NRB…what does it mean? Well, the name of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention is a misnomer!  First of all, it’s not national – people from all over the world attend. It’s not just representative of religious or even Christian media, but it attracts professionals in the secular media industries, too. And it’s no longer just an association of radio and television broadcasters, but a gathering of believers in every area of media today –  film, church media, Internet, audio and video production, podcasting, the music industry, public relations professionals, and even book publishers! Approximately 5000 professionals meet once a year in one of the most amazing hotels and convention centers you will ever hope to see – the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN – it’s like a tropical garden and village, all within a dome. And Nashville is one of the coolest cities to visit!

I’ve been involved with NRB for years and served six years on their national Board of Directors. Now as a member of the Intercollegiate NRB Committee for the third year, it’s privilege to bring Cornerstone students to this exciting event. Last year four CU students attended, and the only student competition we entered was the essay competition. We were thrilled when Seth Hamming won the top essay scholarship award!

So this year, we entered several of the production award contests. Amazingly again, our students won five awards, including the Television Award of Excellence, which went to Daniel Smith. It’s great to see them shine in these national competitions against students from other Christian colleges and universities across the country, especially since our Cornerstone Media Major is such a new one!

This year, twelve CU students joined me and Prof. Dave Anderson at NRB, and it was the first year that some served as volunteers for the convention. This is a great opportunity, not only to attend the convention with very little expense, but also to get actively involved in helping the event run smoothly.  My husband and I were asked to lead a workshop together at this year’s convention, so we involved the CU students in a role play that drew a lot of interest and interactive involvement from the attendees.

Networking at NRB is great, the workshops are educational, new gear is ready to check out, top Christian speakers and musicians lead the main sessions, people like Ann Graham Lotz, Charles Stanley, John McArthur, Allistar Begg, Michael W. Smith, Mercy Me, Steve Bell, and Paul Balouche.

The competition I’d like to see our students enter next year is the “36 DV Challenge” – a film-making opportunity where teams of four represent their college in writing, shooting and editing a short narrative film on location at the Opryland Hotel during the convention – all within 36 hours. The top entries are judged by nationally-known film and TV executives and directors in front of a live audience, which also votes for the  “Peoples’ Choice” award, just like “American Idol”! We’d like to make this a competitive opportunity for our students to apply for, so that we can send the strongest possible team to compete for Cornerstone at next year’s convention!

Media students will have an opportunity to express their interest in attending the 2010 NRB convention before the end of this semester, and then they will make a commitment in September. Only a limited number of spots are available for NRB volunteers, so it will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to the students from this year who desire to return. The university has officially sanctioned this convention as an excused absence for Media students, much like the sports team trips that athletes participate in.