Trusty joins city of Verona as communications manager

Trusty with Don Hooser, one of her favorite SPMC producers

Trusty with a group of SPMC KIDS4 participants

Former Sun Prairie Media Center production manager Mara Trusty is now the city of Verona’s new communications manager. Trusty joined Verona on March 25.

Trusty worked at the Sun Prairie Media Center since 2010, where she was known as an accomplished video director, trusted creative collaborator, and skilled graphic designer. She also launched the very successful series of annual SPMC summer workshops.

Trusty holds a degree in History, Behavioral Science & Law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with an associate degree in Digital Art & Animation from the Madison Media Institute.

According to city administrator Jamie Aulik, Trusty’s experience in media, communications, and local government is going to mean great things for the city of Verona.

“(She is) definitely going to be an asset to the community and to us at the City of Verona,” Aulik said. 

Village of McFarland hires new communications manager

The Village of McFarland is proud to announce that Melanie Camellia (she/they) has joined their staff as their new Communications Manager.

Camellia grew up in McFarland and is excited to return to serve their hometown.

Camellia began their professional communications career at the University of California-San Francisco before moving to the Washington D.C. area where they worked in a variety of communications-centric roles within the wellness industry.

Camellia’s experience includes public relations, digital and social media, journalism, editorial work, content marketing, strategic communications, and more.

In her role as Communications Manager, Camellia will oversee the operations of McFarland’s local PEG channel WMCF, the provision of audio-visual and technical support to the village, and the recording of Village government and community meetings and events.

Camellia will also serve as the village’s Public Information Officer, manage the village’s newsletters and website, assist in the coordination and promotion of village and community events, and develop internal and external communications strategies.

Camellia began their role on February 26.

UWW-TV, WSUW-FM claim 17 student awards at the WBA annual student forum

University of Whitewater TV and student-run WSUW-FM are proud to announce that together they were honored with 17 total student awards at the 2024 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Annual Student Forum, held Saturday, February 24 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay

Jim Mead, general manager of UWW-TV, said of the event, “It was a proud event not only for the many students who won, but for our Communication Department faculty as well.”

Here is a full list of the winners:

Newscast (TV)

1st Place – Whitewater Wind-down – “Episode 4, Week of 10/30/2023” (Erin Greshay, Kaz Walke, Ramsey Richards and Jessica Conway)

General News Story (TV)

1st Place – "Candlelight Vigil Baby" (Abbey Hamachek and Corey Ferris)

2nd Place – "Peace for Palestine" (Drew Best)

Photojournalism (TV)

1st Place – "Candlelight Vigil Baby"(Abbey Hamachek and Corey Ferris)

News Writing (TV)

1st Place – "Peace for Palestine" (Drew Best)

2nd Place – "Career Fair" (Angie Carchesi and Brian Gale)

Feature Story (TV)

1st Place – "Sister Cindy" (Drew Best and Abbey Hamachek)

Sports Story (TV)

1st Place – Inside Warhawk Sports – “Men’s Basketball” (AJ Kober)

Sports Play-by-Play (TV)

1st Place – "Warhawk Football vs. Wheaton, Warhawks Take Control" (Nolan Kopydlowski, Drew Best, and Matt Ellis)

Web Site (TV)

2nd Place – UWW-TV Web Site (Angie Carchesi and Abbey Hamachek)

General News Story (Radio)

1st Place – "The Rising Star" (McClane Noffke)

News Writing (Radio)

1st Place – "The Average Actuary" (McClane Noffke)

Feature Story (Radio)

2nd Place – "The Average Actuary" (McClane Noffke)

Audio Storytelling-Sound (Radio)

1st Place – "Lily Weitner Storytelling" (Lily Weitner)

Special Programming (Radio)

2nd Place – "Inside Warhawk Bowling" (Sam Strash)

Special Programming (Radio)

3rd Place – Nobody Really Cares - Ep. 1  (McClane Noffke, Erin Greshay and Angie Carchesi)

Public Service Announcements/Commercials (Radio)

1st Place – "Halloween Promo" (Erin Greshay)

Elsewhere, UWW-TV reports that they had a successful production of the Chancellor Corey King Inauguration, which streamed live at uwwtv.org.  The full-length presentation has been released on the UWW-TV web site.

UWW-TV also had a very successful winter live event broadcast season, which was capped by their live broadcast of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament, Rounds 1 and 2 on March 1 and 2, 2024.

Finally, UWW-TV also collaborated with UW-Whitewater Athletics to provide over 13 hours of live streaming coverage for the 2024 WIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships held February 23 & 24. 

Noting the overlapping of many of these events, Mead would like to thank his “fabulous, hard-working student crew” for making all of the coverage possible.