Blue Devil Productions wins awards at regional event

MENOMONIE, WIS. (05/23/2013)(readMedia)-- Blue Devil Productions, a student-run entertainment and programming organization, won awards at a national conference.

During the National Association for Campus Activities Northern Plains Regional Conference in St. Paul, a design and graphics competition was held. Student programmers enter their best work from the school year.

Roger Thomas Vrieze, of Mantorville, Minn., took three first places. The categories were: One Color Poster, of the David Ramirez concert; Miscellaneous Publicity; and One Color Clothing, for a homecoming T-shirt design, "Channel Your Inner Flannel." Vrieze is a senior majoring in graphic design.

Liz Schultz, of Franklin, and Leah Mann, of Ashland, took honorable mentions for the Blue Devil Productions website design. Schultz, graphic design, graduated in December. Mann, graphic design and interactive media, is a senior.

"We are so proud of our designers and thrilled by the number of categories that the students' designs were recognized in," said Emily Ascher, staff adviser to Blue Devil Productions.

"In addition to the formal recognition, it was wonderful to see our students networking and making connections with students from other institutions who wanted to learn more about the design programs and student experiences here at UW-Stout. We have a great caliber of students on our team who are very proud of their talents and their home institution."

Nine students attended the conference, which links education to the entertainment industry. Student program boards from more than 75 schools, including nine states and two Canadian provinces, saw 40 showcase acts, met with more than 70 entertainment agencies and attended 35 educational sessions.

The goal of the weekend is to give schools an opportunity to book acts for the next school year and help them learn how to be better campus programmers.

Two members of the Memorial Student Center's Event Services technical team were selected to serve on the student stage crew at the conference. Vinny Vandenplas, a senior from Green Bay majoring in technology education; and Dana McKinnon, a senior from Eagan, Minn., majoring in technology education, were a part of every aspect of the showcase production, including setup, sound and light check and on-stage production.

"It was a great opportunity for professional networking and also a ton of great entertainment," Vandenplas said. "Really, it was the most fun at a conference ever!"

Blue Devil Productions provides more than 55 events each school year to the campus community in the areas of music, films, comedy, speakers and more. More information can be found at http://bdp.uwstout.edu.

Events Services provides audio and visual support to more than 10,000 events a year in the student center and other areas of campus.

Founded in 1960, the NACA is the nation's largest collegiate organization for campus activities.