun Prairie Media Center Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. The private event preceded the public 103.5 FM Summer Bash that featured live music from Madpolecats and the Kelsey Miles Band.
The Media Center previously honored an individual producer at the annual Sun Prairie Public Library Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, but SPMC staff thought it was time to branch out.
“Being part of the annual library event was great and we were very grateful that Svetha and her staff always made us feel welcome,” said SPMC director Jeff Robbins. “But with the numbers of our volunteers growing, we felt it was appropriate to give our members their own ceremony which would allow us to properly thank more of them.”
Several honors were handed out at the event, including:
• Outstanding Dedication and Service to Mark Gonwa (this is the traditional award that had previously been handed out at the library function).
• Outstanding Use of Social Media to Bill Baker (The Sun Prairie Real Estate Show, Cardinal Football, Good Morning Sun Prairie)
• Best Advocate for Local Music to Caprise Waak (Play Anything, The Transistor Show)
• Best Broadcast Team to Chris Mertes and Don Hooser (Talk of the Town)
• Outstanding Service by a Student Producer to Eli Gillitzer (Eli’s Hour, The Eli Show)
• Outstanding Use of Both TV and Radio to Jamison Rabbitt (Reel Reviews, It’s Time for Five, Pop Culture Time Capsule)
• Most Dependable Producer to Jason Schulman (NewsDesk)
• Best Family Use of the Media Center to the Milewski family (Todd, Sara, Megan, Wyatt) (Homeroom, Whatever)
• Best Partnership with a Non-Profit to Pat Campbell (The Colonial Club)
“We originally were going to try to honor every single member producer and we certainly could have given out more awards,” said Robbins. “A lot of deserving people weren’t mentioned. But then we thought it might be best to hold back so we could have some fresh honors next year and beyond.”
Following the picnic at Wetmore Park, the Media Center hosted its third annual “103.5 Summer Bash,” a concert and birthday celebration to commemorate the third anniversary of the broadcast launch of 103.5 The Sun Community Radio.
The free event was a fantastic one. “The Madpolecats and Kelsey Miles were awesome,” said 103.5 FM Production Manager Lisa Wolf. “We want to thank them for coming out as well as the Lions Club, the Optimist Club, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, and Kettle Korn by Matty for providing food and drinks for sale, and of course all of our great members who volunteered their services at the event. We’ll see you again on August 10, 2019!”
