News


BRCTV has three new board members! Jackie Paskal, Millie Santiago and Mike Christopher joined our board this month with knowledge and experience in community organizing, acting, theater, voice over work, accounting, and audio technology. Station Manager Jonne Trees continues to put in long, work intensive hours at our YMCA upstairs studio, editing, copying, taping programs, managing the daily broadcast, and website, along with upgrading equipment and broadcast quality. He would also love some volunteer company.
It's fun and easy to learn! We're nearing completion of our fund raising letter campaign. This year especially your local access televison station needs your financial support at whatever level possible. Your station welcomes and waits for your input and video submissions for broadcast. Stay tuned!

 

Letter from Ken Marston

The beginning for me was a Christmas party for the Southport School Staff. I was wearing my Santa suit. there was a little wine going around. Barbara and Rick Prose were there. We had a great time during which I had more of a chance to speak with Rick about the station now channel 7 or BRCTV 7! We talked about the station and it’s commitment to the community and it’s history beginning with the early years in BRHS. Laura was a big part of the being of BRCTV.We spoke of how much of an effort everyone was putting in as a group. How the more that is done, the more that is expected. Public perception of this station would grow and more people were needed.

My first Telethon was an education. The second was a big splash with the funds being held back by the township. It was an awakening of our Community that we were important and needed support. The last one was difficult and trying. A refection of our economic climate. Rick was right about the growth and about how hard all of you work. Our connection seemed to be leaning more to the coverage and less with student involvement at that time. Volunteers were a premium!

When Jonne took over as Station Manager we were in dire need of repairing, replacing and upgrading equipment, our connection to the community and the internet. We had a lot that was handled by the station manager and not all of it was on paper. We had an on going problem develop with our treasurer and his personal life. I thank Sharon for any help she was able to give and it was very important to have Jonne involved to help us get to the new year we are about to begin.

We saw some important board members/volunteers have to step away from the time they were able to give because of both personal and family reasons. I thank Bob Devine as well for beginning the job of Treasurer with Sharon’s and Jonne’s help. Thanks also to Bob Devine and Nat Wing. I wish we could have been more of a help to them both. I thank Sue Mello for her help with writing, filming. In so many ways Sue never really left in effort. Lee Arnott has been a personal angel to me in my start with BRCTV. She taught me a lot when I had the time to edit and be at every function we held.

Paula was the President when I started she was full of energy and she had a committee that all helped. That was the beginning of Larry’s Presidency and he really dug in to a lot of identifying of our problems. He saw that Rick/Jonne can’t continue to do all of the work that we as aboard can and should be doing. Thanks for your efforts Larry we would not be where we are without you!! You went from VP to Pres. to Secretary. Chairman of the fundraising committee. With a lot of continued volunteer filming / editing. Short subjects and video of whatever needed @ the time. Kathie Bugbee a big thanks for the ground work you do.

Laurie our VP soon to be President had a keen interest in her office with more energy as it is needed to help on a day to day and subject to subject involvement of BRCTV. I found her to be my girl Friday during my administration. I ran into a myriad of physical problems and set backs. My Family had many many other issues that monopolized much of my time as well. And it is continuing. I just got back from 10 days helping my mother in law at 9:21 pm Wednesday to 8 phone messages and over 33 e-mails!

Through it all in this past year we have fixed a lot of broadcast problems with a new modulator helping picture, sound. Jonne has improved our connections of both phone and internet with our approved upgrades with Time Warner. We have seen a big change in our studio. A much more spacious and better equipped, more versatile working studio. That gives videographers more room. Live programs are more of a happening that a wish. We improved programing and scheduling capabilities. We replaced our tape media with a DVD changer. “Streamlining the process of moving programs to the all digital hard drive.”

The BRCTV web page has modifications that simplifies the format and “emphasizes aspects that are most important to you; an up to date daily schedule, with a sampling of past programing on demand, and the big one; Web Streaming that duplicates our cable cast schedule. This enables people to view that are without cable!We established and filled the position of station manager. Jonne Trees has been at the helm only a short time and has been responsible for most of our recent improvements. He has continued to insure that the daily cable-cast of BRCTV is as good as we can make it! Thanks to him for lots of crazy hours. It is our responsibility to continue to relieve him of some of the distractions of what should be the boards responsibilities.

Also very importantly; we are beginning to improve our connection with the community (adding more coverage of school board meetings, plays, sports, school events and student involvement through student work study and the new project of student/videographers either through contests and or curriculum). My hope is that we continue the documenting / informing of local events, governance and life in our community. I hope we continue to help the region get information of important meetings that they cannot always get out to see. Helping all people make a better informed comment or decision about local matters.

Maybe someone will get involved or run for a position important because of the information broadcast on our station. I have had a great learning experience as your president. A lot of our board had some really rough times as individuals on a personal level. I can only say thanks for your support and your efforts. We have accomplished much and have a lot ahead of us. Our economy is going to be as big a challenge as will adding more board members.
Thanks to you all! Board members, volunteers and viewers!

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth Marston