By: AStyer

HARRISBURG, PA– The Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters (PAB) has launched two new grant programs available to all member stations throughout the Commonwealth. The new funding streams will allow station managers to facilitate the professional development of staffers at all levels.

PAB Broadcast Innovation Grant Program

This grant program will foster continuing education and training for station managers and staff through a $250 expense stipend, per participant, to assist in the cost of a member station’s professional development needs. The stipend is applied for by the station manager on behalf of the employee, and is payable to the station or the participant directly.

The stipend may be used for any board-approved advancement program offered regionally or nationally. This includes events offered by NAB, RAB, TVB, NATPE, Conclave, CRS, and the Poynter Institute. If there is a program not on the list, please contact the PAB office to request special approval.

The PAB requests a social media endorsement post during participation in the professional development program and permission to potentially use content on the PAB website, Facebook or Twitter account.

PAB Broadcast Engineer Futures Enterprise

The PAB Broadcast Engineer Futures Enterprise initiative will assist Pennsylvania broadcast stations in training, certification and sustaining engineering services throughout the state. The Enterprise provides dual strategies as follows:

• The PAB will reimburse the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) annual membership at the elite Plus level of $175. This top of the line membership provides all SBE services, special activities and over 65 webinars. The PAB will also cover the costs of the SBE Certified Broadcast Technology (CBT) test and the study guide for the Electronics Technicians Association Certified Electronics Technician (CET) degree.
• The PAB will reimburse tuition for the Broadcast Engineer Distance Learning Course from the Cleveland Institute of Electronics (CIE) Broadcast Engineer Training and Certification. This includes 95 lessons and a total $998. The PAB will also cover the cost of any Radio Frequency courses

PAB Broadcast Engineer Futures Enterprise participants are to be nominated by the station manager. Payments can be made directly to the station or the participant at the station manager’s direction.

For more information about either of these two new programs, please contact Gail Ponti gponti@pab.org or Joe Conti jconti@pab.org.