Newsletter Date: May 21
Meeting Date: May 15
Reporter: Bryan Cook
INSPIRATION
Holly Applegate sang a beautiful rendition of “Simple Gifts”:
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, Etc.
Happy Birthday to us: Tomorrow's meeting (5/22) will celebrate the club's 106th birthday. Ten past presidents and former members are coming, and we will induct THREE NEW MEMBERS! Fellowship begins at 11:30 am, meeting starts at the usual 12:15 pm.
Another great Fishing Derby on Saturday featuring a lot of laughs, fellowship, food and above all setting the example for the next generation of young men. Above is the photo taken following Ken Conde’s presentation of rod & reels to the young men of San Miguel.
TV STATION TOUR
Our hosts for the Million Dollar Meal at RIPBS, Scott and Maria Saracen (Don’s son and daughter-in-law) were introduced along with Lucie Raposa, the public information manager for RI PBS. Lucie introduced a video celebrating 50 years of PBS in RI.
Scott Saracen introduced a 3 minute trailer for an upcoming series entitled Life on The Bay which will detail a number of people in RI who make their living or spend their leisure time on Narragansett Bay. This segment featured Richard Benjamin, a Pro Jo photographer who talked about his love of photography and his use of the bay as a frequent subject of his pictures.
Lucie Raposa led the club on a tour of the PBS studios which included the control room, editing and production facilities and the studio itself along with several sets. RI PBS has the largest television studio in RI and produces content aired both locally (A Lively Experiment) as well as nationally (White House Chronicle). The studio is available for independent productions for a rental fee and has been utilized by film crews for movies in the past.
Technology has significantly changed how PBS manages its telecasts. Every second of air time is accounted for, which has become easier with the advent of digital content. In the past, large reels of film and/or cassettes holding tape had to be manually loaded according to a printed schedule. Now computers handle most of this activity.
While PBS does get some funding from the federal government, much of its revenue is derived from subscribers.