 Hello and welcome to the CCTV 39th Anniversary Party. My name is Bobby Lucia. I'm the Development Director here at CCTV. We're here tonight to celebrate 39 years of community media and public access in Burlington and surrounding area. And we've got a lot to celebrate. We're gonna find a few folks and present some awards tonight. We have a small ceremony to celebrate Lauren Glendividian and her leadership over the 39 years and a whole lot more. So stay tuned with us here as we celebrate CCTV. Local media matters. Yep, this guy? Yep. Nice, there you go. All right, excuse me, folks, if I could just have your attention for just a quick minute here. Sorry, just a quick second just to steal your attention here. Thank you all so much for coming tonight to celebrate 39 years of CCTV. We really appreciate you all being here. My name's Bobby Lucia. I'm the Development Director at CCTV. Before you leave tonight, I hope you get a chance to peek at some of the archival footage that's playing on screens throughout the room. One of the things we're celebrating this year is that we've digitized over half of the physical archives that we have at CCTV, over 40,000 programs. And we're on our way to completing that digitization process. And we couldn't have done any of that without all of your help. So thank you all so much for supporting that project. I'm going to, yeah, I'm next going to hand it off to CCTV co-director Megan O'Rourke. Where's Megan? Megan, oh wait, I'm going to give you the microphone. Actually, could you come over here? Yeah. I was trying to be, I was trying to get you all to turn. Camera, meet me on camera three. Welcome everybody, thank you all for being here. These parties are always exciting to see the mix of faces and the people who are coming. My instruction to you really is just if you haven't met your CCTV staff, if you could just raise your hand. If you're part of the CCTV team, oh wait, how can there be that many hands raised? It's amazing. If you haven't met these folks, please introduce yourself and tell them how you know CCTV and then ask them how they came to CCTV because it's really interesting pathways and journeys. So that's my homework assignment to you, which I think everybody is kind of doing already. And this is the first in a series of honorings of Lauren Glenn's leadership over the last 39 plus years. It's, we're 39 years, but it goes back beyond first of many. First of many, but so I'm going to introduce Elaine and Elaine's going to say a couple things. Elaine is a CCTV board chair and is helping lead us through this transition as we have new staff and leadership, new leadership. And so welcome Elaine Heaney. Thanks everybody for being here tonight. And as Megan said, I am the board chair of CCTV Productions. And prior to that, I had been a trustee on the Channel 17 board serving as a representative of my community along with Megan and many other elected officials and other officials who are on the town meeting television side. So I had to go get all formal and write something up because I wanted to make sure I said the right things because I want to talk about someone who's extremely important to all of us in the room and to everybody in Vermont basically. So CCTV has always been at the forefront of free speech and local democracy in Vermont. And as we enter our 40th year, we can't help but look back on all that we've accomplished and also be excited about what's to come in the future. And Lauren Glendvidian has been at the helm for much of those 40 years. And in large part, her vision and foresight, her persistence and deep commitment to our mission and her passionate pursuit of the growth of public access in Vermont, that's what's brought us to where we are today. And it's true, her leadership has created scores of free speech champions and there's just like a tiny little percentage of them in the room right now. And they're people who have worked with us, who have produced programming with us and who have been involved in our organization in so many different ways over the years and LG has touched every one of them. And Lauren Glend has made an indelible imprint on CCTV and on public access in Vermont. And I have referred to Lauren Glend in conversations with many people over the years as the godmother of Vermont public access. And I think that's really true. She has guided us through so much change and growth. And she continues to do so as we work to innovate and to transform into a newly improved public access station for the future. And in this time when we're experiencing ever-growing challenges to free speech, CCTV and public access stations have never ever been more important. And Lauren Glend has helped build the strong foundation that CCTV will need to meet that challenge in the future. So Lauren Glend, as we move into the future and as you begin to move forward into your life and your new role at CCTV, today we are not saying farewell like they all said it's gonna take a year. Instead the next year is gonna be more like a celebration of gratitude. And we will forever be influenced by you and your commitment to our mission and your leadership. We know that with the strong foundation you've provided us, we're going to grow and innovate and become the next greatest iteration of CCTV that we know we can become. We are stronger, braver and eternally grateful for your leadership. So on behalf of the board, the staff, and every citizen whose voice you've lifted up, we thank you and we love you. Oh my goodness. Thank you everyone. It's wonderful to see you all here. I didn't realize it was gonna be a long goodbye, but it's okay. As you know, oh, it's Bill Sorrell. Oh, your timing is perfect. It is just a pleasure to have you all here to celebrate with us 39 years. Today is not our actual anniversary, but it is Flag Day. And Flag Day is the day that Sarah Berger, our business manager, walked into CCTV to basically turn our organization into a professional organization with a business manager. I remember when I was the Grand Rapids Community TV, my dear friend, Dirk Koenig, was walking me through at the center and his business manager came to him and gave him these checks to sign. And I thought, oh, I want that. I want somebody to give me checks to sign, so I don't have to do all the work, all the financial work, and then Sarah Berger walked in when we started the Old North End Community Technology Center and was with us until March when she passed suddenly. And of course, Nat passed last year. And so really the diehards who helped to build CCTV, including so many of you who have not passed, who are all here, thankfully, we've done this together. We have done this together. And so I have the blessing and the burden of being the figurehead of the organization. It has always really been a blessing. And it really is only because I rest on the shoulders of so many people that we've been able to do this work together because it's building community through media. So I want to thank you all so much, every single one of you who are here and those who are not and those who have passed and just honor you all to say thank you. Is there anything else? Okay, that was our brief, but special ceremony. So please stick around and talk to all the staff and all the folks who have been here through the years and there's still plenty of food and cake. So thank you all for coming and celebrating CCTV tonight. All right, here at the 39th anniversary party of CCTV, I'm joined by Barry Silver, long time CCTVer. Thank you so much for coming, Barry. Yeah, I'm so glad to be here. You know, I'm gonna share the secret with you. I have never been to the St. John's Club. Me neither, it's kind of a, it's a unique little spot. It really is. And I know that this is a place for CCTV and CCTV fans. So it's a little, you know, I felt safe sharing that secret with you. It's a fitting setting, it feels like. Well, Barry, we wanted to just present a quick little award to you to honor all of the work that you've done to support CCTV over the years. So here's a little pin. It says local media on it. Media! Thank you so much, Barry. Wear it with pride. Definitely, thank you so much. I heard that you had a little something to do with this pin, is that, is that true? Yeah, it was such a fun little activity just to make, you know, these little pins to celebrate 39 years at CCTV. So glad to share them with everyone. And is there anything on your mind as we're thinking about 39 years of community media? Any, like, memories that stand out or just values that, you know, things you really enjoyed about working at CCTV or participating in this community? Well, I think for me, I loved working with interns at CCTV. And I miss that part of my job and I'm so excited to see my intern here behind the camera. Emily is doing a great job. You're doing a great job. I'm excited to see the next generation of people that are taking CCTV into the next 39 years and, you know, all of the new challenges and opportunities that come up next. So I'll be watching from the sidelines. And I will be riveted, you know, we've got some important elections coming up too. So definitely will continue to be the place to go for information about what's happening in our community. Thank you so much, Barry. Really appreciate you being here. Thanks. We're joined here by Danny Agan, who is the latest addition to the Vermont Language Justice Project team. Danny, we'd love to present you this award for the 39th anniversary of CCTV to honor your joining our team. And yeah, thank you so much for all that you do for us. Thank you, mom. Can you tell me a little bit about what you're doing for the Language Justice Project? Yeah, so I'm the new staffer for the Vermont Language Justice Project. And I basically assist Allison with creating our videos and making sure the thumbnails look pretty and that they're all edited properly. How have you liked it so far? Oh, I love it. It's just playing with the toys I like to play with. Thank you so much, Danny. Thank you. I'm joined here by Tony Collier, who is the newest board member on the CCTV board. Is that true? I don't think I'm the newest. I think I'm senior now. I think, yeah, so I'm a veteran of at least six months. Well, very, very glad that you're here to join us, Tony, at the 39th anniversary party here. And we wanted to present a quick award to honor the work that you've done thus far and the work that you're going to be doing on the board. So we have... Can you stand up somewhere? Or is there a stage? This is the stage. You're on it right now. Got it, got it. Okay, cool. So we're presenting this little local media matters pin to you here. And we'd love to just thank you for your service to CCTV. And if you have any reflections about the work that you've done thus far and what you value about CCTV, feel free to share. Yeah, absolutely. So what I value is the mission, right? It's consistently trying to find the story, trying to give voice to aspects of the community that don't have a voice, right? So as a board member, getting to see the focus and the shift on how do we get out there and find the story and also give voice to folks that don't know that this is a great resource. And so for me, it's just a, I'm psyched because all I have to do is just sit there and congratulate you on the work that's already being done. Awesome. Thank you so much, Tony. We're grateful that you're a part of the board and part of this organization, so. Spectacular. I will wear this with pride. Thank you. Now I'm joined by David Zuckerman, Lieutenant Governor. David, thank you so much for coming to the 39th anniversary party for CCTV. Well, I didn't know about it and I heard about it from a little slip of paper from Charlie and I had to come. I mean, Lauren Glenn, of course, is just a giant in our community, from public access to community engagement to really make sure public is part of our everything. And all the work that you and everybody else behind the cameras has done. And of course I've been on a few different election night interviews over the years because of my political involvement and yeah, I couldn't not come. Oh, we really appreciate you being here and we wanted to present a little award to show our gratitude for your involvement in CCTV over the years and all that you do for the state of Vermont, so thank you so much. Oh, thank you. And looking at some of the footage of Bernie stuff and Richard Kemp and all these other folks that I've come to know over the years, of course, some aren't here anymore like Richard. It brings a lot of memories. It brings sadness. It brings joy and thank you for doing what you do. Thanks so much, David. Joined here by Dr. Jules Wetschie. We're presenting you, Dr. Wetschie, with an award to celebrate 39 years of CCTV and all of the work that you do to support the community and your involvement in CCTV. So thank you so much. Here's a pin. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure to receive it because I'm a producer and manager of African Verrari Show, which is helping to educate the immigrant community. It's focusing on health education, health promotion, culture. So we are trying to help the African community to enjoy the life in Burlington, in Winozki. Why not in Vermont in general? So I'm very, very happy to be here today and I wish many, many good things to the Channel 17 town mirroring because it's great. It helps us to have more news, more information. And my show helps to do like a bridge like with the community. Thank you so much, Dr. Wetschie. We really appreciate it. Yes, thank you. I joined city government when Bernie was elected mayor. And so my life, my political life and the life of CCTV, you know, there's a lot of overlap there. All right, Emily, are we ready to go? Okay, awesome, cool. So I'm here joined by former Mayor Peter Clavel and we're presenting you Peter with an award to celebrate 39 years of CCTV as well as your service to the city of Burlington and your involvement in CCTV. So thank you. Thank you very much, thank you very much. And CCTV has done so much to make government in Burlington more transparent, more accountable and to engage people in the decision-making process. And I know things are changing in the media and I don't understand all the changes. I still watch TV. I hope others do as well, but what a great resource. And, you know, from the day that I joined the government of Burlington, within two years, CCTV was part of my life going through 2006 when I left office. But even after I've left office, I continue to tune in to understand what's going on and what's happening. We keep sticking around, exactly. So thank you so much, Peter. We really appreciate it. Thank you, thank you. Joined here now by Aaron Malone, who is the former board chair of CCTV and longtime CCTV supporter. Aaron, thank you so much for joining us at the 39th anniversary party. Yay, I'm so happy to be here to see the staff and Lauren Glenn and everyone in the community who decided to come out and celebrate. It's a fun time. So we brought you here to present a little award to celebrate your involvement in CCTV and your leadership of the board over the years. So we've got this little pin guy here that we're gonna present you and just wanted to celebrate and express our gratitude for all that you've done for CCTV. So thank you so much. Oh my gosh, it's been wild. I mean, the world has changed. I think I got involved with the organization in early. Do I look at the camera or you? Okay, I got involved in early 2013 just thinking about the technology shifts and then you layer on top of that the kind of cultural shifts and you know, it's always been important obviously and I think like looking at the archives, we see that everything that comes up. It's just, it's precious and it's also like the story of our community and to see old footage today from like 2015 racial justice events or you know, the technology center in the old North end in 2001 like we're just, CCTV has always been a huge part of Burlington and kind of tracking and recording and bringing meaning to everything. And so the fact that it's been going since I first met everyone in 2013 to now, it's crazy. It's awesome and it's growing, which is so cool. And you know, even like the feel today is just one of like lightness and many people in celebration. So I'm psyched to be here and I'm psyched to be continue to be part of it. Awesome. Thank you so much Aaron, really appreciate it. All right, we're joined now by Miles Jewel who is a documentarian and professor at UVM and a beloved member of the CCTV community. Miles, thank you so much for helping us celebrate 39 years tonight. Absolutely, glad to be here Bobby and thanks Emily for going around and operating the camera. I know it's a big lift but appreciate you. And Miles, we wanted to just celebrate and acknowledge all of the work that you've been doing in the past couple of years especially to document the CCTV story and we know that it takes a lot of work and blood, sweat, and tears to put that story together and there's also just a lot of important stories to be told within the CCTV sort of universe. So we wanted to present you with this little award here, this little pin to thank you for all of your work that you've done and that you continue to do. So thank you so much, Miles. Thank you Bobby and thanks to the whole CCTV family. I am honored and thrilled to have this pin and I hope I wear it well if I can get it on. But yeah, completely inspired. So thank you all for all you do. Thanks, Miles. Okay, ciao.