Channel 18 2011 Report

 

 2011 Annual Report
 
Report of Channel 18
 
I, as department head, respectfully submit this annual report to the citizen’s of the Town of Harwich.
            The year 2011 has been another busy one for Channel 18. We continue with the help of many dedicated volunteers to expand our programming for the Community. We are in our 13th year of production of “Community Journal”. This is a weekly show produced by volunteers highlighting the very best of the Town of Harwich: people, places, events, and happenings! I would like to thank my loyal crew of Community Journal for the many years of service to the show. Thank you to Betty Pino, Paul Coughlin, Bill Flynn, Dorothy Safford, Florence Lebenson, Ellie Bassett, Ron Armbruster, Joyce Roche,  John Roche , Eileen Wyatt and Jack Wyatt  for their contributions, hard work and dedication to Harwich Channel 18. Dorothy Safford of the Community Journal Family has moved out of town to be near her family in Virginia. We will miss her and wish her well in her new home. It is with great sorrow that I report, we have lost one of our most treasured volunteers. Bill Flynn passed away in December and we all miss him greatly. Bill was responsible for adding several segments to our weekly show including “Around the Town” and “Down Memory Lane”. Bill made many contributions to our team and was always bringing in local musicians to perform for the Community. His shoes will be hard to fill and we thank his family for sharing him with us for so many years. He was truly a good friend to all of us.
            We continue to program the Board of Selectmen’s meetings, and cover the Annual Town Meeting LIVE and any Special Town Meetings such as our meeting in November of this year. Harwich Channel 18 covered many forums and meetings on the subjects relating to the Town Meeting. The Voter Information Committee continues to use the Channel as a way to get important information out to the Community. Many town departments use the Channel and produce programming on a regular basis. Emergency Management, Board of Assessors, Planning Board, Board of Health, Council on Aging, School Committee, Water Quality Task Force, Utility and Energy Conservation, are just a few who take advantage of the Channel. I would encourage any Town department or Committee to use the Channel to reach the citizen’s of Harwich. I have also worked with the Harwich Historical Society on many of their “Oral History” projects, and look forward to producing more of these special visits with Harwich people. Channel 18 covered the successful special exhibit “Charles D. Cahoon” Harwich Artist and worked closely with the Historical Society on promoting this great Town event.
The Harwich Town Band Concerts videotaped during the summer months by Cynthia McGalliard, are always a popular attraction to the Channel. Thank you Cynthia! Channel 18 was fortunate to take part in the visit of the Royal British Legion Brass Band from Harwich England. We taped the concert held at Cape Cod Technical High School with our Town Band and the Royal British Legion Brass Band. We also managed to tape the 2nd concert planned in Brooks Park which had to be relocated to the Community Center, due to a sudden thunder storm! Channel 18 also covered many of the extra events planned for our guests from England including a tea at Pilgrim Church and a luncheon at the Community Center. We shared these events with the members of the band and posted segments on YouTube so people in Harwich England could enjoy the festivities as well.
 Channel 18 taped and cablecast the Citizen’s Bank Summer Concert Series at Brooks Park. These free concerts are co-sponsored by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and Citizen’s Bank, and feature local musicians. We also cover the Cranberry Festival’s Hometown Parade, and WOMR Music Fest which is a mainstay of the Town’s Fall events.
            I continue to serve as the Public Information Officer for the Town’s Emergency Management Team under the direction of Lee Culver. This past summer we were called in to activate the Emergency Operations Center at the Town’s Public Safety Building due to the threat of Hurricane Irene. Once again we were lucky not to get a direct hit; however the Town did sustain many power outages and downed trees. The emergency team was able to field calls from citizens and assist the dispatch with response of manpower. The citizen’s of Harwich should know, we were ready!
            The Town Meeting approved making my assistant Jamie Goodwin a full time employee. Jamie has been a great addition to our team, and has been responsible for adding much of our content to “YouTube”! We are now able to expand our viewership to audiences beyond our Town borders. We also continue to stream our content online using the Town’s Web page. Jamie has been instrumental in making major improvements to the Town’s Web page working with Foster Banford. Jamie and I have also been able to cover the Monomoy Regional School Committee meetings and cablecast these meeting to the community. We will continue to improve programming and keep Harwich Channel 18 the best Government Channel on Cape Cod!
            Technology continues to change and we are always trying to keep abreast of the latest developments. We have purchased new field cameras which do not use tape and we have had to make changes in our system to adapt to this new technology. Storage of our media has become the biggest challenge and we will continue to explore the best and most economic way to move ahead. Technology is a fast moving train and we only “jump on board” when we feel it is absolutely necessary.
            In closing, I would like to thank the citizen’s of Harwich for their support. I would like to thank all my volunteers, without their help, we would not survive! I look forward to another year at Channel 18, our 12th year at the Harwich Community Center.
Respectfully submitted,
 
Jill Mason
Director,
Harwich Channel 18

 
    
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