As senior Colton Crum cued transitions and teacher Richard Sallee televised the correct talking points onscreen, Frankfort Mayor Chris McBarnes delivered his 2018 State of the City address midday Thursday in Frankfort High School’s new broadcast studio.
The broadcast would not air until 7 p.m. Thursday evening but McBarnes tapped the FHS radio and TV students under Sallee’s direction to record the presentation in advance.
The plan then was to air the speech later via a link on the mayor’s and the city’s Facebook pages and via the city’s web site at frankfort.in.gov.
The new broadcast studio and its state-of-the-art technology resulted from the FHS $30 million renovation that is just coming to a conclusion.
The plan was to create a production using a team of high achieving high schoolers and state-of-the-art technology to symbolize what McBarnes envisions for Frankfort’s future.
“I am pleased to be working with our talented high school students on this year’s State of the City. Those in the radio and TV class will do the broadcast while Frankfort Future Leaders Advisory Council President Matt Snell will introduce me,” said McBarnes in a press release announcing the endeavor. “This year’s event is a true team effort, tapping into the interest and skills of our youth to produce it.”
According to Sallee, it was the first time the class had worked with McBarnes to produce the “State of the City.”
“Usually he does them (live) in our auditorium or Old Stoney,” he said.
Snell was in the broadcast booth watching McBarnes’ delivery, along with Crum, Sallee and Frankfort’s public relations consultant, Susan Nelson. Crum also is a member of the Future Leaders Advisory Council.
Snell attended the announcement by the Clinton County Community Foundation Wednesday about its $250,000 contribution to the Prairie Creek Park project, a new family-oriented recreational area with an amphitheater and other amenities. The park project is just one of the many ideas that came out of McBarnes’ administration’s Downtown Revitalization Plan.
At the presentation, McBarnes stated that it would be up to the residents of Frankfort to maintain the momentum generated by projects like Prairie Creek Park and Nickel Plate Flats apartments.
Snell said he and his peers are up to the task.
“As the next generation,” said Snell, “we have to do a good job maintaining that momentum for Frankfort. We have to. If we stay where we are, we’re falling behind the other communities who are moving forward. We have to continue to push.
“These are realistic goals for the future,” said Snell, “and with the togetherness that Frankfort has as a community, they are something we’ll be able to achieve.”
Projected on screens throughout the broadcast classroom areas in the newly renovated Frankfort High School was the presentation as viewers would see it – with McBarnes seated against a backdrop of Old Stoney, formerly the home of Frankfort High School and now Frankfort’s city hall.