Reaching people through the media: NRB 2017
Adam Kelly, Staff Writer
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international convention held every year for Christian communicators looking to spread the word of God through the media. I have been familiar with the NRB Convention since the beginning of the school year. Students of North Greenville University have been volunteering at the convention for years and this would be my first time attending.
My sophomore friends repeatedly told me about the trip and their experience from last year so I had made the decision to go a while back. Since then, there has been a countdown to the trip in February. I still did not know much about it, but was excited to meet people in my field of work that could be potential jobs in the future.
Clay Webb and Harley Watkins help guests sign in as fellow writer Hunter Merck comes in for the second shift.
As for volunteering, we had the opportunity to help with registration or facilities. I chose registration after my friends had told me they enjoyed it. Registration entails signing people in that had registered for the convention or signing people up who wanted to attend.
Fellow writer Jazmyne Boozer puts together a guest’s name-tag for the convention.
After going through the process, we printed and made guests’ name tags to wear for the convention. We also had to be familiar with the convention center (the Orlando World Center Marriott) and be able to answer any questions the guests had about NRB.
Elise Rimmer helps out with facilities in front of the expo by filling bags with pamphlets.
We worked in two teams that alternated between the morning shift and the afternoon shift. This gave us a chance to relax after a shift or wander around the Marriott. Other students that did not do registration helped with facilities. These students would be placed in front of certain areas to greet people and check if they had the correct badge to enter a particular area of the convention center.
Exploring the expo on some downtime with Savannah Hovis, Harley Watkins, Clay Webb, Jordan Moore, and Journie Crenshaw.
After working registration, we were even able to attend the expo at NRB. Here, businesses and companies set up booths to promote their products and services. We walked around the entire floor talking to people about their field of work and got to take some souvenirs home as well.
Savannah Hovis watches as Harley Watkins and Journie Crenshaw sign a petition that allows us to pray over the phone.
Students Harley Watkins, Savannah Hovis, and Journie Crenshaw signed a petition with Freedom to Pray, a non-profit organization fighting against T-Mobile’s rule that charges people of any religion a penny for every minute they pray on their phone lines. I signed the petition as well because being able to pray over the phone for someone is important to me.
Closing Gala Dinner at the end of the week with speakers, awards and worship.
On the last day of NRB, we attended the Gala Dinner where awards were given to teams that participated in competitions at the convention as well as chairman of NRB. We were provided a five-star meal along with a time of worship. Laura Story opened with the song “Indescribable” and gave an amazing speech on God’s word in this day and age.
Laura Story performs one of her new songs from her upcoming album.
Overall, NRB was an amazing experience for me. I was able to get to know people in my department better and meet a lot of people that want to share God’s word through social media, something I want to do as well. Along with the weather and time I got to spend with my friends, I am dying to go back and am ready for NRB 2018.
