 Hello everyone and welcome to town meeting TV's annual winter celebration This is the time of year where we gather all of our friends supporters and family to our studios at 294 North Winooski Ave in Burlington to celebrate all of the wonderful work that we've done throughout the year and The purpose of this show The main purpose of this show is to recognize all of the wonderful folks who really do come together and make this wonderful organization What it is and because of that? We've got a nice Show for you tonight We're gonna have a rotating cast of characters one of our wonderful interns Navarro is going to be interviewing folks and presenting awards to them throughout the night but before we get started with the Main program we do have a very special guest here with us tonight Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hans us is here and we're gonna kick off the show with Sarah and She's gonna come right on over in just a moment and But before we do that Maybe we can just All right work. We're good to go Awesome Hello, Sarah Welcome. I'm doing well. I'm Emily. Very nice to meet you. It's really nice to meet you I'm so glad that you could join us This evening for our annual winter celebration If you just want to maybe take a moment, I'd love to hear why what community media means to you And why you support CCTV? Absolutely. Thank you. I love what you've done with the place This is a much more festive than the last time I was here when I was being grilled With questions in a debate setting but you know community TV is I think critical to the democratic process because what you offer in terms of Access to government whether it's municipal government or as you do during the campaign, you know have Debates among the statewide candidates It's just it's absolutely critical for people to be able to have access to a media outlet That's covering the news about their government, right? How do you run a democracy? If you're if your electorate doesn't know what you're doing on their behalf So I always appreciate the work that you are doing to make it easier for people to stay connected with their government Well, thank you so much for those kind words Sarah And so there is a special reason why you're here tonight and I'm gonna turn the mic over to you and Let you share with folks. Thank you so much super and I'm gonna invite Eric Covey to come up and Lauren Glenn if you would also come a little closer Oh, I'm gonna stand over here where the interviewer stands. I Have the power. This is wonderful so I spoke just briefly about the importance of Community access media for our democracy and it just so happens that there Is a wide recognition of this over time? Because the previous administration also believed that it was important that we recognize the contribution of community media and so I Am really pleased to be able to share with you You also want to be does it want to be closer? You can hold that Lauren Glenn Davidian and I'll read it for the viewers at home In recognition of a career of entrepreneurial advocacy as co-founder and director of the CCTV Center for Media and Democracy promoting civic engagement access to local democracy and government transparency for the people So the National Association of Secretaries of State is proud to To to make this award available to you And I am really looking forward to all of our future collaborations because we have We've had some good regular conversations about how we can work together and how important it is for establishments like this to to be covering the News that's happening in our community so that folks can stay connected to their democracy And I think Eric has some things that he might like to say as well Sure. Thank you so much secretary Copeland Hansis. I am really grateful for your recognition of Lauren Glenn Davidian You know Lauren Glenn when you first invited me to join the cctv board I told people it was kind of like being invited by the cool kid to sit at their table for lunch You're the kind of person that when you ask somebody to do something they know that it's something worth doing Almost 40 years ago you and your fellow Mary band of activists founded CCTV with a simple principle and that was to put local media in the hands of the people and At the time that was a radical idea and unfortunately in a lot of ways it still is today we have champions like secretary Copeland Hansis who are striving to uphold the ideals of our democracy and Now nearly 40 years later. CCTV is still here ensuring access to local democracy promoting transparency and accountability and Creating a place where our community can come together to tell our collective story and preserve our history and That is thanks to so much of your work. So I want to congratulate you and thank you democracy does not self-preserve and It is because in large part of much of the work You've done upholding those around you and encouraging them to plant their seeds of democracy That we have this wonderful garden where our grassroots can truly thrive. Thank you. Thank you so much Well, you're both so eloquent I don't think I could say anything actually more clear or precise about the benefits of what we do here in the world of community media and the fact that actually it takes a lot of people an entire community to defend democracy and preserve it because As we know and I think we're learning democracy is not a form of government that we can take for granted it's not automatically going to continue just because it exists and We have a lot of work to do and I think at the core of all of this is a Curiosity about what other people think and how they operate in the world Because unless we're willing to ask questions Especially of people that we don't agree with we're not going to improve our own ideas on our own thinking And so I just have to say that if it wasn't for All of the people that have stood behind cameras at city council meetings for hours and hours and hours and all of the community producers who have taken a camera and Sallied forth because they were curious or wanted to make something change All of those people are what make this here possible in the 24 community media centers across Vermont possible and I have been blessed to be sort of a standard bearer and Shoebanger and a person that won't say won't take no from a cable company Which is still the case actually even this week But really this work is done in a community of people many everyone who's here and everyone who's gone before So thank you very much for this honor, and I accept it on behalf of our entire organization. So thank you Thanks Thank You Eric and Sarah and congratulations Lauren Glenn And speaking of all the wonderful people that make this community great and make this organization continue to turn We're going to continue on with awards Everybody feel free to continue to mingle at this point or continue to watch We're gonna just have folks come on through for about the next half hour to an hour or so And recognizing all of the hard work that they've done throughout the year So the first person that I'm going to ask to come up to be recognized is Navarro Dodge Hi, Navarro, and I'm gonna actually grab Navarro's award here Now Navarro you have earned the best TV personality and ambient music project award Congratulations now Navarro is one of our long-term neighborhood media neighborhood community media interns Can you tell us a little bit about why you keep coming back year after year? Well CCTV is like one of the best things ever Top five better hear that X Fendi and I keep coming back because it's a really good like jumping off point for getting like really involved in your community because it makes it makes your community kind of feel more tactile and Makes it feel more physical in your hands, which is ironic because you're turning it into this your digital media But in that process it it actually kind of Opens it a lot more to you and you kind of feel every little bit of it and it makes you really care Which I think is really valuable and in our current moment Now do you speaking of the community feeling more physical and tactile? Can you maybe share with us one of your? Favorite one or two moments about this section or all sessions of NMI that you have participated in Well, I think of this session Honestly yesterday. I had an amazing interview with The executive coordinator for Vermont works for women Heather new comb and it was so interesting to just hear this like really knowledgeable person just speak all about their interpretations of things in like a really articulate manner and be able to Yeah, have half type that type of conversation that I don't think a lot of high schoolers would normally be able to have without an Opportunity like this. So that was really amazing during during this session But in the past I think my favorite has been going with Travis with one camera and just Going all the way to Montpelier and is in his car and just speaking to all these different random people who happen to be walking To the halls that was an amazing experience and I just so valuable That's so fantastic. I'm so happy to hear that and I'm so Navarro is actually going to be the host for the rest of our award program and While I turn it over to you and tee up somebody to get their first award Maybe if you just want to say to perhaps any young folks out there who are watching You know, you've already kind of said it, but what like why why CCTV? Why why do you come in year after year? Yeah, well, I think CCTV is awesome You get to meet a lot of different people You get to like a lot of the people in in this space because their journalists have have seen How Burlington and the larger Chinden area has formed and stuff and and changed and so you get a much better Like understanding of it and yeah, just just getting to to experience more of your community is really valuable. I Think is there anyone else that's going to come up? I don't know knows already This camera I'm just gonna sit here and wait for the people to come up. Is there I wonder if there's like a list or if I can like Do I just like yell at people who knows? Is it a lottery system? Okay? Okay, yeah Would Olivia Mosley come up, please Hi Mosley, is that right? Mosley, what can you tell us about your experience here at CCTV? Well, I am brand new at CCTV. I started Two weeks ago almost two weeks ago And I'm working in the Vermont language justice project as a project manager working on writing scripts right now about mental health and PTSD symptoms that will be translated into 17 languages To get information out to folks who don't speak English as a first language Why do you think something like that is valuable? I mean, I think that Vermont has compared to other states a relatively small number of refugees and immigrants and people who speak languages other than English but and partly because it is small there's very few resources available and It's pretty rare to see critical information translated and made available in the languages people speak So it means that they're just kind of left with nothing The project started at the beginning of COVID when none of the sort of new guidance about like a really scary and critical health situation We're making it to people who didn't speak English. So It's a way of sort of working toward equity in the state and making sure people have have sort of a More even playing field with access to information and education. How did you kind of come into this? I have been working for the last few years in refugee resettlement here in Vermont I was running the health and mental health program for the refugee resettlement office Which is sort of the first point of contact when refugees arrive in the state And so I'd been on the task force for the language justice project for almost three years and collaborated with Alison Seeger on a couple of videos already about like using the pharmacy To take it collecting a stool sample for health tests Which is a thing that all refugees are required to do like a week after arriving and is pretty confusing if you cannot read the Instructions on the pamphlet they send you home with and I just I see have seen firsthand how what a great resource all of the videos are Many folks are also not literate in their primary language living in situations of forced displacement and refugee camps doesn't lead to Great access to education. So the other thing about the video format is that it's accessible to everybody regardless of literacy level So how do you go about translating these works? Do you outsource this work or do you just know a lot of languages? No, I mean I speak Arabic and French and was using my French on a sort of a pilot video for vaccine screening checklist this week But in general we have a team of I think it is 17 Translators working on the different languages that people speak in Vermont who are just an amazing crew who? Are all of them have other jobs and sort of this is a freelance position for them, but they're incredibly committed They really understand the specific cultural and contextual Sort of factors in Vermont so as opposed to like sending it off to some translation service in California Who's not as we're making videos about like flooding and you know, Montpelier area Are they gonna actually get things right and there are folks who are respected members of their community? Which means when they're the voice and face of the videos people have a greater sense of trust in the information that's being shared That's awesome. Well, here is your award Yeah, have a great night. It was great to talk with you All right, I'll introduce folks and then I'll have you interview them like you've done So next person that we're gonna recognize her name is Jennifer representing the Vermont Council on World Affairs We've had several Folks come through our doors through that organization learning Professional skills different business skills here and most recently we had an intern here with us for a month from Jordan whose name was Nadim and so he had a wonderful time here and I'm gonna turn it over to you and Jennifer and just hear a little bit about the Vermont Council on World Affairs Hi, so what can you tell me about the Vermont Council of World Affairs? So the Vermont Council on World Affairs is a non-partisan nonprofit organization. We do a lot of Delegations both professional with our international Visitor leadership program through the Department of State and some fever service programs such as youth programs on fellowships And as you just heard we just did a fellowship with you guys a few months ago with Nadim He was a fellow from Jordan and he had such a wonderful time So we really just do a lot of we say bring in the world to Vermont and Vermont to the world Yeah, that's awesome. How did you come to CCTV? We use CCTV a lot for organizations. We'd like to have our delicates meet with So while they are here they meet with a bunch of local organizations and nonprofits They do a lot of volunteering and things so for a few years now We've been using CCTV as a place that we'd love to bring our visitors What was one of the highlights of your work this year? Well, I just started in June, so I would say there's a lot of highlights Definitely, I think the fellowship was one of them. It was really nice they were here for four weeks and It was really amazing to just see them grow professionally and also personally I would hang out with them on Fridays hang out I say but you know it was a lot of programming so that was really fun We did the Ethan Allen cruise together and things like that. So it was really enjoyable. What do you plan for next year a? Lot more programming. We already have Three programings coming in January and early February We're going to do another fellowship in March to April. So Yeah, doing a lot of planning to do a lot more programs Awesome. All righty. Thank you so much. It was great to speak with you Have a great night Next up we're going to speak with one of CCTV's current board members Eric Covey Hi What can you tell me about a CCTV this year? It's an incredible organization as you know We're gathered right now in a room full of people who all love the work that CCTV does promoting access to local democracy and really creating a place where a community can come together and tell their stories and really have that platform to Discuss and archive kind of the many weaves that make up the fabric of our community What was one of the highlights of working at CCTV this year? So right now We're going through a big Transformation as we've talked about a little bit previously in the program for those folks who have been tuned in for a little bit The previous executive director Lauren Glenn David Ian has stepped back a little bit And so we're going through a leadership change and part of that is really examining What does it mean to be a community organization? And how can we take our values and instill them in our governance philosophy as well? And one of the first steps in that move has been to move to a co-director model in a long-term effort to kind of flatten You know what leadership looks like as we spread it out across everybody at an organization So that's been a really exciting endeavor to be a part of and there are incredible people here at CCTV Who are making that happen? awesome How how do you think or what are your plans for next year? Next year, you know, we're gonna be really strongly engaged in a lot of continuing discussions as CCTV evolves as an organization Some of my plans personally for next year as I'm hopefully going to Iceland So I'm looking forward to that and hopefully having a short winter Really other than that I'm just enjoying being a part of this incredible Organization and getting to know all the great people who make the cogs turn here at this kind of hotbed for local democracy Looking back. How did you get involved in CCTV? Lauren Glenn asked me and you know Lauren Glenn is an incredible person and when she asked me There was no way I could say no to that but part of the reason why she asked me is at the time I had served on my local city council and You know town meeting TV a part of CCTV does so much work ensuring that People who might not have the ability to go to let's say a city council or a select board meeting Can still view and have that government transparency and accountability by either streaming online or watching You know live at home And I was also working in the Secretary of State's office at the time So kind of that you know this ongoing these ongoing conversations We're having locally and nationally about what does democracy mean and how can we ensure those ideals kind of? Live on to the future with our nurturing and guidance or something that I care a lot about and so that's kind of why Lauren Glenn asked me to join and Honestly, I just thought it was an incredible opportunity that I could have to learn about more of the various facets of the organization Do you see any challenges with this new leadership structure? Yeah, there are always challenges and just in general You know, there are a lot of organizations like CCTV that were founded 40-ish years ago in the 80s by people who are now retiring who have been at the helm for all those years so CCTVs and a lot more fortunate of a position than a lot of those organizations in the sense that due to all the work in the Community that the organization does it has an identity that's outside of that co-founder But with that there are also, you know challenges and changes as well How can we ensure that the principles on which the organization are founded and live on but also Continue to evolve right we this isn't the same organization. It was 40 years ago Nor should it be and what does it mean for a CCTV to exist in 2024 and how can we position the organization for? 2025 and beyond So there are definitely challenges, but more than challenges. There are opportunities as well Awesome. Well, thank you so much. I wish you luck in the coming year and Bobby's gonna introduce the next Person who's getting an award tonight. Thank you so much Emily. Hi. My name is Bobby Lucier I'm so grateful to be one of the worker bees here at CCTV and I'm also very grateful to present our next award Emily if you'll come up and join me here. So The outstanding community producer award for this year from town many TV goes to you Emily Thank you so much for all you do. You're very welcome. I'm very honored to receive this award Yeah, can you tell us a little bit about your program and what you do here at CCTV? Yes So I'm Emily Anderson. I coordinate the bridging program at Champlain Community Services and the bridging program is comprised of high school students with disabilities that are imagining their futures after high school and the program allows them to get out in the community and meet different resources and people and organizations and programs that could be a part of their future lives and also just connect and also just be themselves and CCTV when they're in community connections is a great place for them to learn that there's a place where they can be themselves they can create content and it can go on the air and That's what we do three times a year well four times a year we all make a show together and Then the students when they're in their smaller groups come back and make shows So we make four shows a year at least and at the end of the year We watch them all we watch them as they get made but then we watch them all together as a complete set So it's a me. I'm a huge fan of public access television I've been always seeking ways to come here and make content and I'm constantly thinking of shows that I could make so This is outstanding to receive this award Yeah, it's incredible to watch. I mean the the energy in the studio is always so we're all so excited when it's bridging day such a lovely show to to watch and to know All the great work that you're doing is really wonderful. So thank you Emily and I have to ask about your incredible hat I just did you make this yourself? I got it at a craft fair and it was a one-of-a-kind the woman who made it Didn't even realize what a magical hat She was making because I have had it for three years and people thank me for wearing it. So Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much Emily appreciate it and I think we have These mugs over here with a little with a couple special treats in there. You can pitch pick which one you want awesome. Thank you so much Emily awesome, so that was Emily Anderson with the bridging program and We are continuing our program here to celebrate town meeting TV in It's 33rd year and We've done a lot of amazing work here. It's been a big year at town meeting TV and CCTV We are Excited to continue the show here. So I'm going to hand off the the microphone back to The host with the most Navarro who will present our next award Navarro I present to you the award Michael Kors of fursuit award. I Genuinely don't know what to say Other than it's it's correct So I will I will go there And I think I think Michael Kors would be proud I often find myself wearing Jeans in a blazer as well at work So Thank you. Thank you So can you for the viewers at home? Can you explain this award a little bit? I will do my best So I like to make accessories for those big animal costumes as you see on the TV The the fursuit community has been growing and it's pretty much entered the mainstream at this point So I think everyone at this point knows what what that is But I don't like to make the big ones myself like to make all the accessories because I think accessories Really make the whole character in the costume together. What's the like coolest accessory you've made? so I just got a 3d printer and I'm going to be making oversized jewelry that's held on by magnets So that's people can their their ref sheets can match their characters really well That's awesome It's talking about your work with CCTV. What has been a highlight of this year So I get to use technology in ways that I wouldn't anywhere else In the corporate setting technology is pretty much Stays like with I stay within one specific lane I either work in just networking all day every day or I just working consists admin all day every day But here I get to work in broadcast engineering cybersecurity network engineering and like putting screws into a TV to keep the stand together like that is not something to do with technology anymore and It's really great because doing the same thing over and over again gets super boring But this way I'm get to I get to invent new things develop new things design new things and it's it's it's great. It's really great What is one thing you're looking forward to next year? So I think what I'm looking forward to is I would really like to make a show But I think for me I've public access is very important and very serious But it can also be super fun and I would really love to make more fun shows More fun things for our like Bolton board and more fun things for just like our little intermittent cuts like the The part of the piece we did of tricky things Watching people make tricky things. I would love to make more things like that and I think that'd be really fun What has been one of the highlights of this year at CCTV? So really when I was able to get over that hump of working in broadcast engineering I had some experience working with OBS some experience working with microphones, but not to this like very professional very detailed Setups and really once I started to get over that hump and the nervousness went away And the understanding really came getting more and more excited about being able to be like yes I know how to deploy these cameras. I know how to set up these audio things Oh or or being able to fix things on the fly or providing different fixes on the flies was really really important and awesome for me Why do you think it's important for people to have like experience with all these different technologies? So When you know a lot about technology it allows you to do a lot of things with it, right? So I would love to be able to to take what I know Show it to other people so that Even if they're not comfortable coming in here or they're not comfortable borrowing equipment And they but they really want to make something on their own They have the knowledge and the skills to make whatever kind of show they would want and submit it to us And that would be just a great way to to have more Innovative media on our channel. I think All righty. Well, thank you so much It was great talking with you Thank You Navarro my our next our next award is gonna go to an Outstanding community producer Patricia a rojo. Is that the correct pronunciation? Awesome Patricia. Thank you so much And I just need to hold on find oh here it is Presented to town meaning TV presents the history hero award to Patricia Rojo Thank you so much Patricia So can you tell us a little bit about your program and what you do here at CCTV? Sure, I have a channel called traveling for history, which is the same as my YouTube channel. So So the purpose of the TV show is to talk about the behind-the-scenes stuff Things that went well things that maybe did not It's usually my error why things do not go well So that's what the show is about talking about that kind of stuff. So I think I'm going to be live tomorrow morning Yeah, it's incredible. So you have a show once a month. Is that right? Yes, it's the fourth Friday of the month from from 11 30 to noon So as we wrap up the year tell us about your channel travel traveling for history What are like a couple of standout moments from your channel traveling for history this year? well, I found an apparently abandoned cemetery and Was able also to add it to Google Maps. So I Think it's worth a visit, but where is it? It's in Hinesburg It's on Silver Street Moncton Road, whatever they call that But at least you start in Silver Street. You're coming from Hinesburg and and how'd you find it? I happen to see I happen to see the headstones as I was driving by so as I whip my head to the right I also saw there was a driveway into it. Yeah That's awesome. And how many headstones are there about 60? Did you could you recognize any of the names on them or were they was it too old? I couldn't read a lot of them And it's it's it's really kind of sad place to refer to One of the headstones is a jigsaw puzzle because it's it's just in pieces on the ground but there were some Civil War veterans buried there and people who died in 1801 or 1805 so So really old graves there. Yeah, Patricia. I have to be honest as a resident of the Old North End Which has some wonderful cemeteries. I've always wanted a an Old North End cemetery tour from You I'm wondering if that's something that you've ever done before or that's something that you would consider doing Well preservation Burlington actually has led tours of the very first Lakeview Cemetery tour with preservation Burlington. I was the president of the Organization back then so I got to leave the very first tour of that. So that was that was a lot of fun And they also offer Green Mount Cemetery tour. That's one of Colchester Ave at the bend the Ethan Allen Monument is in there So they offer that too. So they already have tours for those things Yeah, I'll have to check that out then great. Well Patricia. Thank you so much and congratulations on your award You can take one of the the town meeting TV mugs over there on that table And thank you so much for for coming in and for all that you do for town meeting TV. We really appreciate it Thank you very much. It's been it's been fabulous everyone is so fabulous here. Yeah Thank you so much, Patricia. Awesome. Great. So that was Patricia Arrojo with traveling for history and Up next we have an award that we're presenting to a board member of CCTV And I'm going to hand it over to Navarro to hand this next award. Thank you Alrighty next up. We have Brian Davis Hi, hi Brian. Hi What can you tell us about? Transportation in Vermont. Well Very rural states, so we have some specific challenges, but we have some capable leaders who are working on different solutions We need to think about how we're spending our money And how we're making our roadways and streets and sidewalks and paths safer for all people regardless of age Type of mode ability all that Have you spoken with any of the members of the the Vermont Transportation committee in the in Montpelier My director Charlie Baker does a lot of the legislative work But I help all of our member municipalities all the cities and towns in Chittenden County With the transportation issues that they want to work on Have you studied the effects of zero fare on busing? Well, it's an interesting place right now that the transit system is experiencing Some places have found that if you don't charge anything you attract different people to To ride the bus more but there's the other I'm sort of I don't know if that's the behavioral psychology piece But if even if you just charge a little bit for something then people have a little bit more There's a little bit more value to it. They you know, there's a little bit stronger affinity for it So but it's a balance because the funding for transit is really slim And they're not going to make enough money just by fares, but it's an interesting balance right now. They're working on What were any highlights of this year working in that? We are finishing a walk bike master plan for the city of Wanooski, which is really exciting We got lots of great input from people. We probably Talked to 500 600 people either via the survey online or in person and we got over a thousand specific comments So we're wrapping up that project, which is exciting and next year this coming year We're working on a walk bike master plan for South Burlington. Very exciting What do you think Vermont can do to make our transportation systems better? I Think we have to be open to new ideas. We don't have to let things like the weather deter us necessarily We were a year-round state. We're outside doing things We need to be active and voice our support for different projects to our elected leaders So that the funds the limited funds that we have can be put in the right places Do you think that the recent flooding has affected transportation at all it has We have the experience of Irene ten years ago We're really highlighted some specific issues and areas around the state So we came up with some new tools and techniques to address that as we work on our transportation system We saw some places be more resilient this time during all the recent rains There were other places that are still susceptible. We've developed in low-lying areas So we need to think more about what types of facilities and housing and development are in those susceptible areas How has your experience been with CCTV this year? It's been great. I mean the the the staff is wonderful You're taking on so many projects. You're helping keep democracy alive You're providing an outlet for people to speak their minds and share ideas and invite people to participate So it's amazing. Thank you Thank you Well, it was really nice to speak with you and have a great night. Thank you. Yeah Of course Alrighty, I'm handing it off to my main man. Thanks so much Navarro Navarro's done Incredible work tonight. So our next award goes to a local public servant City Councilor of a new ski Thomas Frenner. Thank you so much for joining us tonight Thomas. Hey, no worries at all. Thanks for hosting us This is great. Awesome. So we want to present you the social media superstar award from down meaning TV Yeah, so thank you so we just appreciate that you are committed to remaining transparent in the work that you're doing and Making sure that folks have access to the work that you're doing in the city of a new ski So thank you so much for all that you do. Yeah, well, thank you for what you all do You know, it's really important to have you at our meetings and everywhere that you go So really happy to try to highlight your work whenever I can Can you tell us a little bit about maybe one or two things that the city Council is up to a Manuski right now Yeah, we are in budget season. So we have a lot of meetings where we're discussing Basically everything that we do in the city at the moment We just wrapped up some our meetings this month. We're starting up again next month And yeah, we are looking at you know, how much we're gonna raise people's taxes to pay for everything and going over all of our different services and So it's a pretty busy time of year for us. Are there any big Fluctuations in the budget that you're expecting that will be difficult to deal with yeah, I mean I think everybody's dealing with it right like inflation is up You know, we want to make sure that our staff has paid well and all of those things to deal with inflation And then on top of that we want to make sure that we can provide services, which are also more expensive right now So I think that's kind of the main thing is we're looking at pretty big tax increase Awesome. Well, thank you so much Thomas anything else that you want to add or reflections on the year Either as a city councillor a town meeting TV and I think you know, it's been a really great year This is I'm wrapping up my first full term as a city councillor and You know having time meeting TV kind of like show all of that and being able to repost your videos has been great So just thank you. Thank you so much Thomas John your city councillor finuski. Appreciate it Yeah, and there's a mug over there for you with some goodies in it Yeah, thank you so much Thomas Great. All right keeping the train moving here with the the celebration of town meeting TV here at the winter celebration and we are Continuing to hand out awards. We have so many awards to present tonight and our next award is going to be presented once again by Navarro who I'm passing it off to right now. I Hope there is no chocolate on my face. Alrighty. We are going to be speaking to Angie Grove Hi, Angie. Hi Navarro. Hello. What can you tell me about your work this year? I'm the executive director at the Ethan Allen homestead museum and we've had a great season We had over a hundred percent increase in field trips coming to the museum We had 30% increase in general admissions and we are still working on a documentary about Fanny Allen Hopefully we'll be out next year and we've started a huge archaeological collection conservation project as well That's awesome. What can what can you tell me about Ethan Allen because I've heard a lot of like myths and stuff And it's kind of he seems like a really interesting figure. Yeah, the man the myth the legend He's kind of like Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed in that he's not just a historical figure anymore He's become the image the identity of Vermont But as a man, he was born in Connecticut and he came up to Vermont with many other New Englanders Who were looking to have better opportunities and to own more land? He had a land speculation company and some of the land that they purchased was up here in the Burlington area along the Manuski River And so he moved here after the Revolutionary War in 1787 and he only lived here for about a year and a half before he died in 1789 in his Burlington house Which is where our museum is but prior to that he became very famous as a Revolutionary War general And I also understand that you did some work in the accessibility sector within the Ethan Allen Homestead Yes, we were very fortunate to partner with CCTV town meeting TV to attend workshops on accessibility which we've been able to use to Adjust some of our physical spaces in the museum But also some of the accessibility that hadn't really thought about before these workshops was with our social media and being able to Just add in image descriptions and things like with hashtags having the uppercase letters for each word within the hashtag which allows people who are listening to it who Have visual impairments in this or they're listening to a read aloud of the text to be able to have their device read it aloud for them And why do you think that making things more accessible is important? Well, I mean that's the foundation of our democracy right and that's what Ethan Allen was fighting for the Green Mountain boys were fighting for And I used to be a civics teacher as well So it's very important to me that we have an educated populace to be able to Have a good democracy have a good government and so you need to make things accessible for them to become educated So that we can keep our country free. What were some of the highlights of this year? Well, one of our highlights is always our monthly lecture series, which we partner with CC TV on and you all record the programs for us put it out on town meeting TV and Genuinely allow us to put it up on our YouTube page Which makes it more accessible to people to view more beyond the people who can come in person to the programs as well Do you have any plans for the future for next year? We already have our entire lineup for a monthly lecture series planned out for 2024 Which will be advertised on our website soon as well as our lineup for our quarterly book club And all of our reenactment programs are scheduled with our reenactment groups. So it's gonna be a great year That's great. Well, thank you so much for speaking with me Thank you. Yes Have a nice night and Next up we have Steve Herron Accor mentality has maintained I Want to thank my mom my dad all of my teachers my niece and nephew Emily and Bryson I want to thank Jordan everyone at town meeting TV and CC TV. Thank you to Navarro. I'm gonna go back behind the camera now Thank you Next up we have me talking who's next who knows It is miles jewel Come on up here Get on up. Oh Yeah, that's a that's a problem Come up here. Hi. Great. Good to see you. What do I have here the behind-the-scenes award? BTS as we call it in the industry BTS stands for behind-the-scenes What do you think about behind-the-scenes? I think that it's interesting There is like this great Theater writer long ago who used to like make it so that the stage hands would come up while the actors were still talking Which is considered like the first example of a literal fourth wall break But I can never remember the actual playwrights name and it always makes me mad So that's my thoughts on behind-the-scenes. I'm wondering one of the famous playwrights Samuel Beckett was it Beckett did Beckett right waiting for Godot? Who wrote waiting for Godot? I think it was Samuel Beckett, but we should know this We really should like I was in my AP Lane class last year And this guy was obsessed with waiting for Godot like we never even read it But he always just would mention it every time I would say some dumb thing about behind-the-scenes Does Bobby or Steve know do you all know who wrote waiting for Godot was it Beckett? Is it right? Do you know waiting for Godot was it Beckett? No, we want to know and since I've won the behind-the-scenes award We feel like it's really fitting to address people that are behind the scenes So it's very meta in this in this in this interview I mean the weird thing is that nowadays with the internet like Gen Z is getting more obsessed With with like meta irony and and just kind of metatextual jokes, so it'll be just like this super overly compressed image with like a black square over it and like It will make like any kid burst out laughing because it's like oh I actually Recognize even just the concept of something being super compressed because of like over like screen-shotting Um So that's where that comes from. Yeah. Yeah, and and so I I'm what are your thoughts on that? Why do you think Gen Z is so obsessed with like deconstructing everything and then all the meta quality? This is actually I think this is a really deep conversation because I'm wondering if partly it's because because they're digitally native They're interested in deconstructing the thing that is like Kind of that that everyone tells them that they're a part of and then I'm also hearing a lot of people be like We're kind of sick of talking about how Gen Z is like so You know digitally savvy that I think they want to break it Yeah, they want to like actually break the thing that everyone from older generations tries to align them with So it's a little bit of like a rebellion there is this element of like a He's feeling like you the deconstructing the ethos of the internet as reality because there's this weird simultaneous Narrative within the internet that like oh, it's all these just like Selfies and stuff and things that are very like intimate and personal and thus they have this aesthetic of realness And then Gen Z is like no not at all everything's photoshopped and and this is just a kind of Invisible color to to everything. It's almost like the more that they can deconstruct it and make it Worst quality the more authentic it feels. I think the too glossy the too slick it is The more that it's like very easy to be like that's not reality right whereas like I think for my generation is like It was all about When you work with media that you want it to actually represent reality as much as you can Whereas it feels like now there's a pushback and it's like no no no degrade the image more Make worse quality stuff like lean in don't make it glossy. Don't try and cover up jump cuts. Don't Don't you know try and like make it so realistic that It dupes people into see into thinking it's real No, that's totally true. Well, thank you so much for well Okay, I feel like we should like actually bring up the fact that you are part of CCTV That you've been working like this can't just be a Gen Z or talks with what generation were you from? Well, so this is actually interesting I was born in 82 and so for a long time a lot of people said that we're zelenials so we're between Gen X and Millennials and There was like a pocket between they say it's like 78 and 84 maybe where you know We were born without the internet, but we learned the tools of communication. We still had landlines when we were young But then I've heard other Millennials that has started to get pushed up into like the 90s So I think that that's kind of where I'm at and to end to your point. We've worked together Which is I've I've put a camera on you. I'm a huge fan of your work and So part of the behind-the-scenes award why this is meta and so appropriate is you're interviewing me but I've interviewed you before and we've gone out on election day and Yeah, and I continue to see your work and really admire it. So I hope you keep at it Thank you so much, and I hope you keep at it with your documentary. Well I'm not going anywhere Thank you so much job. Well done Hit it Thanks tomorrow Okay, I'm back. My name is Bobby and our next award is coming to one of the most Incredibly dedicated field producers here at town meeting TV This is Charlie Gianoni and Charlie we're presenting you with the everywhere at once award because it seems like you are just Everywhere in the community sometimes whenever something is happening in the community. You're there with a camera So thank you so much for all that you do to capture all of our community's history and everything that happens in and around Thank you so much. Well, that's very that's very nice of you to say that But I don't know if I can quite forgive you a hundred percent because you're showing my really bad side right now I was in a bicycle accident. Okay. I was in a bicycle accident. I had like a whole side of my face was wiped out But okay Well now we fixed that so can you tell us a little bit about When you got started with with town meeting TV and CCTV, how long have you been around? Well, believe it or not. I got started back in it was either 1988 or 1991 when the UVM students Basically took over the administration building the Waterman building at UVM. And so I actually Without knowing anybody I actually came here and I signed out equipment and somebody could have been Megan frankly Showed me basically how to use it. So I actually have some footage that should still be around here somewhere About all those students and their relationship with the administration in the building So that was a lot of fun back in the old days The UVM activism and so that's where I met people like Megan who still works here Megan O'Rourke to this very day So we're kind of old-timers Yeah, and can you talk a little bit about as we're at the end of the year? are there any programs that you covered this year that stand out in your mind is as a Something that you'll a memory that you'll carry forward or a program that you think stands out. Well, some of them are the these emotional Palestinian demonstrations and rallies that have been happening in Burlington recently especially the ones with around the three students these three young men that got shot on Prospect Street. So some of those are very emotional events and so I Really don't know so I Film the event and then what I try to do is I try to get individual comments from people in the public that are at the rally But a lot of them. They're just shy and they just don't want to make a comment on film and Which is unfortunate because when you talk to them in person They have so much to say and they're so passionate about it And so I have met a lot of people from both the Jewish and the Palestinian communities that are here in Burlington And it's been very rewarding for me and very I've learned a lot from them in the last month or two I've also noticed that it seems like younger people are a little bit more reluctant to Interview on camera or express their opinions on camera even to a group like town meeting TV Which is not a corporate entity or anything Why do you think it is that young people are reluctant to be interviewed on camera for town meeting TV? Was that also true when you were younger? Well, I think it's just people just don't want to embarrass themselves by saying something on film but what I always tell people is that take this opportunity to get some experience in being able to speak on camera and Be based because if you can develop that skill You're a total asset to whatever community you live in because people who can speak well on camera Can be relied upon in a in a in a tight situation or traumatic situation or just any situation to actually say something and Represent people and the more practice you get at it the better so I would say okay So you don't want to do it today, but I'm just telling you Probably a good idea for you get some practice because if you ever do get good at it You're a total asset to ever whoever you're hanging out with so that's so true well Charlie right now I got to go because there's a neighborhood planning assembly meeting happening very soon, and I got to get over there Thank you so much Charlie we appreciate Bobby Okay, thank you Charlie Giannone for the everywhere all at once award and our next award recipient is a former CCTV staffer Kim Villamere Kim, thank you so much for coming to our party tonight And we are going to present you tonight with fee we miss you so much award And I'm sorry, there's a little bit of chocolate on the That's okay So Yeah, thank you so much for for for coming so you worked at town meeting TV as what was your what was your position here? Yeah, I was master control and tech supervisor for quite a few years master control for many more years Before that what does that role look like what were you up to here? Yeah, a lot of quality control for the videos themselves and all the metadata that is associated with them on our website and keeping that all up and to date and really searchable to the public keeping an eye out for that and Scheduling the actual channels we have more than one so there was a lot to do there And sharing our content with around the state there was the Vermont media exchange Which is a well sure most of the viewers know it but the Vermont public access stations share their content amongst Themselves so it was a way for us to really share more of Vermont with our neighbors And what have you been up to in the year since you left town meeting TV? What have you been doing? Yeah, so I started my own freelance editing business and I'm now a copy editor and line editor and My business is named vital ink and I have my little business cards, so I can hold it up for the camera So can you tell me the difference between copy editing and line editing? Sure. Yeah, it's really confusing for people when they hear the word editing They kind of think of the editor who does it all and is really involved with the piece But the profession has come a long way and it's been broken up into a lot of different pieces Because of what different needs are publishing houses have a need for like specific parts of it And then there's a lot more self-publishing going on now. That's really a growing market And there's more need for all-around editing in the like freelance area So copy editing really focuses on the fine grammar the fine tuning the little details making sure your punctuation is used correctly Making sure the style is consistent and the degrees with a style guide if that's being used And line editing gets a little bit farther up that process It comes before copy editing and that gets into more of how the pros flows together And the word choice it's really more of the word smithing so it gets a little more artistic But also matches very well with copy editing. It's very close and it can easily be done together Sometimes people call that a heavy copy edit Do you have at the top of your head a tip for a common grammatical error that you see often in your in your line of work that Either grinds your gears or that you come across a lot Well, it's not really a common error But people have very strong opinions of the serial comma. So I don't know if you've heard of it It's also called the Oxford comma. Yeah, it's that last comma in a serial list that comes before the actual last item and before they'll and and Some style guides use that religiously like Chicago manual style, which is usually used in you know book production for a general audience and Some style guides Specifically like AP for news organizations almost religiously don't want it It they it does save character space to leave it out So there's a lot of good arguments on either side to make a choice for or against But I'm you know, some people get really like almost religious about it You have a strong opinion about for against like what are you when you're just like sending off an email to a client Are you Oxford comma or no? I like to have it in there I do to really mostly work with the Chicago manual style, but I'm always for what serves the piece best So if a sentence is going to work better having it out or if a certain piece needs that, you know Character count consideration and it would be better to have it out and it's just a matter of clarity You know put it in if you need it so that you're not people aren't going to misunderstand That totally makes sense. You're quelling. I feel like there are difficult conversations happening Here about politics or difficult conversations happening in your world about grammar and we're and we're Diffusing those tensions everywhere we go. So thank you so much for coming to town meeting TV for for the word for The party and thank you for and congrats on your word Thank you, Bobby. It was so glad to be back and I'm glad to be missed. So it was a lot of fun to be here Thanks, Kim. I really appreciate it Okay Thank you for staying tuned to town meeting TV's 2023 winter celebration. So we are Moving right along with our presentation of awards tonight I'm gonna pass the mic back to my wonderful co-host Navarro. Am I yes? I am here you go Thank you Alrighty next up. I'm speaking to the incredible Aaron Malone Hi Yes, I'm Navarro dodge. I'm one of the interns here What can you tell me about your experience at CCTV this year this year? Wow? Just well most recently I was watching all the stuff for these new mayors who are gonna be running So that's been excellent to see that live on YouTube And then also I watched one that was like produced previously and so I felt like a lot of good info and Great recording great quality of sound What do you what are your thoughts on this crazy mayoral race? I? Mean I think you know big problems need a lot of imagination and a lot of care and a lot of Inclusivity inclusivity. How do you say that word? Yeah, inclusivity inclusivity a lot of people from the community Do you think there is like an imagination going on or is there too much like status quo? Um, I don't think it's status quo as much as operating within current constraints So I think there is people want a bit of change, but I think it's just a little narrow Yeah, and I hear you're an underwriter for CCTV. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I am How was that? How's that been going? That's awesome I think that it's such an important community organization not only to like for government access But you know to support all the makers in our community to tell their stories. It's pretty cool Are you the owner of momo's market? I am. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How is how is momo's been doing? Momos is coming along it's doing alright people see keep coming in and we keep selling stuff and we're pretty lucky to keep operating in This environment, so that's awesome any plans for next year um Well, we actually yeah for momos. We just became a member of a national buying cooperative So you'll see some changes if you're a customer We'll have more products more consistently at better prices. So it's gonna be quite a change. That's awesome And I'm an Essex resident So I actually don't know that much of them about momo's market So can you give me a rundown what it is? Yeah, momo's market is an energetic little corner store located in the Old North End and we have Grocery basics beer wine chips candy just kind of pop in say hi to your friends. Listen some good music That's awesome already. Well, thank you so much Have a nice night Wow What a crew am I right? I mean But who cares about democracy like why can't we just get M&M's to litigate how our political systems work Crazy as a libertarian myself I think that we need to defund these useless Media conglomerates like CCTV and these amazing talented people are clearly the problem in our society Thank you so much. I'm Navarro just I know dodge signing out and cut