Blog

Thanks to requests from the public, and the hard work of one of our producers, four new programs will be entering the lineup on Cable Channel 15 this month and next.  If you like music, be sure to check out Thoughts & Sounds (which is recorded in our studio) and O! Melodious Show (filmed a bit north of us in Cheshire, NH).  Both programs feature interviews with, and mini concerts by, guest performers.  In addition, O! Melodious Show includes an eclectic mix of other content such as art, comedy, and games.

For those of you who are not musically inclined, the Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans Services District informed us that Sound Off is once again available.  Tune in for news and information related to former military personnel and highlights about benefits that are available to those who have served our country.

Finally, a Hampden County fan of public domain horror movies decided that public access stations need to include more of them on the air.  To that end, he created Graveyard Cinema.  You'd be surprised what is available without copyright restrictions; the show's first season contains movies produced from 1932 to 1981.

One last note, if there is a program from somewhere else that you want to see on our channel, and you live or work in Greenfield, give us a call at 774-4288 and we'll talk about the process with you.  It's pretty fast and easy so don't be shy.

Yesterday afternoon, we received one of those phone calls that no one wants to get.  GCTV Board Member Chris Collins informed us that longtime board member Edward “Skip” Hammond had passed away unexpectedly.  We were shocked to say the least.  Skip's presence here was large and our organization really won't be the same without him.

Skip was many things to many people when he served on the GCTV Board:  mentor, partner, advisor, counselor, diplomat, and most of all friend.  His support for the organization and all involved was amazing and appreciated by everyone.  His guidance and expertise helped steer GCTV through a very difficult time in its history and without his wisdom and influence our organization might not be here today.  He was a very humble but accomplished man, who worked with great anonymity behind the scenes, avoiding credit for what he had achieved as he was quite satisfied with just doing good.  In addition, he was always the first to praise others on their accomplishments and give credit to them for their achievements.

Board President Garry Longe remembered Skip this way, “During my life I have met a lot of outstanding, inspirational, people but I can honestly say he has been on the top of the list of individuals I aspire to be like.  I'm personally a much better person for having had the privilege of knowing and spending time with Skip Hammond."

Outgoing Executive Director Scott MacPherson also honored Skip after hearing the news.  "I can't think of someone that was more committed to directly impacting and inspiring people in this town, including me."

Rest in peace, Skip, and thanks for all you did for us!

We’re shaking things up here and we’ll tell you about some of what’s going on in this post. The most relevant fact is that New Media Producer Alicia, the person responsible for most aspects of our online presence (including this blog) has taken on the task of scheduling all of our programming on Cable Channel 15. That’s why there was no blog update last week; she was trained for the job on Thursday and then spent all of Friday working on our new schedule.

In fact, it took quite a while for her to organize everything, and make necessary corrections, but she met this morning's deadline of handing off the finished project to Fundraising Associate Philippe, who is now going to be putting everything into our broadcast server. In other words, he’s taken over responsibility for making sure that whatever is supposed to air actually will. It’s been a little hectic, as we all adjust to our new duties, but we’re still bringing you lots of interesting local programming so be sure to tune in!

We've had lots of friendly faces around here this week and we really appreciate it.  Between hardworking producers putting their shows together, new organizations receiving equipment training, and folks we haven't seen in a while dropping by, the activity level in our office has been pretty high.  We also had a full complement of volunteers for our Greenfield School Committee Meeting broadcast on Wednesday night.  It's been a few months since that happened, due to the fact that some of our folks have been sick and others were in school.  The guys who helped out were good sports, even hanging around for the first half-hour of executive session because the committee informed us we would need to film a vote when they were done.

Though the summer used to be downtime for us, you won't hear us complaining about all of the things we've got going on.  We want our facilities to be used!  So, if you have some extra time over the next few months, and you have an idea for a project, stop on by.  We will be happy to help you turn your dream into a reality.