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Evangel Communication Department launches “Wall of Fame”

Published on Oct 9, 2014 by Evangel University News

SPRINGFIELD, MO – The Evangel University Communication Department faculty will be honoring five Evangel alumni on Friday, Oct. 10, at 3 p.m. with “Wall of Fame” awards for having distinguished careers in the communication field.

The award ceremony will take place in Trask Hall, concluding with the hanging of plaques in the Ephraim Media Center main corridor where the “Wall” is placed.

“It’s our first year of recognizing our alums in this way, so we thought it best to choose five out of those nominated by fellow alumni. We have some catching up to do,” said Dr. Cameron Pace, department chair.

The department plans to award two communication alumni at next year’s homecoming, awarding one or two in the years after that. Each recipient receives a desk trophy to take home and a plaque that will hang in the Communication Department Ephraim Media Center hallway.

2014-10.10 EU Comm x5 Wall of Fame
Wall of Fame inductees are (from left to right): Dr. Norma Champion, Shirley Shedd, Steve Grant, Kay Logsdon and Brandon Beck.

The first class of awardees

For 2014, the inaugural five recipients of the “Communication Wall of Fame” include Dr. Norma Champion (CBC-1971), Shirley Shedd (Evangel-1962), Steve Grant (Evangel-1976), Kay Logsdon (Evangel-1977) and Brandon Beck (Evangel-1996). Each awardee was nominated by other alumni, then voted on by communication department faculty.

  • Dr. Norma Champion, known as Aunt Norma from KY3’s Children’s Hour program, has been a professor at both Evangel and CBC. She was inducted into the Missouri Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame earlier this year. She has been a state senator, legislator and Springfield City councilwoman.
  • Shirley Shedd graduated from Evangel in 1962. She has been a professor of English and journalism at both CBC and Evangel. Shedd was appointed communication department chair in 1987, serving until retirement in 2006. In 2000, Shedd received the Adviser of the Year Award from the National Society of Collegiate Journalists for her work as The Lance newspaper adviser. Shedd advised the student paper for 25 years.
  • Steve Grant, a 1976 graduate, is known to most for his nearly forty years of on-air reporting and anchoring at KY3 News. He received Evangel’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2010. Grant has been involved in community service projects, most recently heading up sixteen Ozarks Honor Flights for World War II veterans. The College of the Ozarks awarded Grant an honorary doctorate in 2012.
  • Kay Logsdon, a 1977 graduate of Evangel, is currently working as vice president and editor-in-chief of The Food Channel. Logsdon previously directed public relations for the City of Springfield. She also directed the Springfield Regional Arts Council, which won the Governor’s Pathfinder Award. Logsdon was listed as one of the twenty “Most Influential Woman” by the Springfield Business Journal in 2005, and later one of the “12 People You Need to Know” in 2013. Logsdon has worked in advertising, public relations, and community affairs for more than 30 years.
  • Brandon Beck received his broadcasting degree from Evangel in 1996, then later received his Certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University. Beck is well known in the community as the morning meteorologist on KY3’s Ozarks Today. Beck has been recognized nine years in a row as “Best Meteorologist” from both 417 Magazine and the Springfield News-Leader. Beck holds the American Meteorological Society’s “Seal of Approval.”

OPEN HOUSE — 4K Ultra HD

The communication department will hold an open house after the Wall of Fame ceremony in the Ephraim Media Center TV Studio to showcase the new 4K video cameras and equipment recently installed.

The 4K equipment was purchased through funds provided by the EU Auxiliary. 4K video, otherwise known as Ultra HD, is four times the resolution of full 1080 HD.

“The benefits of 4K are realized not just in higher resolution, but in the ability to reframe the image for standard HD programs. Students will be able to experiment with what is most likely to be the next standard in broadcasting,” said Pace.

For more information, contact Dr. Cameron Pace at (417) 865-2811, ext. 8413.