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Michael Hemphill

BUZZ premiers on Alabama Public Television 900 502 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ premiers on Alabama Public Television

“You mean my Dad won’t be here on my marry day?”

These were 4-year-old Caroline Bennett’s first words when she learned her father, a Birmingham Police officer, had been shot and killed.

Though Robert Bennett died in 2004, his legacy lives on thanks to the nonprofit we’re featuring in our first “BUZZ in Birmingham” episode that aired December 15, 2023, on Alabama Public Television (and simultaneously on our YouTube channel).

Children of Slain Police Officers, aka COSPO, provides college scholarships to children whose parents were killed in the line of duty while serving in the Birmingham Police Department. In 2023, COSPO funded $100,000 in college expenses for students whose fathers died.

New to BUZZ is marketing pro Swell Fundraising, which helps COSPO reimagine its name and brand to better serve officers’ families for years to come.

Coming up on BUZZ on Alabama Public Television:

Dec. 22 at 8:00 pm
Studio by the Tracks
At this nonprofit in Irondale, the autistic meets the artistic. This studio and gallery provides a social network and career path that enriches the lives of artists who have autism and betters the community. Swell Fundraising donates its time and talent to help Studio by the Tracks achieve more … buzz.

Dec. 29, 7:30 pm & Dec. 31, 1:00 pm
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama
America was founded on hope and opportunity. And for folks from Hispanic countries, that dream is as alive today as ever. But navigating a foreign land and language is hard and not for the faint of heart. Thankfully the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, or ¡HICA! is full of heart. A community development and advocacy organization, HICA champions economic equality, civic engagement, and social justice for Latino families.

Jan 5 at 8:30 pm 
Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank
Food, shelter … diapers? Too many low-income mom and grandmothers in Alabama have to make the hard choice between diapers and utilities, clothing, even medicine. Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank each month distributes more than 150,000 free diapers and other essential products to 3,300 low-income families in Central Alabama. Martin Advertising / Martin Retail Group steps up to provide Bundles with a lot of marketing help — and hope.

Many thanks to the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation for helping underwrite our production.

BUZZ Creator Named to Virginia Business “100 People to Meet in 2024” 810 540 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ Creator Named to Virginia Business “100 People to Meet in 2024”

BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill has been named to the Virginia Business list of “100 People to Meet in 2024.”

Appearing in the December 2023 issue, Hemphill was part of the “Impact Makers” category:

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Michael Hemphill moved to Virginia in 1997 when his wife was doing her residency in family medicine. Since then, Roanoke’s been his home and he’s helped tell the region’s stories throughout his career, including as a former reporter for The Roanoke Times, as a marketer, and now as host of the Blue Ridge PBS TV show “Buzz.” The show’s focus is on nonprofit groups in the Roanoke and New River Valley regions and the good they’re accomplishing. Hemphill also started Buzz4Good, a pro bono marketing company that helps attract volunteers and donors to nonprofit organizations. Outside of work, Hemphill enjoys traveling, and in 2015 he followed the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, catching soccer matches across 8,000 miles and five time zones.

Read all about it here.

BUZZ TV show featuring nonprofits comes to Birmingham 1024 576 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ TV show featuring nonprofits comes to Birmingham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 14, 2023 (Birmingham, Ala.) – Birmingham native Michael Hemphill is bringing his show BUZZ – featuring nonprofit organizations receiving pro bono marketing makeovers – to Alabama Public Television in December.

Hemphill will host a free sneak peek “Brunch with BUZZ” watch party on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 10 a.m. at Sidewalk Cinema for the four episodes starring the nonprofits:

REGISTER HERE FOR WATCH PARTY

  • Children of Slain Police Officers, which provides college scholarships to children whose parents were killed in the line of duty while serving in the Birmingham Police Department.
  • Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank, which each month distributes more than 150,000 free diapers and other essential products to 3,300 low-income families in Central Alabama.
  • Studio by the Tracks, a studio and gallery for artists with autism, providing a social network and career path that enriches artists’ lives and betters the community.
  • Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, a community development and advocacy organization that champions economic equality, civic engagement, and social justice for Latino families.

Martin Advertising and Swell Fundraising provide the pro bono marketing “buzz” in the shows.

Launched in 2020, BUZZ airs on public television in Virginia – and on YouTube – and features the great work that nonprofits do in our communities, and the marketing pros who donate their time and talent to help these life-giving organizations attract more donors, volunteers and clients to their cause. Episodes are available on demand at buzz4good.com/episodes.

“From arts and culture, homelessness, literacy, outdoors recreation, suicide prevention, intellectual disabilities, even college athletics, nonprofits make our communities stronger and richer,” says Hemphill, BUZZ creator and host. “I’m thrilled to be back home and feature the mission of these four incredible nonprofits and provide them with more buzz.”

Hemphill worked with a team from his alma mater, Birmingham-Southern College, to produce the shows. Funding for the production comes in part from the Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation.

“Brunch with BUZZ” will include light hors d’oeuvres, Bloody Mary’s, mimosas and coffee, and an opportunity for the greater Birmingham community to meet and greet the stars in these shows and learn more about their missions. Free registration at buzz4good.com/events. The episodes will begin airing December 15 on Alabama Public Television.

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Contact:
Michael Hemphill
Creator & Producer, BUZZ
540.556.2879 | buzz4good.com

Putting the buzz in business 961 540 Michael Hemphill

Putting the buzz in business

As originally broadcast November 15, 2023, on Blue Ridge PBS …

Since 2017, RAMP – the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program – has been the buzz for nearly 50 entrepreneurs throughout western Virginia.

From high-tech engineers to white-coated scientists, RAMP has provided expertise instruction, 1:1 mentorship, non-equity funding, office space and a host of other resources to help startup companies accelerate their business.

On this episode of BUZZ – our 39th! – we’ll feature RAMP’s incredible work and provide it with some accelerating of its own with some cutting-edge marketing help from a familiar face to BUZZ, Carrie Cousins of LeadPoint Digital.

BUZZ is proud to present the Blue Ridge Jamboree on Nov. 2 1024 576 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ is proud to present the Blue Ridge Jamboree on Nov. 2

We are thrilled to be the presenting sponsor of the “Blue Ridge Jamboree: ON THE RISE” showcase of our region’s top artists ages 25 and younger on Thursday, Nov. 2, 7:00 pm at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke.

From bluegrass bands and gospel singers to Southwest Virginia’s preeminent children’s choir, the Blue Ridge Jamboree is an inspiring event, featuring a bunch of buzz4good, that you will not want to miss!

Listen to our Podcast about the Jamboree

The lineup includes:

  • A Mighty Friendly Mountain
  • Addie Levy trio
  • Appalachian Roots 
  • Bayla Davis
  • The Brothers Young
  • Meg Corbett
  • Shamyila Dungee
  • Eric + Addie
  • Newfound Gap
  • Old Time Rowdies
  • Riley Parks
  • Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir
  • 610 Jazz
Click for more info

All proceeds of The Blue Ridge Jamboree will support FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge’s Lynn Davis Scholarship program, which funds students who are pursuing college degrees with a commitment to enhance the natural beauty, ecological vitality, and cultural distinctiveness of Virginia’s Blue Ridge region.