Cablefax The Magazine August 2022 - 28

BEST HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PROGRAMMING
Conway Corp.
Conway Corp. may be a small, city-owned
utility system, but it's made a big impact on
high school sports in the Conway, Arkansas,
community it serves. The operator produces
and airs local high school football, basketball,
baseball and softball live on its own origination
channel as well as YouTube. It is entering
its 22nd year of broadcasts.
" In addition to the live broadcasts and
replays of games, we provide students with
an opportunity to be involved in the production.
We have high school student features
included in the broadcast and employ several
college students to help with the production, "
explains Conway's Chief Marketing Officer
Crystal Kemp. " Our founding in 1929 is rooted
in our community support of education.
And the partnership we have formed with
the local school district to broadcast football,
basketball and limited spring sports has definitely
strengthened our tie to the community
and to our support of education. "
In addition to the broadcasts, Conway Corp
has been providing scholarships to Wampus
Cat senior student-athletes since 2001 and
has awarded more than $29,000. While this
is primarily a labor of love, Conway sells
sponsorships and advertising to be featured
in the games. It produces pre-game, halftime
and coach's shows that are all sponsored,
covering the cost of production and
promotion of the games.
When Conway began producing high
school sports in 2000, it approached local
radio host Jeff Matthews. He served in the
role for 15 years, even though it was just a
side gig for him. In 2015, he joined Conway
full-time as a Public Relations Coordinator,
and then moved to Public Relations/Production
Specialist in 2019. Today, he serves as
Manager, Video Production and Local Programming.
He is no longer on air, but is still
the driving force behind the quality of the
broadcasts.
" We know each week we are not only telling
the story of this season, but capturing
treasured memories for the players and their
families, " says Kemp. 
Jeff Matthews, Manager, Video Production
and Local Programming; Levi Gilbert and
Tim Roach, Sports Announcers
REGIONAL ALLY
The FCC's C-band reclamation process was a
complicated, labor intensive undertaking for
stakeholders, but Fiely helped make it go a
little smoother. As Director of the C-band Implementation
Team at SES, she leads SES's
earth station operator transition activities
to clear C-band spectrum to enable the nationwide
rollout of 5G mobile services. Since
2020, she and her team have been working
to transition SES's existing customers to a
smaller portion of the C-band spectrum without
disrupting TV and radio services, as well
as other critical data transmission services
they deliver.
" One of the most surprising challenges
was that the FCC's order was issued in February
2020 and then the world changed due
to COVID in March 2020, " says Fiely. To navigate
pandemic challenges, she and her team
implemented multiple plans and back-up
processes for the clearing and transition to
reduce risks of delay. She ensured that SES
had the right vendors supporting it and secured
a warehouse full of necessary equipBronnie
Fisher
Fiely, SES
ment. She also implemented a process in
which if filter installers could not visit a site
for reasons related to COVID-19, they could
quickly shift course and go to an alternative
site instead so as not to delay the process.
As a result, COVID-19 did not have a significant
impact on the transition timeline.
In 2021, SES announced that the FCC had
validated the certification of SES's Phase I
accelerated C-band clearing and relocation
activities. Fiely credits SES's customers as
well as industry associations such as ACA
Connects, NCTC, NAB and vendors USSI,
Pacific Cable, ATCi, Superior Satellite and
Skyline with helping the team cross the finish
line. But there's no stopping. " SES is very
focused on successfully achieving Phase II
accelerated C-band clearing and relocation
activities in accordance with the FCC's timeline
of December 5, 2023, " she says. 
28
August 2022
CablefaxTopOps.com
http://www.CablefaxTopOps.com
Cablefax The Magazine August 2022

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