Sans editorial comment, Vaughan Scott now presents to you, "Buildin' Bridges with Benny Breeze."

Quick link, followed below by Vaughan Scott's introduction.

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I have been asked numerous times over the last several months why I decided to ask three talented young artists in their mid-twenties to make a film about the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) and why they chose to use a less traditional, less conventional approach to disseminate factual information. As we release the short film today, I hope this email will be helpful in answering many of these questions.

On April 15, 2011 when I had the first meeting with the Writer/Directors of this film, I felt that there was an incredible void of credible information on the ORBP. In my opinion, nothing of real value had made its way to Boardrooms or onto the streets, yet the discussions were swirling and frustrations were rising. I believed that, regardless of where people stood on this issue, facts about the ORBP were needed to insure that productive public discourse could ensue and these facts were needed quickly – too many discussions everywhere seemed to revolve around rumors, speculation and innuendo.

Some of the reasons I called these particular artists include:

· I knew they were incredibly talented film makers

· I knew they would take the time to do their homework and they would responsibly convey facts as they saw them in their own way

· Because they had an unconventional style, I believed they would reach a completely different audience than other more traditional “Pro Project” voices and methods would.

· They were good people who I believed would really want to help our Region move forward together

· They would not put anything into the film that they did not believe in whole-heartedly

· They would inject humor into a debate that has not been much fun at all for anyone

Important new audiences for ORBP information included:

1. People who don’t watch TV or read the newspaper

2. People who don’t participate in “Board Meetings” of any kind regularly

3. People too busy to dig into the reams of data that now exist on the ORBP

4. People like me who never considered themselves a politico and who had not weighed in on important issues publicly

5. Young people of all socio-economic levels who have a real stake in the future of this Region

Ironically, due to the unconventional approach and the desire to reach a new audience, the rumors, speculation and innuendos that swirled around the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) seemed to find their way to discussions about the film. The FACT is that, with the exception of Gabe Bullard at WFPL, not a single author of any story, article or blog post had actually seen the film before writing about it. Needless to say, any perceptions I had about the lack of credibility in “fair and balanced reporting” on the part of some media outlets today have only been confirmed.

I believe that anyone who attended the Public Meeting at the Holiday Inn Hurstbourne last Tuesday and heard Chris Saunders aka “Benny Breeze” and Kyle Crews, Writer/Director speak, heard something completely different than the media had reported and that their detractors had espoused to be the gospel. I believe everyone in the room heard bright, articulate, young people who are passionate about making films and who are passionate about seeing the shovels hit the dirt on the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) because they want a brighter future for themselves and for others.

Many Thanks!

I do want to say thank you so very much to my good friend Robert Eichenberger and the other members of his team at Middleton Reutlinger who have been incredibly generous and gracious with their valuable time in helping these fine young men dot their i’s and cross their t’s.

Many thanks also to Chief Rick Sanders and Major Ken Hatmaker with the Jeffersontown Police Department for their presence in and around our tent outside the Public Meeting that took place at the Holiday Inn Hurstbourne on June 28th.

Many thanks to all who came out to see the film at the BIP Sessions at Spalding University and Ivy Tech and to our tents at the Public Meetings on June 27th and 28th – your feedback was invaluable in making the film what it is today.

Most importantly, I want to say thank you to everyone who worked on this short film and to many others who have helped to make sure that anything that I published personally was vetted properly. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to so many of you who have showed unwavering support to the filmmakers and to me, even in the face of adversity and harsh criticisms, I will never forget it and I will always appreciate it!

In the words of Winston Churchill, “This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps, the end of the beginning.” And, without further delay, you can see the film and judge for yourself…Please visit www.b4bridges.com. There are links on the website that make it easy for you to share the film with friends and family members and don’t forget to find Benny Breeze on Facebook.com and become a Friend of Benny’s.

Many, many thanks and best regards!

Vaughan

P.S. As a further testament to the character of these young men and in spite of the abuse these fine young artists have endured at the hands of several members of the local media, here is the message Kyle Crews has been sending to every local media outlet in this Region this morning:

I've been attacking the media outlets, emailing everyone at the CJ, WDRB, WAVE3, and a few select people at WLKY and WHAS. Here is the general template I've been sending:

Good members of the press, I would like to personally invite you to watch our short film "Buildin' Bridges with Benny Breeze." There has been much controversy and speculation about this movie and most of it couldn't be further from the truth. This is a movie based in fact and in favor of the proposed Ohio River Bridges Project. Our team is in support of the two proposed bridges mainly because of traffic and safety concerns but if you hold different viewpoints we respect them as well. Our main intentions were to further public discussion and educate people who would normally be absent from the debate. If you disagree with us we hope you at least find our film entertaining. Our approach may turn some away because it is unconventional but we believe public discourse can be entertaining and informative at the same time.

Without further ado....I now present to you, "Buildin' Bridges with Benny Breeze"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb1w3RqfHJY&feature=channel_video_title