Celebrating our volunteers
Sourixay Vilalay is a producer and serves on the Art Advisory Committee. He says, “It’s my opportunity to utilize media where it’s reasonably affordable and somewhat convenient, and allows me to be an activist.... It fulfills my passion of being able to apply my thoughts and visions through media.”
Arlene Stevenson, producer and crew volunteer, says, “I do it because I want to be a voice in my community and add to my community.”
Anna Dobra produces programs and sends them to Romania. “I want to say thank you for two million people, the Romanians,” Anna says. “We get a lot of e-mails and phone calls.... They are so glad. And all of this is because we are allowed to use the studio.”
Roxanna Hubbard produces informational and educational programs. “I started out at a time when I was having some problems in my life... and this brought focus,” she says. “I enjoyed it and have been here ever since.”
Noah Larsen came to MetroEast in 2000 after a life in film production, photography and teaching. He enjoys editing on Final Cut Pro. “MetroEast is my other family,” he says. “It’s a big part of my life; it’s given me a new life and another life.”
Daniel Carabes likes producing for the community’s benefit, and teaching people about production. His daughter Lupita Carabes works with him and says, “ I find it fun to take time with my friends and create dances and then show them to the public on the air.”
Gary Thompson’s main focus is orchestral music, focused on high school kids. “In the case of music programs, I do it because no one else does them, like broadcast channels. It’s something that none of them will cover... that needs to be covered by community media.”
“It’s addictive.” That’s Laird P. Ross speaking. “I started in 1988... and it doesn’t seem like I can get out of it because I believe this is the last soap box in America.”
Carroll Gleason describes himself as a “video production junkie.” He says, “It’s a vocation, it’s a hobby, it’s just enjoyable.”
Nery Reyes says, “I like to inform the community of what is out there, what they can have. I want the community, especially young people, to know that... they can do something for the community.”
Sandra Askelson likes to do bios of people and nature scenes. “I like to make the world a little happier place with some pleasant things, and I also do it because it rejuvenates me. After five hours of editing I feel like a new person.”
Sandro Perez and a friend started wth a plan “to make a program to involve and help all of the Hispanic people in the state of Oregon.” Sandro does audio for “El Programa Latino.”
Ellen King says her life hasn’t been the same since her first workshop. “It’s been full of adventure.... I believe community access is so important to our nation because the public owns the airwaves ... and I really think it’s important that we protect that right to use them.”
“I’ve always been an advocate of free speech. For the average citizen (MetroEast) allows them to get their views to the public in an inexpensive way.” That’s what we heard from Mike Mace who served on our Board of Directors from 1989-1992 and on the Finance Committee for the past 15 years. “If I didn’t believe in it, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Jim Lockhart started in 1995 doing a video on forest advocacy. “(I) quickly got off into a lot of other issues that the corporate media wasn’t covering,” he says. “I can put on an hour of all the speakers at a rally and people can make up their own mind... rather than being told about it by someone who can only devote 30 seconds to it. Public access allows us to be out there speaking what we really feel, what we really see, because we don’t have to filter this through corporate sponsors.”
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