Friday, June 20, 2008

A WCTV Summer

I wanted to update you on some upcoming events this summer at WCTV.

Friday, August 1st at 5:30 p.m. is our 4th Annual Summer Picnic, to be held at Hayes Hall on the IU East campus. Again this year we will draw the Channel 21 Program Lottery at 5 p.m. in the studio, just prior to the picnic.

Lottery letters to Channel 21 producers will be going out in the next few weeks. If you would like to be considered for a Channel 21 time slot and are not presently on our producer list, please contact me. Our primetime (Tier One) Channel 21 schedule is currently full, so be sure to return your materials promptly to ensure your program will be included in the next drawing.

As part of WCTV’s 20th Anniversary celebration, we have decided to participate in PSA Day, where public access television centers across the United States open their doors for local not-for-profits to record free public service announcements. During the picnic, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., we will have our studio open with lights, camera, audio, teleprompter, and helpful staff to assist area not-for-profits in recording free thirty-second announcements to be aired on WCTV.

The following morning, Saturday August 2nd, we will be offering our 2nd Annual free Video Bootcamp at the studio, beginning at 9 a.m. We will be teaching field and studio production as well as iMovie and Final Cut editing. These free workshops came in response to requests from producers interested in improving their skills, but are also open to the community as a whole as part of our ongoing outreach intended to empower more grassroots video efforts in our community.

We are also using the Summer Picnic to announce the broadcast of Wayne County U, a new program WCTV is producing designed to support the educational discourse going on in our community at present. We are using our 20th Anniversary as a way to remind our viewers what public access television can mean to a community, and we feel that educational issues are at the forefront at this time. We hope that Wayne County U will help provide answers. Our first programs, for the month of August, provide information on the FAFSA and the 21st Century Scholars program.

We are committed to producing twenty episodes of Wayne County U through May 2009. If you are involved in a local educational organization and would like to partner with us on future episodes of this series, please contact me.

We hope you will join us for some of our busy summer at WCTV.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

May 2008 Board Minutes

Call to Order - 11:05 a.m. by President Mark Linderman.

Present: Waketha Downs, Robin Henry, Ed Hoffman, Mark Linderman, Barb Orbik, Sharon Palmer, and Stephanie Strait.
Proxies: Daryl Greene, Larry Price, and Rob Zinkan.
Staff: John Dalton, John Schuerman, and Diane Lucas.

Mark opened the meeting by introducing two new board members, Waketha Downs and Robin Henry. All members present introduced themselves.

Approval of Minutes
January Minutes: Sharon Palmer moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of January 8, 2008. Minutes approved.
March Minutes: Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, that the Board unanimously accepts the minutes of March 11, 2008. Minutes approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Barb Orbik presented the Treasurer’s Report for January, February and March. Barb noted that January was a normal month for the budget, showing little activity. Sharon Palmer moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the January Treasurer’s Report was approved.
February’s report did not reflect the payment from the City of Richmond yet, which came slightly later than usual this year. Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, and the February Treasurer’s Report was approved.
March’s report shows receipt of the money from the City of Richmond. It also reflects $2460.00 income from the membership drive. Barb stated that things are looking food for 2008. Stephanie Strait moved, with Ed Hoffman giving the second, and the March Treasurer’s Report was approved.

Director’s Report
John Dalton reported that the live primary election returns show was a success. The show featured a round-table discussion with many people just stopping by to be on the air. The show was also unusually long.
Earlham, IU East and Ivy Tech recently had their graduations. All were shown live on WCTV and the staff crewed IU East and Ivy Tech’s ceremonies.
We are almost finished working on a grant with Communities in Schools. John Schuerman is also working on some academic excellence spots for IUE.
Our Continuing Studies classes did not get enough enrollment to hold the classes.
John is planning our annual summer picnic in August and will again offer a free Boot Camp.
John Dalton will attend a meeting tomorrow, May 14th, at the Indianapolis City Hall with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (IOUCC).
John added more information to his Executive Summary of the City of Richmond’s meeting with Comcast on April 11th.We continue to be on high alert with these issues.
Wayne County has asked WCTV to come and present next year’s budget request. Both County and City governments are predicting cuts in their budgets because of property tax relief. We can look to 2009 and 2010 to see the full effects of these budget cuts.

New Business
Mark Linderman offered additional thoughts on the budget issue and suggested a board retreat in late summer or early fall.
The election of two new members of the executive board took place. For Vice-President, Ed Hoffman moved, with Sharon Palmer giving the second, that Stephanie Strait be named Vice-President. The motion was unanimously carried. For Secretary, Ed Hoffman moved, with Waketha Downs giving the second, that Sharon Palmer be named Secretary. The motion unanimously passed.

Good of the Order
John Dalton thanked the new executive board members and the new board members.

Adjournment - 11:35 a.m.