Hardin County Educational and Community Television is the studio that films various events around Hardin County, with help from the county’s own students. It is truly special for this reason, and today I wish to talk about it.
My journey began in my freshman year, when I took Justin Hornback’s media arts class at EC3. To this day, it is the most fun I’ve ever had during a school class. To be more precise, it is tied with my sophomore media arts class, which goes to show how fun it was. Some of my best memories in general are from that class.
However, the class came with a rule: if you wanted to pass, you had to film two real events. That’s where HCEC-TV comes into the picture. Hornback’s class collaborates directly with the studio. I often consider him the 5th manager, but I’ll get into what that means later.
I only did the minimum required amount of events, and they still stand out compared to what I usually do. The first one I ever did was an elementary school winter play, and I don’t remember the specifics. The second one, and the last one for that year, was a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the PAC. It is pretty symbolic for reasons I’ll talk about later.
So what, now there are two things I’ve reserved for talking about “later”? That simply won’t do. I think of the studio as being separated into 3 layers. At the bottom, we have the students. In the middle, we have everyone who isn’t a student but also isn’t one of the managers. I’m somewhere in the middle of those two, since I’m a student, but well on my way to being full-time. At the top, there lie 6 people.
I’ve already mentioned Hornback: he’s the EC3 teacher who teaches media arts and helps students get into HCEC-TV. With my first two jobs, I would meet two others.
Jeremy Miller is the youngest at HCEC-TV, but he’s been there longer than most of the other managers. He was a student who became a manager due to his impressive skills and know-how. He is very nice, and his existence alone gives me confidence I usually lack.
The other one I met is Gina Ryan. She is the mastermind behind the whole operation. She’s been there the longest because she’s been there the whole time. She’s pretty cool, and she taught me a lot of lessons early on.
I would not work another game until my sophomore year, and this is when I started working outside just for the sake of passing the class. I would primarily work on sports from here on out, and I would meet the rest of the main managers.
Ron Hartley, a former custodian, is the third I met out of the main four that manage the events. He always has a smile plastered on his face. His style of management is very beneficial to new workers, as he constantly switches the roles of everyone to get them well learned on every front.
John White is the last I met, and if you’re wondering, yes, the names did get a little confusing. I would mostly see him in the studio when I started working there, but he does occasionally work on games.
Starting sophomore year, too, I started to get paid! This is where I learned about the final one of the big six: Robin Cruse. She would email me about my paycheck, but I wouldn’t meet her in person until the summer after sophomore year.
It was then that I started to work at the studio. My personal take? It may not be as exciting, but it is rarely more stressful than working in the field. It can even be fun on occasion, because the goings-on feel more laid back. When it comes down to it, I actually prefer working at the studio over in the field. One last thing before moving on to junior year…
Cruse is the only one of the big six that I’ve never seen at a game or event, but it is rare not to see her at the studio. She works at the front desk, and it is nice to be greeted by her every day, since she is always the first person there or not there at all.
I unfortunately stopped working at the studio at the start of the school year, and I believe I won’t go back until this summer. I did start on something else, though: I started filming events at the Performing Arts Center! Remember how one of the first things I recorded was behind the scenes at the PAC? At long last, I would film in front of the scenes!!!
The first ever play, if I remember correctly, was Footloose: the Musical. I have filmed many since then, including Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus; a play that our very own drama club put together!
And now, here we are. Coming up to 3 years, and with the support of many talented people, I have been given an opportunity I never could have imagined. I cannot stress enough how much HCEC-TV has changed my life, and I’m looking forward to the future with my head held high.
