Smoky Hills Public Television, incorporated in March of 1978 as a part of the plan to extend public television service to un-served areas in central and western Kansas. On air beginning in 1982, today Smoky Hills serves 71 counties in Kansas. Believing that the best of Kansans’ artistic imaginations, personal expression and stories deserve to be celebrated with each other and the world, Smoky Hills PBS produces between 50-60 hours of Kansas-related programming each year – as diverse as public affairs, the arts, historical documentaries and western Kansas high school sports. Smoky Hills PBS has been recognized as “Television Station of the Year” by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, and has won numerous other awards for its productions. Believing that education is a cornerstone of our society and the most important enabler for all aspects of life, Smoky Hills PBS broadcasts nine hours of safe, non-violent, educational children’s programming every weekday. The station’s educational outreach programs have provided literacy training to thousands of teachers and parents throughout central and western Kansas, and distributed tens of thousands of books, often the first book a disadvantaged Kansas child will own.