Talent Market was proud to sponsor the 2023 AF Annual Gala and Awards Showcase and we were thrilled to have presented two new awards during the event in May: The Secret Weapon Award and the Program of the Year Award.
We were incredibly impressed by the quality and quantity of nominees for both awards. Choosing the winners was a difficult task and we were very fortunate to have a panel of judges help us make the final determinations.
Talent Market’s Secret Weapon Award
Talent Market’s Secret Weapon Award celebrates a free-market nonprofit staff member who adds tremendous value to his/her organization and the liberty movement from behind the scenes. We developed this award not only recognize the secret weapons among us, but also to remind everyone how critical these individuals are to our movement.
Our inaugural Secret Weapon award winner is Ryan Lynch, the Senior Director of IT with Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Ryan has been with CEI for nearly 15 years. When the rest of the CEI staff is sleeping, Ryan is updating its network and servers. When everyone else is going home for the day, Ryan is applying updates to programs & tools that CEI can’t function without.
He is a one-man IT band fielding calls all day for help and he gladly does it with a smile and often a sarcastic joke. According to his supervisor, “CEI would be unable to function without Ryan’s behind the scenes work.”
And here’s what Ryan had to say:
“I was proud to receive the first Secret Weapon award, because the contributions of talented and dedicated back-office staff are rarely acknowledged in the same way other more public facing staff. Beyond the recognition itself, It was also nice because support staff—and IT staff in particular—so rarely receive public accolades. Those satisfactions are permanent.”
When Ryan isn’t working, he’s spending time with his brilliant wife, Michelle Minton, and the world’s cutest dog, Coconut.
Please join me in celebrating Talent Market’s 2023 Secret Weapon Award winner, Ryan Lynch.
Talent Market’s Program of the Year Award
Talent Market’s Program of the Year Award celebrates a program that develops free-market talent. We specifically wanted to recognize a program that has a solid curriculum, evidence of short and long-term impact, and impressive alumni who are making a difference by advancing liberty.
Our inaugural Program of the Year award winner is Moving Picture Institute’s Hollywood Career Launch Program.
The Hollywood Career Launch Program helps talented young filmmakers get a foot in the door in the entertainment industry. Since 2006, MPI has awarded over 200 paid internships to college students and recent graduates.
Interns are placed on the sets of MPI Original productions or at partner production companies and are provided with a stipend, mentorship, and training.
MPI only recruits interns who are defenders of freedom with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career
in film. The program provides a huge return for those who wish to see Hollywood seeded with talent committed to freedom.
More than half of the program’s alumni are now working full-time in the film industry. The program is run by Hannah Earl, Director of Talent and Creative Development for Moving Picture Institute.
Please join me in celebrating Talent Market’s 2023 Program of the Year Award winner, Moving Picture Institute’s Hollywood Career Launch Program!
