WQPT Quad Cities PBS
a public media service of Western Illinois University
Presented by
Mary Pruess General Manager
and the WQPT Team
FY 15 Accomplishments
 WQPT Strategic Plan Year Two
 Focus on Leadership Development
 Early Childhood Outreach
Services/AmeriCorps exceeds target
 Embracing our Military completes first
year
 Ana Kehoe retires
 WQPT begins growth curve
FY 15 Accomplishments
 WQPT Leadership Development
 New charter for Community Advisory Board
 Four new members seated
 Three community leader summits held
FY 15 Accomplishments
 Expand Outreach Services/AmeriCorps
 20 WIU students became AmeriCorps members
 AmeriCorps members seek to raise literacy rates in 5 Illinois early childhood
centers by 15%. Actual FY14 results were 49%.
FY 15 Accomplishments
 Ana Kehoe retires after 20 years of service to
 WQPT Educational Outreach
FY 15 Accomplishments
 Embracing Our Military
 Convene local groups and raise awareness
of issues affecting our military community.
 First year completed
 Embracing Our Military Goals
 Increase the number of veterans connecting with local resources.
 Support Western Illinois University’s recognition as a military friendly institution as
awarded by GI Jobs magazine and Military Advanced Education.
 Raise the visibility of the military community at the Rock Island Arsenal in the
greater Quad Cities area.
 How is WQPT doing this?
 On-air programming
 Events
 Collaboration with like minded organizations
 On air programming
 Airing national military programming
 Airing local programming
 Making of A Green River broadcast premiere
August 2014
 Letters Home to Hero Street broadcast premiere
January 2015
 Regular segments on The Cities
 Creating local Military interstitials
 Arsenal History Minutes with George Eaton
 Stories of Service in collaboration with WVIK
 Events
 Job Symposium at WIU-QC November 7
 Letters Home to Hero Street Community
screening January 2015 in Silvis
 Community Screening of Last Days of
Vietnam May 2015 with special guest Bill
Albracht, author of Abandoned in Hell
https://vimeo.com/114915907
 Workforce Symposium – November 7, 2014
Collaborating with Organizations
 More than 80 Embracing Our Military
partnerships strengthening community
relationships
 Financial Partners
 Collaborative Partners
 Seventeen collaborative partners
 Supportive Partners
 Sixty-three supportive partners
Stabilized WQPT
 Master Control moved to WTVP – Peoria
 Signal to the transmitter from Peoria now
carried completely by fiber
 Financial trends on positive track
Local Programming Expanded
 Interstitial material
 16 Stories of Service and 24 Arsenal History Minutes
 Three new full-length documentaries
 Unforgettable Lessons from the Holocaust: The Legacy of Jeff Leibovitz
 The Making of A Green River
 Letters Home to Hero Street
 Added The Whitney Reynolds Show
 Continued The Cities with Jim Mertens,
Hola America and Out and About
Debuted Imagination Station
 Three events over two days
 Ten PBS characters and 15 kid-friendly
stations
 More than 2000 visitors to campus
 Thanks to all for helping us exceed
expectations!
Debuted Imagination Station
Debuted Imagination Station
Debuted Imagination Station
Debuted Imagination Station
Debuted Imagination Station
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
 Goal#1 University Growth & Recruitment
 More than twice a day, WQPT airs spots encouraging enrollment of
students to WIU-QC. 821 spots aired in FY14; we are on track to
meet that number again in FY15. Value of this airtime is more than
$106,000.
 Every program break – more than 30 times each day – identifies
WQPT as a “public media service of Western Illinois University.”
The value of this airtime is well over $474,000.
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
 Goal#1 University Growth & Recruitment
 WIU faculty, staff, programs and musical performances were
featured on “The Cities with Jim Mertens” during the year.
 WIU-QC Phase II Grand Opening featured on “The Cities”
 Aired WIU-QC Phase II Grand Opening UTV Production
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
 Goal#1 University Growth & Recruitment
 Annual Ready to Learn Conference held at WIU-QC
 Aired WIU-QC campus graduation ceremonies and 5 WIU basketball
games provided by COFAC.
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
 Goal#1 University Growth &
Recruitment
 WQPT Awards
 Certificate of Appreciation from AUSA
 Named Commemorative Partner for the
Department of Defense 50th Anniversary
Vietnam War Commemoration
 Staff Awards
 Scott Brouette – Governor’s Volunteer
Service Award
 Al Hansen honored at Augustana – naming
of Red Shoes Preschool after her; now
called the Hansen House
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
 Goal #2 Enrich Academic
Excellence
 WIU Student Interns –Kasi
DeFreise (English), Kara Widell
(Communications), Courtney
Sleaford (MBA), and Lolly Telleen
(Rivermont).
 WQPT Ambassador program
included 5 WIU students
reaching nearly 20,000 families
with 520 hours of volunteer
service.
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
WIU Strategic Plan Goals
 Goal #2 Enrich Academic
Excellence
 53 classroom visit to First Book
Club sites
 4,210 children's books distributed
through First Book Club,
workshops and events
 Participated in numerous
children’s events and activities
throughout the area.
 400+ k-3rd graders expected to
enter stories in local PBS Kids’
Writers Contest
Strategic Plan Goals (cont’d)
 Goal #3 Provide Educational
Opportunity
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Intern Site Advisors Bea Brasel, Amanda
Bergeson, Dawn Schmitt, Lora Adams and
Jamie Lange
RPTA 235 Course Instructor Bea Brasel
RPTA Orientation assistance by Bea Brasel
RPTA 235 Trivia Night director Amanda
Bergeson supported students in
successfully raising $1,803 and provided
“real world” event training experience
SRA advisor – Amanda Bergeson
RPTA Mentor – Bea Brasel
Jamie Lange guest lecturer in Gary Rowe’s
RPTA 424 class: Special Event Planning
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Scott Brouette advisor to Society of
Educators
Scott Brouette teaching University 100
class
Producer Lora Adams worked with Dr.
McLean and his students to promote a
special event.
Jerry Myers and Chris Ryder provide
production support for Tami Seitz and
marketing
Bea Brasel named to WIU
Graduation/Commencement committee
Participated in minority student scholarship
event
Strategic Plan (cont’d)
 Goal #4 Promote Social Responsibility
 Screening of Unforgettable Lessons of the Holocaust with
more than 100 community members in attendance
FY 15 Budget Enhancements
 Substantial indirect support from WIU
 Office space, human resources, payroll, IT services, gift processing, positive
association with well-established University and with WIU-QC growth.
 WQPT is self-sustaining
 No direct budget enhancements were received.
WQPT FY16 Future Goals
 Increase local fundraising revenue streams
 Bring revenue and expense into balance within three
years; plan to make significant progress on this objective
in FY 14 by raising revenue 10% and evaluating expenses for
possible reductions.
 Continue to expand the local “personality” of WQPT on
the air by producing and airing more short form
programming in the interstitial breaks of the station.
 Make use of programming produced by University TV.
WQPT FY16 Future Goals
 Further develop interstitial and program material through
the Embracing Our Military initiative.
 Further engage the community around these themes of
Embracing our Military.
 Expand the Americorps - WIU/WQPT Early Childhood
initiative to 24 members in local Illinois early childhood
classroom, increasing the program’s impact to reach
between 250 and 300 children.
 Expand PBS LearningMedia utilization with area educators
WQPT FY16 Future Goals
 Continue to focus community outreach into two main areas of
Early Childhood and Embracing Our Military.
 Continue development of new strategic plan with Western
Illinois University- QC aligning with Phase III educational
priorities.
 Capitalize on move to more visible office space at Riverfront
Hall
 Take advantage of new location to raise visibility of WQPT at WIU
 Take advantage of new production space to improve quality of
program and interstitials material, upgrading selected equipment
and room enhancements.
 Further develop station growth plan
FY 16 Technology Goals
 Gain internet access at Sterling/Rock Falls site to allow
remote monitoring.
 Create a mobile friendly website
 Upgrade the production suite
 Replace worn copier/color printer
 Automate our closed captioning process
Internal Reallocation and
Reorganizations - QC
 Hire new Director of Education and Outreach
 Hire new Underwriting & Outreach Coordinator
 Evaluate staffing needs and realign as necessary to
meet goals.
Questions?