SAPA TV awards show and meeting

On Thursday, September 18, Springfield Vermont Area Public Access Television (SAPA), hosted its 15 year celebration and annual meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Springfield.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/sapa-awards-show-and-meeting

SAPA Awards Show and Meeting Submitted by VT Journal on Tue, 09/23/2014 - 2:19pm By LAUREN DRASLER The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -On Thursday, September 18, Springfield Vermont Area Public Access Television (SAPA), hosted its 15 year celebration and annual meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Springfield. The event was also an award show that honored those involved with SAPA, including retired executive director Bruce Johnson who received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with SAPA. The meeting was open to the public, and dinner and cake were served to those in attendance prior to the start of the meeting at 6 p.m. “The meeting involved two things,” Zachary McNaughton who serves on SAPA’s Board of Directors said. “All the non-profits in the area have an annual meeting. At SAPA’s meetings we discuss what has been accomplished in the last year, and report on the status of SAPA TV.” McNaughton also said that the meeting on the 18th was to celebrate the volunteers who have helped with SAPA, and also to honor Johnson. As the meeting began, Jared Gunnell, addressed the crowd by giving the Director’s Report. He said that SAPA was undergoing a year of transition, and gave a special thanks to Bruce Johnson for all that he had done for SAPA and the community. Gunnell also said that Johnson was “the best boss I’ve ever had.” Another aspect of Gunnell’s report focused on all the changes that are happening at SAPA this year. Gunnell mentioned that SAPA has a new server and software that have helped save time and allowed SAPA to have more focus on community outreach. Gunnell said that a goal for the near future is to update the SAPA studio at Springfield High School. After the Director’s Report was given, the awards aspect of the meeting began. The first award was the Historical Appreciation Award and it was given to Bryce Honeywell for his 52 hours of programming provided to SAPA. Honeywell said that he has been filming as a volunteer for SAPA for 10 years. “I started out filming the Tuesday night band concerts,” he said. “I’ve recently filmed a video veteran’s project that features World War Two veterans’ stories and experiences. It lasts about an hour, and the people at SAPA help with the editing.” Some of the other awards that were given out to SAPA volunteers included the Best New Original Series award, which went to Stephen Sykes, who has filmed 18-19 episodes of his show. An award for Community Meeting Coverage was given to Ed Hughes, who has covered about 72 hours of meetings for SAPA. Community Outreach Awards were given to Chester Valley Books, Weathersfield Proctor Library, Springfield on the Move, the Chester Historical Society and the Crown Point Road Society. The award for Longest Running Studio Show was given to Puggy Lamphere who just completed the 200th episode of his show with around 200 hours’ worth of programming. Mike Janiszyn, a teacher at Springfield High School, received the Education Outreach award for Green Horn Live, a program that is filmed at SAPA’s studio in the high school. SAPA TV’s Board Member Dedication Award was given to Bob Flint. The Historic Preservation Award was given to Hartness State Airport and more Community Outreach Awards were given to the Springfield Garden Club, Whiting Library, Springfield Library, Weathersfield Historical Society and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Tom Lauritzen gave the President’s Report which touched on long-term planning for SAPA including facility improvements. Lauritzen also thanked Johnson for his service, and commented on Gunnell’s abilities after he (Gunnell) became Executive Director of SAPA. Lauritzen said, “We had to come to grips with Bruce retiring and we already had what we wanted in Jared. He knew SAPA and is an asset to SAPA and the community.” The final set of awards began with the award for Community Event Coverage which was given to Weston Marshall. Steve Sysko was awarded Videographer of the Year and the Volunteer of the Year award went to Marita Johnson who has recorded 417 shows for SAPA. A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Bruce Johnson by Jared Gunnell. Johnson started with SAPA in 1999 as a volunteer, and has been with SAPA almost since its start 15 years ago. In his speech after accepting the award, Johnson said that it was a pleasure to work with all the people at SAPA and bring ideas and thoughts to the community. “Right from the beginning, people saw it [SAPA] as an opportunity,” Johnson said. “Communities got on-board, because it was something to increase knowledge and anyone who wanted to say something could.” After two new members to the board were nominated and accepted by those in attendance, the meeting was concluded after a motion to adjourn was put forth and seconded by two people in the audience. - See more at: http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/sapa-awards-show-and-meeting#sthash.7HO8qWgZ.dpuf