http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140922/NEWS02/709229921
Bruce Johnson accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication from Executive Director Jared Gunnell at the 15th annual meeting of SAPA-TV to celebrate 15 years of community service to the towns of Springfield, Chester and Weathersfield. Photo: PHOTO BY LEN EMERYPublished September 22, 2014 in the Rutland Herald SAPA-TV celebrates 15 years of being on the air By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — They’ve been bringing the community into living rooms in Springfield, Chester and Weathersfield for 15 years. SAPA-TV, the local public access television station, gave its volunteers a big pat on the back Thursday evening, with awards, praise and recognition, a cookout and a cake. The station, which is funded by fees collected by Comcast, the cable network, was founded 15 years ago by a small group of people interested in bringing community news covered by community members to local television. The station, which has grown into a popular community asset with two channels on the local Comcast network, regularly covers town and school government meetings in its three focus towns, said Jared Gunnell, who took over the leadership of the station from its longtime executive director Bruce Johnson at the beginning of 2014. Johnson, who had taught generations of elementary school children in Chester before getting involved with SAPA, had turned to local television largely through the efforts of his wife Marita, another former teacher, who was one of the founders of the station, along with Steve Sysko. Bruce Johnson was given a standing ovation by the 40 people at the annual meeting, and praised for his devotion to the station, the communities and the students at Springfield High School’s Green Horn broadcast. Johnson said it was a demanding and exciting 13 years at the station. “I was the first volunteer,” he said, noting he learned as he went along. Finally, in October 2001, he became executive director. Technology has changed dramatically in 15 years, he said, going from VCRs to DVD carousels. “I’m pleased. I think it’s a community asset,” said Johnson, who has filmed more than his share of long government meetings. “I knew everything going on all the time,” he said with a laugh. He said he’s always been touched by the comments he gets from people who are watching at home, and working with the students at Springfield High School (where SAPA has its studios) to produce Green Horn Live! “It’s dearest to my heart, and I still get chills helping students,” he said. “We bring the community to the living room,” he said. In addition to Johnson, his wife Marita Johnson was also honored, receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award for the hundreds of hours of programming she creates every year. In all, SAPA gave out close to 20 awards, not just to the volunteers and videographers who create the programming, but the organizations that work closely with SAPA to present the programs. Bruce Johnson had hired Gunnell about seven years ago, after a college pal of Gunnell’s urged him to leave Florida and come to Vermont. That school chum, Zachary McNaughton, is currently on the SAPA-TV board of directors. Gunnell, in an interview before the annual meeting, said the station was considering changes to cope with the changing television viewing world. People are leaving cable television, which is the source of the station’s $150,000 annual budget, he said. The station, which by law can’t charge for advertising, is thinking of launching underwriting as a means of maintaining its funding levels and expanding. He said “Puggy’s Corner,” a public affairs program hosted by Ernest “Puggy” Lamphere of Springfield, has grown into one of the most popular programs on the station. He said Lamphere, the town’s retired fire chief, started the program in 2010, and had tallied 200 episodes so far. Another Springfield resident, Stephen Seitz, last year launched “Book Talk,” which focuses on Vermont authors and books. Seitz is also one of the station’s field producers, regularly taping Weathersfield Select Board meetings. Gunnell said he wanted to raise about $2,000 to get the station’s on-demand video service much more accessible. “We do have the technology,” he said. And, he said, the station is always looking for more volunteers and producers who want to cover events, and learn how to videotape and edit their programs. The station does pay videographers to cover the meetings in Springfield, Chester and Weathersfield, and on Thursday evening there was a fair amount of joking about long meetings. And, he said, the station is always looking for people to serve on the board of directors.
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