Big decisions facing NACTV board

Details

Published on Thursday, October 1, 2015

By Kira Paterson

The Neepawa Banner

On Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7:00 pm, Neepawa Access Community Television (NACTV) will be holding their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the back room of the Neepawa Public Library. The community is invited to come and support NACTV and learn about the plans and concerns for the coming year. 

NACTV is a non-profit organization run by a volunteer board. The station runs on volunteers to create and broadcast programs and events that go on in Neepawa and the surrounding area. The station is broadcast on air in Neepawa and about 15 miles surrounding the town; it is also carried by MTS across Manitoba and Bell Express Vu across Canada. 

Bill Gade, the board chair for NACTV said that the main focus of the AGM will be to elect a new board. Anyone who has volunteered for NACTV in the past year is eligible to sit on the board; volunteers are also eligible to vote at the meeting. “Having said that - we welcome anyone who isn’t already a volunteer to observe at the AGM,” added Gade. “It can be a great way to learn about the opportunities available to be a bigger part of the station.” 

Ivan Traill, station manager of NACTV said that they don’t have a full board as of now. They hope to have lots of support and interest in the station this year so that they can fill the board. “We’re hoping to have an AGM whereby people who are interested in helping NACTV, interested in seeing it change and move, will come out to the AGM and show their support for us and maybe even stand for the board,” said Traill. He noted that after the AGM is over, they plan to hold a board meeting to induct the new members and to set their next board meeting. 

The issue of where the station is to be located will also be discussed at the meeting. The Resource Centre, where they currently rent space is owned by the Town of Neepawa, but is going up for sale. They have several options regarding their location, including buying their current space if they can afford it. “The board has shown a lot of vision in wanting to keep what we have but also exploring other options in case an agreement can’t be made. After the AGM, that work will continue,” said Gade. No matter what they decide, there will be a cost involved so it is not a decision to take lightly. “We have to know that we have community support before we go into debt to make a move,” explained Traill. 

The hope is that as many people from the community as possible come to the meeting so that NACTV can get more volunteers to keep it going. “It’s really the volunteers who make NACTV possible,” Gade said. “Without them, there wouldn’t be a TV station in Neepawa.” 

Traill and Gade noted there are many different ways to get involved. “All you have to do is offer, we’ll take you,” Traill said. “We always need camera people, but we also need people in front of the camera too.” There are also other behind the scenes opportunities, such as organizing and scheduling interviews or editing the footage they record. “We work really hard to find volunteers things they like to do so that they can feel their talents are going to a good use,” added Gade. 

This year NACTV is hoping to try to produce more local programming similar to what they’ve done in the past. “We want more shows with live people talking about issues that matter to Neepawa,” said Gade. “We want to go back to taking phone calls in those programs.” 

Traill said that they’d like to produce weekly programs talking about universal issues such as the environment, “Those are the kinds of things we should bring up from a local point of view. Not just an ethereal point of view of some guy talking in Washington or Ottawa, but how our guys feel about that.” Both Traill and Gade stressed that if these programs are going to happen, they will need more volunteers to work the cameras, be on the talking panels and write up and organize the programs. 

Gade and Traill hope to get across how important NACTV is to the community so that they can get the support that the station needs to keep going. Traill said that NACTV is at the point where they have to make a decision on what will happen to the station. “We’re either going to expand and showcase Neepawa and make Neepawa the center of some television, or we have to just make it an outlet for a few programs every year and that’s it,” said Traill. They need the support of the community if the station is going to be able to expand. 

“NACTV is as much a part of Neepawa as the Roxy, the Neepawa Natives or any of the other important groups here,” Gade said. “Keeping it strong and ensuring it continues for years to come isn’t just something nice, I believe it’s an obligation we all share. We must work to keep it a viable non-profit community group. If everything was too easy, no one would appreciate NACTV. Thankfully, we do face challenges sometimes that help us all remember to do our best for the station.”