For the first time since its inception 25 years ago, Hempfield Happenings is being considered for a National Student Production Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The recipients of the award will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 17, via a livestream.

The episode that was submitted to NATAS aired in December 2021 and has already garnered the Regional Excellence Award. It was produced by Hempfield High School student Morgan Wilfong, who worked with fellow Hempfield students Liv Anderson, Kiera Miller, Savannah Miller, Liz Pegg, Josiah Pletcher, Darien Rivard, Vince Wisotzkey and Maguire Younes. This is the third year in a row that the program has won the Regional Excellence Award.

In the episode, the team of students highlighted several nonprofits and community organizations in Lancaster County, as well as last year's ExtraGive event. They interviewed organizations such as Impact Missions, Columbia Food Bank, Lancaster EMS, Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development, Horizon Initiative and Clare House.

Each student in the Hempfield Happenings crew is a member of the Communications Technology (CommTech) program at Hempfield, taught by Matthew Binder. "The goal of the classes is to turn students from media consumers to media producers," Binder said. There are several different classes that each target a different type of media, including graphic design, marketing and social media. Before students participate in Hempfield Happenings, they take part in producing daily announcements for the school to prepare them for a higher level of television production.

Hempfield Happenings first came to the school in the late '90s and was a breakthrough in program offerings at the time. With the advent of accessible online streaming platforms like YouTube, the program is able to reach a wider audience today. Each episode airs on the local TV station, Comcast cable network channel 66, and is published to the Hempfield Happenings YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/HempfieldHappenings.

"When it comes to any kind of video we submit, the students have the final say," said Binder. "I believe strongly in a student-run program, and we set a precedent for an open forum."

To view the recipient announcement livestream, visit https://watch.theemmys.tv/ on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.