 Good evening and welcome. It's live at Channel 17. It's our annual holiday party, and we're so glad that you can join us We're having a wonderful time. I was signaling to Albert and then to you So first I wanted Albert to come and join us. We're having a really fun time, and it's so glad that you came I wouldn't have missed it. Tell us some about your involvement here at Channel 17 and how we serve you well On two particular issues, I've been invited to appear Live at 525. Yeah the title and it dates back to When we were trying to get a legalized cannabis Yeah, that was that that was four years ago Wow, and Rob Yeah, Rob was Rob was very helpful And the second issue is the one that we're currently fighting over which is Trying to get the mural down off of the wall Over on Lehi way, and why are you trying to do that? Well, we think well we more than think The mayor's mural task force itself has concluded that it is Not inclusive. That's a polite way of saying that it's a racist mural. So if it's it's private space Um, where is it public space? Well, there's some dispute about that Ron Redman the director of The church Street Marketplace Said that that particular alleyway he thinks belongs to the city So that's a jurisdiction question, you know it touches on the bigger question of the commodification of the main street area It's kind of an interesting You know it goes way back in Burlington doesn't it and I'm so glad that you've been able to be here with us at channel 17 And be able to utilize these resources. We just appreciate your activism and your contribution. I watch it all the time You lent some space last night. I was here for a film that was sponsored by the What's it called? Democratic socialists. Yeah, they are yeah, so that was absolutely wonderful great And you guys are such a valuable Important part of this community. I couldn't lavish enough praise on you, but let me just say we all Feel dear about you and I am aware of what's happening in terms of there I'm trying to cut back funding on a national level and I hope that people step one. I hope the people out there who enjoy channel 17 Will make their voices heard to stop that attempt to defund Community television and I would also hope that our own city council. I Monday night. I may heard you there making your plea I hope that they can Help fill in at least part of the financial hole That you guys are facing. Thank you Albert once again, you guys are great. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot We're here for Channel 17 CCTV solstice party and who better to share it with my old friend brand pine How are you great? Giving you time to finish? How are you chewing? Because the food is so good great food great people and a great cause free speech free speech 35 years and hopefully for infinity Let's hope so but free speech is under siege it is And it should be free, but there's a price for free speech for the best Because you came to city council the other night and made it clear that we have to contribute as communities to keeping this incredible vehicle for the people's voice unfettered access to the airwaves and the Digital, you know trying to trying to give people an access to Get their message out so and the walls are closing in they are by the FCC and cable companies, but not bt Of course, right, but um, you know, we've been fighting this fight Since the beginning since the 1984 act. There is Delphia cox cable cox cable way back machine I remember so we're just it was been a great time to be able to work with you during that period And we have you in our stacks from when you worked the burlington youth employment program I know it does go back a ways and I looked at the housing show on there So like we've been we've been at this for a while and you know what I think I've had more people Say to me that I saw you or heard what you guys were talking about because I tuned into channel 17 and so Folks wonder if it's it gets much viewership, but it really is clearly reaching people. Yeah, I agree And thank you so much. Happy having me same to you. All right So, um, we are celebrating the holidays here at channel 17 town meeting television And this is our regional government access tv and one of our Stars is marge burr told and marge you call me up every morning and tell me how helpful channel 17 is to you Let's get into the light and help the viewers see us Tell us why tell me why you call me every day to tell me that Well, because having my message heard by the tv shows that megan helps me with you know, it helps have my message heard For like what's not working in I don't go to the vermont mental health system anymore But vermont organizations that work with it. What's not working? It helps to get that message out and to have your story told can be very healing Well marge Your story is really important because you're able to bring policy makers to the table Which means you're starting to have some systems impact Yep, we had some of them for our guests Megan was very good at helping me to find guests To ask different questions to and your shows are really informational and we appreciate we've worked together a long time, haven't we? Yeah, we have I think 36 years one time. Yep. Maybe 37 may possibly. Yeah, probably around in that realm I don't want to get too far up there because that would mean we're both pretty old Well, that's right. We don't want to make us any older than we are Exactly. Well, thank you so much marge. Yep. Thank you. Happy holidays Julia Welcome. How are you? Good. We're with julia valera. Julia is a board member here at cctv center for media and democracy And also let's get in the light. She's a digital activist With a very interesting and very background and we met around your work about digital inclusion. That's true. Yeah I'm newish to to the area And it's been really nice getting to know people that are involved in digital activism and free speech And i'm so honored to be on the board actually it's been Really energizing to have our new board members on cctv And we're really working to increase our reach and our impact and spread the message That we really appreciate the support people give us and we also are asking for more support. That's true. Yeah, we We're working really hard on the board to figure out Exciting new ways to engage the community actually so the programs that run here are one wonderful option that we're going to explore Building on they're already really successful. So Yeah, the engagement the support that we can get from new community Members and initiatives is what we're really striving to do going into 2019 So one of the things I admire so much about you is that you ride your bicycle everywhere So what is it like to be a? All-in bicyclist in burlington in the area. Well, it's um, it's dedication because winters are harsh Here I was in new york city beforehand and I thought that was bad But you know studded tires lots of layers. I call this two pants season So you just always have two pants on all the time that helps a lot And then you know all that tech gear that you can find at At outdoor gear exchange in the basement in the basement That's the place to go and then you can ride your bike all year round Studded tires did I mention that you need those and are people pretty good about I mean our drivers. How do you find them? They are pretty good I mean it's dark here and there's not a lot of people on the streets like in the city So you have to be I find a little more cautious and I'll jump on the sidewalk at night if it's if I hit a dark patch But otherwise. Yeah, they're pretty forgiving and like give you space That's good to know because we're really obviously in burlington at least moving towards a pedestrian I mean a bicycle friendly infrastructure. Yeah the the protected bike lane is great I love I between like where my office is and home. I have protected bike lanes almost the whole way That's great. So that's helpful. Yeah, yeah Well, thanks so much for all your help and ingenuity and it's been great to work on the marketing and And we'll see you soon. Okay. Okay. Bye I just want to let you know that um behind the camera tonight is michael blood michael is our archivist And he spends a great deal of time looking at the history Of cctv that goes back 35 years and turning our vhs tapes about eight hours a day Into digital formats so that we can put them online and people can watch them again So michael, thank you so much your person of many trades So you don't only do that, but he's behind camera and here is dan logan Dan dan is our channel coordinator and he is part of this remarkable Markable team Remarkable team that works here at channel 17 and this year. We have a special award for dan It's called the participation award You got it. You got it. Let's go find it. No, it's right over here. Here we go the 2018 participation award I can tell you for a fact I have participated. Yes, you have And so much actually all of the programming that you see here on channel 17 is because dan has essentially Booked it and made it happen along with the rest of the staff. So it's actually pretty impressive how much content You're generating on a daily basis. It would have been more impressive if I didn't win the participation trophy Since I am a part of most things you are but thank you I'm really really happy to be working with you and you've been here for I don't know eight months eight months four days In seven and a half hours. I don't know. It's eight months ish And what's your overall feeling about the mission of what we do if I could put you on this spot? You may put me on the spot I think it's very important. Um, and I think that was evident in traveling around to all the city councils and select boards and trusty meetings with you Um and talking about the future here in the future of our funding and it was really obvious how deeply people believe in what we do Um Paying for it is a different subject all together But like people are really invested in in our mission in our in our goals and our ideals. It was it was nice to see that support Yeah, it really was. Yeah, it's very moving and it's great to have all these folks here And the lovely sky Congratulations. You're getting married soon. And it's very exciting to have like new, you know Fiances in the in the building. It's very energizing. So there's free food. So we weren't gonna miss that. Okay Thank you. And thanks for everything. Congratulations on your award. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, I'm gonna go over and participate Okay, good. All right. Thank you so much So, um, you know, a lot of people have been asking me lately. What about the funding? They've been hearing about the FCC threats to public access Funding and that's funding for public educational and government access channels And uh, the FCC wants basically write a rule that uh, reinterprets the 1984 cable acts Which is what enables us to receive funding from cable subscribers our channels are funded directly by cable subscribers and um Cable companies essentially would like to reduce the amount of money that gets Build on the bill that the cable subscribers pay And that would be a problem for channels like channel 17 or retn and vcam because we depend on the generosity of cable subscribers to bring you The 1300 hours of original program that we produce every year So we hope that you'll consider supporting us not just as a cable subscriber But as an internet user and as a donor to us at cctv and channel 17 So that's the pitch and we have some other folks that we're going to be interviewing And i'm just really hoping I could get shea totten over here Maybe you could maybe shea. Can I interrupt you? Would you mind coming over for a second? Shea totten is also on our board. Welcome. Nice to see you. Good to see you. Happy holidays. Happy holidays Let's stand in the light I was just up in the northeast kingdom and I just it there's something amazing about that place It's so expansive It is where were you? I was in uh saint j and then I drove up 91 where I saw one car to newport Oh, excellent. Yeah, well, I mean I grew up not too far I mean I grew up in worgen and holland and went to north country, uh union high school in newport So and I have dear friends who still live up there. So yeah, but you must feel when you go up there It must really move you it does I mean, you know because you know once you get over a certain crest of you know Once you get really up into the heart of the kingdom It's like, you know everything sort of expands and opens up really toward canada I mean it's you know, there's why there's a reason why howard frank mozier You know wrote the book where the rivers flow north because you know You know you're above you're up near the 45th parallel Which is the midpoint between the equator and the north pole and so everything starts to tilt northward So everything flows that way and including your eyes. You know, I mean everything does kind of move that way It opens up in a way that you don't get that sort of same dynamic southern from on has a little bit of that Expanses some of the valleys but not like the kingdom. Yeah, it was just beautiful and I went up because I was visiting um With jane kitchell is that a senator appropriations because she's up there in danville and I met with the access guide Jamie dimick and we talked to her about maybe a legislative appropriation to help offset some of the decline in revenue That's coming up. That'd be great. You know in public access up, especially up in you know Areas of the kingdom and it's extremely important because a lot of folks can't get to some of the you know Like newport city council and you know derby select board I mean they can't get to these meetings so like having stuff recorded I mean some citizens have taken up to just like live streaming it on facebook Because there's no other way to kind of get access to it It's like so it's it's extremely important because big things happen even up there, you know, we're supposed to be quiet You know that a lot of important decisions get made so you know, we need those kind of resources You know to to get access to like more like we do here Exactly channel 17. Well, we we are pretty media dense by comparison I mean they have the barton chronicle up there and they have the hardwick is that I mean they do have some outlets They do they do and that's where everything sort of takes place But like but not from sort of you know this kind of you know citizen led media That's really sort of holding you know not only holding accountable But actually having spaces where these kind of discussions can be made sort of in real time Yeah, it's you know, it's a more passive approach up there And that's you know, that's it's always been You know my hope that at some point, you know, we can Have more of that up there because I think it's you know, it's extremely that's that's a lot of people get their news that way And it's not that they're not disinterested It's that sometimes they just don't know things have happened until after the decisions have been made Exactly and that's when they read about it in the paper and like hey wait a minute. How come I didn't know about this? You know, that's where I channel 17 like you know, if you're really into process And you want to know every little thing that's being made and who's saying what when you know live coverage of of the meetings or even tape recordings I mean you can see that before the actual decisions are being made. It's It's important. It's an important. It's a valuable tool We've been hearing a lot about that and we just went to a meeting of access people all around the state And we talked a lot about networking and sharing programming around the state with each other That'd be great. Yeah, I'd love to see some kingdom programs. I know Yeah, there's some good stuff, you know, because there's there's plenty of there's plenty of uh, you know, uh Folks who live in the chitney county area, you know, we we moved here from you know from the kingdom And you know, it's we all get back. We see each other once in a while, you know So you could have a little hometown tv we could do a little kingdom section Little package. There we go. That's a great idea. There we go. Okay good All right. Shay Totten. Thank you so much for all your service. Yeah, happy to be on the board. Yeah, thank you. Take care All right, Kathleen Swanson. We have margaret herrington with us margaret is just one of our gems margaret You are a gem So great to see you lauren. Thank you for your programs And just you have been producing for quite a while now on channel 17, haven't you? Yes for over 10 years now And I really appreciate the The ability to do this to reach out to the community on issues like nuclear issues and All of the other Subjects that I do on my focus show and coming up in the new year We're going to do a little mini series on human trafficking Here in vermont with some professionals who are working on that issue And I just appreciate being able to to take the camera and get out there for the nurses strike I followed the nurses strike with the camera and and recorded that event that monumental event I think here in 2018 in burlington and Mercifully the nurses did win something on that and then the other document the documentary I did was the The border issue, which was Families should Families belong together and I did that with mega nor work Here working at the studio. I appreciate so much being able to do this So thank you very much lauren. It's just a pleasure to work with you We're so glad and you know, we're here. We're creating these resources So that our community will use them and tell stories that aren't often heard Yes, and that's how that's how I feel about reaching out to people who are on my shows That they have a lot of stories to tell and they're they're usually issues that go on and on and are not Resolved overnight by any means Well, thank you so much Thank you so much lauren. Thank you margaret. Thank you. Bye Richard Welcome How are you? I'm good. Good. I haven't seen you in ages. I'm so glad to have you here channel 17 Well, I'm glad I'm glad to be here. How old is channel 17 started in 1990 and cctv started in 1984 And so what my 35 years I know it makes it but I'm really still 25 Don't mistake it. Are you free to talk about what your daughter's going to be doing? My daughter stella rose who's 19 is having her gap year And she is traveling around the world. She's in the middle of it. Oh, okay. She may even be here at this party All right. Yeah, I think she might be yes. She's right there next to mark So I'll bring you over to meter. Yeah Someone someone told me about it and I said, oh nine countries at least Yeah, I know she's like a little mini kardashian, but I probably shouldn't say that on television. Oh, you are Richard thank you for all your service To cctv and free speech you were on our board for so long and made tv for so long But it's not over. No, it's not so i'm not eulogizing you yet Oh, richard camp richard did near and far for years and years and has been a progressive activist a city counselor In burlington and a good friend of ours So I just want to let you know a little bit about the awards that we have that we're we have Because there's some great ones here because wonderful people help make channel 17 10 meeting television a resource for the whole community and that includes sero flash who is viewer of the year sero watches channel 17 and calls us up when he sees things that need attention And we are so grateful for that viewer of the year was Previously held by dutch yafi some of you might remember and this award has only been given out twice Since 1990 so sero is viewer of the year diane meyerhoff Is a host of the year diane has managed our election coverage our live election results programs for town meetings and general elections for the past few years and she Appears on camera. She's always well prepared. She loves local politics and we're so grateful to be able to work with her Eric wells who works for the town of williston We gets the going the distance award because he's turned his love of media and his commitment to government into Regular programming from the town of williston Ed baker ed baker is a new producer here at channel 17 and he is all in He is an incredible resource his programs on prevention and recovery and the opioid crisis are Great series great content and catherine antley dr. Catherine antley Is also producing content in that area the issue of the opioid epidemic and innovative solutions and ways to Really turn the curve on the problem and she has the determined producer award She called us up and said i want i have four shows i want to do next week and we um, we slowed that down a little bit But she um is producing quite a bit and in a very determined way Kyle silman smith for the peace and justice center gets the gumption award And living well as the brand new welcome award their new program that we're very excited about And kaileen murphy who is the educator of the year she brings her classes from ccv here to channel 17 And we work with them over the course of their semester. It's a great opportunity for all of us and then We have the bhs register staff for their work on election day the quick study award Gave them cameras and they shot exit voices and edited them ready to get on the air within A few hours and with very little training. So They're smart their resource fault their bhs register And then finally salamansightland. He is our technical director and um He gets the creative mind award because he certainly does Solve problems in innovative ways Kathleen swanson. Why don't we just wrap up here? We got another minute Kathleen swanson our development director. How are you and thank you? I'm excellent and so happy to be here with the our tribe of free speech people here at channel 17 It's always so Uplifting to be here and here talk to people who care about the community and care about public access And care about how people get information to make informed decisions. So it makes a happy holiday for me Well, thanks so much and thanks for watching Aiden white has been our director michael blood behind the camera and here Come on up to channel 17. It's the Thirteenth of december and we're having a party for the holiday and the solstice. Thanks so much for watching