What is your favorite PBS or KCPT program and why?
NOVA is my favorite program because I get to see remarkable science programs. I work at an academic medical center and find the NOVA programming fascinating.
What do you enjoy most about being involved with KCPT?
KCPT allows me the opportunity to learn things about the greater Kansas City community that I would have never known otherwise.
Why should people support KCPT?
It is critical for folks to support KCPT because they’re a premier educational resource.
What is your favorite PBS or KCPT program and why?
Definitely The Local Show and Check, Please!. I love to see what KCPT uncovers that is only in Kansas City. Food – who doesn’t like to find a new restaurant!
What do you enjoy most about being involved with KCPT?
As a volunteer and board member, KCPT is always fun. There is SO much going on. I always leave a KCPT event with a sense that the time spent was worthwhile.
Why should people support KCPT?
KCPT covers what is best about Kansas City and what we need to know about Kansas City. Whether it is human interest or difficult issues, we can always count on KCPT to provide details and perspective. Our region is complicated by the state line. Further, we sometimes have unwelcomed influence by Topeka or St. Louis. There is so much to investigate and keep track of. We have to stay informed to sustain our city. Supporting KCPT helps all of us stay more knowledgeable and dedicated to our city.
What is your favorite PBS or KCPT program and why?
Actually, I have several favorites. Forced to choose, it is definitely The Local Show. I enjoy learning about what is happening in our own community, at the local level. We have a tendency to forget all the great people and developments in our own backyard.
What do you enjoy most about being involved with KCPT?
The opportunity to meet and work with great people I may not run into otherwise. We bond and are all driven by our common passion of helping position KCPT as the local channel of choice.
Why should people support KCPT?
Education, and therefore knowledge, is a wonderful antidote to poverty while promoting understanding. Where else can you get a world-class education for just pennies? Let’s not forget the first class art programs (“food for the soul”) coming to our family rooms thanks to KCPT.
What is your favorite PBS or KCPT program and why?
It is hard to pick just one so I will share a few of my favorites…I am a big fan of Antiques Roadshow as I like to see the reaction people have to some of the treasures they have in their family. I particularly like hearing the personal stories and histories of the antiques on display. Sometimes those are more interesting than the pieces themselves. But I am also a big fan of Great Performances, NOVA, Frontline and, of course, The Local Show. I always feel a little bit smarter, more inspired and more informed with these programs. It is hard to find this kind of content anywhere else. I also enjoy watching KCPT online.
What do you enjoy most about being involved with KCPT?
I am really impressed with all the people working at KCPT and generous members and supporters of KCPT. This is really a remarkable organization supporting the diverse needs of the Kansas City community with quality, informative and inspiring programming. I marvel at the level of trust viewers place in KCPT and, in today’s television media landscape, that is a rare quality! I don’t believe that happens by accident but through thoughtful and responsible servant leadership. It is an honor and a real privilege to be associated with this organization, the people working at KCPT and all the members and supporters of this dedicated organization.
Why should people support KCPT?
I believe KCPT brings something rare to the Kansas City community that is hard to find in other venues and media. Just look at the programming line up! It is amazing. KCPT does this without commercial sponsorship and completely relies on viewers and organizations to endorse and support the work they do. I like the fact that KCPT and PBS focus on producing and delivering on such high quality programming but is also respectful of that very programming, and its viewers, by not interrupting with commercials. But this requires other support and KCPT looks to the community of viewers to help them continue with this commitment to quality and respect for the programming and viewers. I also like the fact that KCPT has become a reflection of the Kansas City community and the people who choose to live in this amazing city. It is because of this, I choose to support KCPT with my membership and time.
Last Friday, the new movie 42, about Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, opened in theatres nationwide. But the night before, Kansas City got a special preview at the Barrywoods AMC Theatre to raise funds for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. They rolled out the red carpet, and Randy Mason was on hand to see who came down it and why.
By the way, the 42 premiere raised some $200,000 for the museum, which also has another interesting project going right now. They have teamed with the UMKC Theatre Department to produce a new play about Satchel Paige and other Negro Leagues players.
It has some jazz in it too. The play is called Kansas City Swing and it will run at the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center on the UMKC campus from April 19-28, with a special reception in the lobby before the show on April 25.
You can see some photos from the red carpet event at The Local Show Facebook page. Be sure to “like” us for updates on what to look for in upcoming episodes.
Get your picture with Buddy from Dinosaur Train and take the Dinosaur Train Discovery Tour through Sea Life Aquarium! On the self-guided tour, you’ll learn about the prehistoric ancestors of sharks, crabs and more.
Buddy will be at Sea Life Aquarium on Saturday, January 26th from 10am to 3pm. Tickets for admission to the aquarium are required and can be purchased through Sea Life Aquarium’s website. It is highly recommended that you purchase your tickets online and in advance of January 26th.
Next week, KCPT joins with PBS in launching an unprecedented look at the astounding contributions women have made to the advancement of America with the broadcast premiere of the documentary series MAKERS: Women Who Make America.
The landmark multi-platform initiative co-produced by PBS And AOL chronicles the important advancements made by women over the past 50 years.
In the spirit of celebrating women and their contributions, KCPT invited you to nominate groundbreaking women who have sparked change in our community. The votes are in and this half hour on The Local Show, we introduce you to three inspiring women who have made a difference in our metro.
Our first local MAKER is Suzanne Gladney of Legal Aid of Western Missouri, who up until now, has not received much recognition for her work, but she has spent more than thirty years as a legal aid attorney assisting undocumented workers and migrant families in our Kansas city region. LAWMo clients are people who have nowhere else to turn, who without the legal assistance LAWMo can provide, would likely become homeless statistics or worse.
In 1978, frustrated that they couldn’t join business organizations and private clubs reserved for men only, a small group of women came together to form The Central Exchange. Today, The Central Exchange is celebrating its 35th year as the metro’s most prominent women’s advocacy and business networking organization. Nick spoke with the organization’s new President and Chief Executive CiCi Rojas.
Dodie Jacobi, an area entrepreneur, made the cut when we asked on our website, our KCPT magazine and on our social media pages Who should be celebrated on KCPT as a woman who made a difference in our metro? Dodie for decades, has been deeply involved in revitalizing Kansas City’s historic neighborhoods by promoting entrepreneurship and the development of small businesses in the Crossroads, the Westside, and Hyde Park.
Right now though, we profile our third local MAKER and it is a woman who repeatedly bumped and bumped against the glass ceiling before smashing through it. Our MAKER spent 30 years on the Kansas City Missouri police force and while you may not know her name or may have never heard her story, Ramona Arroyo is the first Hispanic woman to become a sergeant with the KCPD.
What is gratifying about these nominations are that these are not your usual suspects. We’re hearing about women who are making a difference…oftentimes away from the public eye. But there were more well known names among the nominations like former Mayors Kay Barnes and Carol Marinovich and former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius who is now, of course, Health Secretary in the Obama administration.
There were lots of worthy nominees, some we’ve already featured on The Local Show like Sister Berta Sailor who is doing remarkable work for the children served at Operation Breakthrough and Pastor Alice Piggee-Wallack who’s giving her life to the inner city homeless. There is also the work of local anti-bullying campaigner Sue-Ellen Fried. And then there’s Dr. Sharon Lee the medical doctor who claims a $14 an hour salary…the same as the janitor at her Southwest Boulevard Family Health Clinic. We profile her story on The Local Show on March 21st.
