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Patrick's blog

Moments of Light

Fri, 12/11/2020 - 18:26 -- Patrick

It's the season of darkness, as we head towards the Solstice. And during this year in particular, which has been dark in other ways, it's been nice to see some light here & there. Kudos to the Town of Ludlow & the Rec. Department for the display out in front of the Community Center (where we operate). The illuminated tank and other holiday decor is bringing some joy as we come & go.

There's no way around it; it's been a tough year. But in the darkness, there have been moments of light. And now we want to piece them together into a collection. We want to hear from you! 

We'll kick it off by sharing one of our moments of light: the adaptability and resiliency shown by some of our members. One of the most obvious examples is Kata Welch, the Cavendish librarian. With the library shut down, then operating with restrictions, then closed again, Kata has been super resilient. She has taken her Story Time readings to the virtual world, recording a steady stream of them throughout the year, which we televise and put here on our website (and You Tube channel )

We are re-posting Kata's most recent, holiday-inspired Story Times below. Thank you Kata, for sharing the light with us!

What are your moments of light? We want to hear about them. We are launching a new project, to put together a collection of reflections from community members, sharing this year's "moments of light". 
Send us an email or call the station at 228-8808. Come on & share the light! Let's do this!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Ninth Night of Hanukkah

The Shortest Day

Green Mountain Boys' Soccer Playoff Run

Wed, 11/25/2020 - 17:53 -- Patrick

The Green Mountain Union High School boys' soccer team had a great playoff run to cap off an unusual season during this unusual year. And now you can watch both the semi-final and final games on Okemo Valley TV.  With special thanks to our volunteer crew of Elliot Thompson, Philip Malazarte, & Sara Stowell, we were able to provide a live stream (on our You Tube channel) of the Div. 3 semi-final game, at home, earlier this month. That game can be found here.

The State Final was a few days later, played at Hartford High School. The VT Principal's Association, in partnership with NFHS Network, provided coverage of that game & we have it. 

Over the upcoming holiday weekend, we are playing both games, back-to-back on our Community Access Channel. Tune in Saturday, Nov. 28th, starting at 1pm and 7pm, and Sunday Nov. 29th at 7pm.

"Make Yourself at Home" Concert Nov. 1

Wed, 10/28/2020 - 23:39 -- Patrick

“Make Yourself at Home” is the next virtual concert produced by Susan Haefner and Little Yellow House Studio.  The event will premiere online on  our YouTube Channel and on TV on our Community Access channel on Sunday, November 1 at 5pm. It will feature Susan and her longtime friend & musical collaborator, Lisa Brigantino, as well as special guests. The concert will include well-known folk and old-time tunes as well as Lisa’s original songs.

Susan & Lisa will be available for chatting during hte You Tube premiere. While there is no cost,  donations are gratefully accepted during the premiere. Contributions will directly support the work of Little Yellow House Studio Artists and Black River Independent School, the chosen charity for this event.

We are thrilled to have Susan & Lisa back for another virtual concert. You can still watch their last one here on our website, which was sponsored by Friends of Ludlow Auditorium this past May. In addition to all of the singing, Susan handled the audio and video production as well, earning her our 2020 "Outstanding Achievement" award.

The People Speak: Constitution Reading

Wed, 10/21/2020 - 18:23 -- Patrick

 

Nearly a year ago, a large group of more than 40 community members came together in the studio to read the United States Constitution. Looking back, that feels like it was during a whole different era, one in which larger gatherings were OK, before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked our world and physical distancing became the norm. Spearheaded by Cavendish resident and former Okemo Valley TV Board member Wendy Regier, the concept went like this: each person reads a short section on camera, and then the station’s staff would edit it together as one cohesive piece, called “The People Speak”. When the editing was completed, a screening would be held in the studio for all who participated, and then it would be released to the world.

“It seemed an oral reading (of the Constitution) might generate a more careful look at what is truly written as well as thoughtful discussions of what it means to live in a democratic republic, for the people and by the people," said Regier.

Well, it's become clear that an in-person screening is not going to happen anytime soon. But in the interest of getting it “out there” for people to see, Okemo Valley TV will instead premiere “The People Speak” on our community access TV channel (Comcast 1076 & VTel 166) and You Tube channel on Tuesday, October 27th at 7PM, one week prior to Election Day. It will continue to televise periodically through November and will also be available for viewing here on the website.

This special program nicely augments all of our election-oriented programming, at a time when people are really thinking about voting and democracy. Our Education & Government channel (Comcast 1086 & VTel 167) is ripe with programs featuring local and statewide candidates, including candidate statements being recorded in Okemo Valley TV’s studio, as well as candidate forums and debates for statewide office. All of the election programs are also available to watch here on the website (you can view the entire collection of election programming here).

 

 

Election Coverage Features Local Candidates

Tue, 10/20/2020 - 19:53 -- Patrick

Okemo Valley TV has been helping to provide a platform to candidates for local legislative offices while informing voters at a time when, due to the pandemic, such opportunities are otherwise lacking.  Now through Election Day, local candidates for local House seats and the Windsor County Senate District are being featured on the Okemo Valley TV. As of this writing, several candidates have recorded their statements in the Okemo Valley TV studio, as well as on location in the field.
All candidates running for Windsor County Senate seats and House seats within the station’s service area encouraged to record a statement of their own. Appointments may be made by calling 228-8808 or emailing Executive Director Patrick Cody at pcody@okemovalley.tv. Okemo Valley TV is a regional community television station, primarily covering the Towns of Ludlow, Mount Holly, Plymouth, Cavendish, Andover, & Reading.

In addition to the local candidate statements, Okemo Valley TV has also been able to televise interviews and forums with candidates for statewide office, thanks to its colleagues at other community access TV stations in the State.

Tune into election coverage programming one of the following ways:

 

Thank You Sharon Bixby- 20 Years of Service

Fri, 07/24/2020 - 16:59 -- Patrick
A founding member, Sharon  served for 20 consecutive years on the Board and held so many different roles in the organization during this time. As her last term ended, it was a bittersweet departure; we are happy that she will have a little more time to herself & her family after all these years, but it was difficult not to be able to formally bid her farewell in person. We were, however, able to do this little tribute during our teleconferenced annual meeting: 

Awards Night

Thu, 07/02/2020 - 17:28 -- Patrick

Here is the recording of our 2020 Producer Awards ceremony, held immediately before the Annual Meeting on June 25th. It was a virtual event this year, recorded over teleconference. 


Thanks to the following annual Producer Award winners:
Producer of the Year- Pat Moore
Youth Producer- Mt. Holly After School
Outstanding Achievement- Susan Haefner
Community Service- Kata Welch

And this year, we gave out a special award, in recognition of giving back during the current pandemic:
Volunteer Impact Award- Dr. Linda Thomson
Check out samples of the work of our award recipients in the recording!

Annual Meeting Re-Cap & Board Election

Mon, 06/29/2020 - 22:52 -- Patrick

Okemo Valey TV's Board of Directors held its annual meeting on Thursday, June 25th. The meeting was held over Zoom teleconferencing and included the Board election. Current member John Cama was re-elected to another term. Joining the board this coming year (starting July 1st) are Sharon Huntley of Cavendish & Pat Moore of Ludlow. 

We also paid tribute to outgoing Board members Fra DeVine, who has served for the past 6 years, and Sharon Bixby, a founding member of the orgnaization, who has served on the Board for 20 consecutive years.

In other news,  the FY2021 budget was adopted as a level-funded version of the pas year's budget, with the stipulation that it will be revisited and amended at the end of the 1st quarter (September 30th). These are unusual times calling for unusual circumstances. There are still a few unkowns related to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our operations, and we will have a better picture within the next few months. 

The 1st Board meeting of the new fiscal year - and among the new Board - will be Wednesday July 22nd at 5:30pm. As always, the meetins are open to the public. Agendas are always posted on the "Documents" page.

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