Pizza, libations and awards-what could be a better way to thank those involved in the success of Petaluma Community Access?
The 2012 PCA Members Meeting was held last Thursday, Oct. 4 and dozens came to celebrate. It was a time to toast to another successful year and to honor those whose hard work keeps PCA alive.
There was no better place to celebrate nearly 17 years of PCA than the Petaluma Historical Museum. The classic building came to life with lively members, producers, staff members and others involved in our well-established public access program.
With the celebration of the past comes the welcoming of the new and that was the climate as the new PCA board members were announced, a result of the recent vote by members. Rachel Moran kept it simple when accepting her nomination, while her counterpart George Utrilla gave a promising speech highlighting his vision of an even bigger, better Petaluma Community Access.
The first portion of the event was devoted to mixing and mingling. Attendees seemed to enjoy each other’s company, while taking in live music from local musician Sebastian Nau, and a wide selection of food and an open bar.
After the mingling, everyone came together as Executive Director John Bertucci said a few kind words to the crowd and surprised board member Cindy Thomas with a plaque to thank her for her continuous support of the program. Thomas has been an integral part of the PCA family for a decade.
The aroma of change was in the air, making for the perfect opportunity to announce the expansion of the PCA headquarters. Bertucci discussed the plans to expand the office to the building next door, which will give members more room to work their craft with the addition of a studio for production.
The public had an opportunity to vote for their favorite locally produced PCA programming throughout the month of September, and board member Jason Davies was on hand to announce the winners of the polls, in what was named the 2nd Annual Lumanarian Awards.
This year the awards were broken into seven categories. John Merrill’s “Rivertown Revival” took the prize for Best Petaluma Color & Culture. There was a tie in the Best Religion & Spirituality category with Barbara Dana’s “New Hope Baptist Church” and Vaishali Jogi’s “Rojyoga Meditation Course” raking in the most votes.
When it came to the Best Education & Schools program, Jorge Panana triumphed with “Evento Accion Diferida” and John Merrill scored another win in the Best Politics & Social Advocacy category for “Occupy Petaluma.”
Kalen Sullivan found victory in the Best Cooking, Arts & Entertainment category with “The Echo Ground.” Thomas Harrigan won the award for Best PCA In House with “World’s Ugliest Dog Contest 2012″ and the Most Popular Award found itself in the hands of Sullivan again for “The Echo Ground.”
After months of planning, the staff couldn’t be happier after seeing their vision come to fruition. Those who contribute to Petaluma Community Access should take full advantage of the always enjoyable Annual Members Meeting. This event is just another reason the community should be a part of the ever-growing PCA family!
