President Roger Webb called the meeting of the Amherst Club to order at noon on Tuesday, February 2nd 2015, and welcomed us all Roger announced that the Board would meet today after lunch. Announcements: Barbara Freed explained that the music for our Cabaret has been greatly enriched by the agreement of the distinguished Grammy-winning saxophonist Charles Neville to play. Charles delighted the club with his recent presentation about his life in New Orleans. There will also be a band from Northampton and a musician. Members will receive information via email so we can tell our friends to sign up soon – which is vital to the Club’s success. Therese Donohue explained the procedure for the Silent Auction part of the Cabaret. She emailed and distributed to members a list of businesses which had donated last year, plus some new businesses. Members should sign up to invite businesses they know to donate again. Members are asked to give their list of businesses who will donate to Jacquie Price during Therese’s absence in Florida for the next two weeks. Therese is also seeking donations from members of art objects worth at least $25 for the other part of the Silent Auction. These may also be given to Jacquie in Therese’s absence. Raffle: Claude Tellier won the wine and Jim Wald the $10. Speaker: Claude Tellier introduced today’s speaker, Amherst Media executive director; Jim Lescault, on the role of Community TV in Amherst. A Holyoke native with a degree from UMass, Jim is knowledgeable on a range of aspects of local life. Amherst Media was founded in 1976 as the Center of Community Access Television (CCATV), and changed to Amherst Community Television (ACTV) in 1989. It is now known as Amherst Media. Housed on College Street since 1991, Amherst Media has purchased land on Main and Gray streets, near the Woman’s Club. Their hope is to build on the land and rent out some of the space to tenants. Their main funding comes from a portion of the income the town receives from Comcast Cable TV, supplemented by funds from the Community Preservation Act and local people’s donations. Amherst Media provides local news programs, arts and discussion programs, workshop and studio space, and local airing of specialized programs produced by UMass and other academics in far flung parts of the world. Noted Club members who have participated in Amherst Media programs include Harrison Gregg, as Town Meeting Moderator for many years, and Isaac Ben Ezra, who recently retired from their board and was involved in productions until this winter. Many Club members participated in Amherst Media programs down the years. Residents may send non-profit information to Amherst Media (ideally as a Jpeg) for broadcast as a PSA. For viewers who do not have cable access, Amherst Media may be watched online at www.amherstmedia.org. Your scribe, Linda Honan |
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