MCTV Wins Overall Excellence Media Award, Communicator Award, and Four Tellys

@MC
June 13, 2023
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Montgomery College Television (MCTV) staff won multiple awards for work produced in 2022, including a Hometown Media Award for Overall Excellence in Education Access, a Communicator Award of Excellence, and four Telly Awards.

Peter Pereyra, MCTV producer/director, who with MCTV Producer Girma Hagos and MCTV Producer/Director Dan Rankin, won two awards for their short-form documentary “The Gondar Sister Cities Documentary.”

The Montgomery College Television team earned distinction as a national Overall Excellence in Educational Access winner from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation’s Hometown Media Awards program in a field of nearly 5,000 entries. The team submitted “MCTV 2022 Year in Review,” a 20-minute summary of annual events beginning with time-lapse videography of the 2022 commencement set up, and featuring educational programming and campus events, including coverage of athletic events.

“The entry compilation submitted for the Overall Excellence in Education category represents a fraction of the myriad programs and videos that MCTV staff and student production interns create on a daily basis,” said Melissa Pace, MCTV managing director. “It also reflects our deep commitment to the richly diverse College and county community.”

Established in 1986, MCTV is a full-service HD operation that provides a 24/7 cable channel and professional production services for the Montgomery College community. It aims to reach underrepresented populations and help them realize how Montgomery College opportunities can change their lives for the better. It also offers a dynamic television production experience to students enrolled in MC’s Media Arts Technologies courses, and other related programs at the College.

Often, MCTV work highlights the College’s—and the regions—cultural diversity. For example, the team captured the Communicator Award of Excellence–Non-Broadcast-Student Category and a Silver Telly Award–Non-Broadcast-Student Category, for “World Music Magic! Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2022 ‘The Music of NOON,’"produced by Miguel Rodriguez with additional videography by Sinan Tosun. Both Rodriguez and Tosun were MCTV student interns in 2022.

Documentary highlighted Montgomery County’s 10-year anniversary of its Sister Cities agreement with Gondar, Ethiopia.

Another winning production highlighted Montgomery County’s international reach via the Sister Cities program. MCTV Producer Girma Hagos and Producers/Directors Dan Rankin and Peter Pereyra won two awards: a Silver Telly Award–Diversity and Inclusion Category, and a Bronze Telly Award, Documentary–Short-Form Category, for The Gondar Sister Cities Documentary. The project highlighted the county’s 10-year anniversary of its Sister Cities agreement with Gondar, Ethiopia.

Additionally, MCTV work earned recognition by the Telly Awards, which annually showcase the best work created within television and across video, for all screens. Receiving over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents, Telly Award winners represent work from some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world. Producers/Directors Dan Rankin and Daniel Szwerc won a Silver Telly Award–Sports Category, for the “Montgomery College Volleyball 2022 Promo.” MCTV Managing Producer Francine Wyron won a Silver Telly Award–Live Event Category, for producing and editing “Highlights from the Inauguration of Dr. Jermaine F. Williams.”

Within the College, Dan Rankin was named an Outstanding Staff Award winner; Producer/Director Danielle Stescki received the Excellence in Equity staff award. Team Effort

Awards went to MCTV staff and student for their leadership and participation in collegewide events and initiatives including: Commencement 2023, MCTV Mobile Production Vehicle Upgrade, MC Votes, You Belong Here Campaign, and more. Arkar Kyaw-Win, technology and operations manager, led MCTV’s successful Mobile Production Vehicle Upgrade project, which was also recognized for saving approximately $200,000 in costs by doing the work in house.

“I am extremely proud of this team’s success, creativity, dedication, professionalism, and the meaningful way that they mentor our students,” says Pace.