 Hey everyone, thank you so much. We're just gonna do our annual meeting part of this open house Which is the super exciting? logistics Financial presentation, so we have a couple exciting things to mention and all be brief and we will Enjoy our food and desserts so This is Orca media for folks that haven't been here before it's the Community Media Center in Montpelier Vermont That's okay, I mean yeah, that's all right So yeah, I'm my name is Christopher Viersma. I'm one of the co-directors here at Orca media and Along with Zach Zorn and gin and outside So this is our 2021 annual meeting and open house for the Central Vermont community so Orca media moved up to Vermont College of Fine Arts in January 2020 So we haven't had a chance to have an open house like this and we haven't had a chance to welcome the public and Which is also why we're doing the 2021 annual meeting now So we're just gonna mention a couple highlights from 2021 kind of looking back We've got their financials up on the screen, so we don't have to go through the numbers and then we have Announcement exciting announcement to make and Yeah, and then we'll also mention maybe some exciting things happening this year and leading into next so some highlights from 2021 Orca media was the go-to resource for live streaming the governor's COVID updates and press conferences So you may have heard those on vpr vpr was taking our audio stream and so it was a super You know essential service that we were providing and that was an exciting time so Also in tandem with that we you know had to figure out and really Develop hybrid meetings and that was the beginning, you know 2020 into 2021 beginning of municipal and school board meetings going hybrid We were joking that the that was when you started hearing I think you're muted, right so That's you know what has continued to this day and what is now standard and a much more I'd say complicated production set up and a lot more involved as far as staffing and capacity goes But it also has increased accessibility. So that's a huge thing, you know that we are Just kind of coming out of the Montpelier city council did their strategic plan reflecting on how they've had more Engagement through viewership than you know folks actually Physically participating in the meeting. So that's a great thing The Next highlight is that orca media has been part of the Vermont access network, which is the van the advocacy Organization that advocates for all community media centers in the state all 24 of them and we've been since 2021 part of an Advocacy work at the statewide level to allocate statewide allocate state funding to the community media centers and we've had success We were Gifted, you know through the the state $12,000 and then another $24,000. So that's into 2022 And that work continues. So we've continued to work with van to ask the state to allocate money Every year to the 24th community media centers The another exciting thing is that orca media has recommitted to Community engagement in 2021. We really looked at our community partnerships building new relationships with nonprofits in the area with schools and which has led to development of new youth media programs including the Vermont youth documentary lab in the summer of 2021 that was the beginning of that's and our we also began a Relationship with Montpelier high school doing the community-based learning mentorships we also began consulting with schools doing media arts education consulting and This the Vermont youth documentary lab summer 2021 project that was created by the youth Won the Amy Kanzler award for experimental film at the freedom and unity youth filmmakers contest in White River Junction And we'll be broadcasting on Vermont Publix made here series So you can see that in the common room by the couch. That's on a reel of youth media work that we've done over the last couple years Like I said financials are up on the screen take a look 2021 was also the last year last full year of Rob Chapman as executive director who in spring 2022 Took a position as the executive director of webcam in Beverly, Massachusetts And so we'd like to also Bring up Michael a body our board current board chair and We'd like to honor John block. Yeah You may not know this, but you are now standing in the John block Memorial studio And for years he basically Steered the birthing of work and media to an independent nonprofit and That was back in the Adelphia days when it was So The work to do that Kenrick and I were just talking like that that was a tricky proposition and pulled off Year oh 198 2003 thank you So we are we are looking at our we're gonna have to plan our 20th anniversary Coming right up here. So Yeah, John the things I think about with John are just sense of humor and just like Ability to tell a story So I would just like to open up the floor if if anyone has a sharing or a memory or a thought About John Please the time is now. Oh, also, let me mention before Concurrently we'll be rolling out Community producer grant in John's name that will be annual I do believe Yeah, so we're developing a community producer award and grant and the we'll have more details around that and That's super exciting. Also in John blocks name Can we have you come up so we can hold the mic I Needed orca of media He needed to be able to have these topics that were important to him have some place that they were also important to the cameraman or to the audience and I think I was at that point the director of the Lamoyle Family Center And and he said that he wanted me to get on the board because I live right up there at On the top of the hill or by the old meeting house And he was like a pit bull Because if he asked you to do something like that, he won't stop asking you until you either move away and Don't let him know where you've gone or you actually do what he wanted you to do And so I remember some of the John block meetings here I once was teasing him and I was saying we need more gear John I like the orca whale thing, but how about some t-shirts that say block is beautiful He didn't think that was that funny But I think what to me is is interesting about John is that his Depth of personality and interest in so many things allowed Orca to be a more interesting and exciting place to be and I'm glad we've got the plaque for him And I hope I haven't said anything too irreverent about him and on my day with the mic in my own hand But the other thing is he knew that if he got you here, it'd be a hard thing to get away from So I'm still here Hi, I'm Joanne Crowley and I I worked with and for John for a number of years and the comment about pit bull is spot on But the thing that I remember most clearly was His lack of fear in certain situations There was a big meeting with Comcast and there were going to be all these attorneys and he was kind of like bring it on bring it on because he was always well-versed and Passionate about whatever he was trying to get across a point And there was one other thing about John that made him so unique and so special And that is that he was always the first one to give credit where credit was due He wasn't one to you know take praise And hoard it. He shared it so warmly and so fully with everyone that he worked with So it's a pleasure to be here for this event. Thank you Please please I'm gonna hold the mic. Sure. All right my name is Kendrick Kite and I'm the past director of Orca and I was working with John and that transition time when it was up on the hill at Adelphia Not even on the bus line And we had people who would have to come into Orca who had literally get off the bus at the hospital and walk with your gear up to the hill and So that was a big Reason why we wanted to move downtown in the middle of things when we were in city center And it was really John that helped Steer that through as you said earlier is it I did the legwork and you know I was pushing the gas pedal when he was doing the steering so basically And and really couldn't have done that without his guidance his knowledge of the non-profit world and his in his his ability to Pull people together his ability to see far into the distance You know beyond the point where I could see his ability to grasp The concepts of the technology if not the technology itself. So it was you know, eternally grateful to John for bringing Orca bringing public access From sort of being out in stickville to being really in the middle of where life was happening So we saw a lot of growth in those first few years And I hope that we continue to see that growth here and that's college what seemed to be not the college I guess I don't know what it's going to be Thank you, thank you for everyone for coming up and saying something it's really it is super exciting to Take that legacy and kind of go forward with that. So thank you so much I just wanted to say a few things about what's happening this year and leading into next And then please also grab some food. So if you don't know already We have moved from or committee has moved from the Conventional executive director model to a co-director model and now we have three co-directors Jin and Zach Zorn and myself So come and talk to us anytime and can tell you more about it. So that's a very exciting and we also wanted to say that in October we're collaborating with the bridge and Presenting live election forums candidate forums here at Orca Media at the John Block Memorial Studio and We're focusing solely on our local races in central Vermont. So you could tune into those and the schedule will be available Our youth media programs are continuing to grow with homeschool classes after school programs in school Residencies and consulting with local schools The last bit of exciting news is Orca Media will now be the presenter of the Green Mountain Film Festival So We've accepted The the offer from Focus on Film and now we're housing them the Green Mountain Festival and managing it going forward first established in 1997 and now returning in March 2024 so we have a little bit of time it's been on hiatus since the beginning of the pandemic and so what we're doing is we've formed and Local advisory committee of filmmakers film enthusiasts and non-profit arts Professionals and so there's a lot to come stay tuned and there's a lot happening in general at Orca Media So just stay in touch and give us a holler get involved and I just want to say a few logistics things There's some food from K Sherpa out there, which is please enjoy. We also have some donated desserts from Hunger Mountain Co-op and we have three video screenings happening In the John Block Memorial Studio, we'll have our community producer reel in the common room We'll have the youth media reel and at the conference table just kind of Adjacent to the common room will have our live channel the public access channel live on Comcast We also have a raffle giving away some Orca Media t-shirts so you can sign up for the newsletter outside and Yeah, and I want to say thank you to our board members our staff community producers and our volunteer Media makers Gardner and Campbell who are going around interviewing folks. Thank you all. Thanks everyone for coming. Thank you so much