Public access television in our community began in 1995 when Neal Verge conceived of it as a means for the YMCA to be able to broadcast Y and school sports. As there was no knowledge of the fact we could even have a local television station, when the original contract with the cable company was signed by the towns in 1992, no provision was made to secure the financial support of a community TV station through cable franchise fees or other means.

BRCTV and its board of directors existed as an ad hoc committee of Boothbay Harbor town government until incorporating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2002 (under the name Boothbay Region Access Channel 5). The organization has been entirely volunteer-run up to the present date (more about that later, in the "What Community Television Does" section). Until 2001, sports and a few local events (Windjammer Days, Fishermen’s Festival) made up almost the entirety of programming due to the interests of the volunteer producers, who were very few in number. Beginning in that year, a small but dedicated group of volunteers began a conscious effort to improve the quality and diversity of the programming on the channel, in the hopes that they would thereby be able to interest more volunteers, better serve the viewing audience and raise the level of awareness in the community about what needs can be met by locally-produced television.

It has been a long, hard climb, but we have left the days of broadcasting the same, possibly three-year-old football game four times a day behind us! We have broadened our volunteer base to include producers interested in local politics, arts, documentary, history and community events of all kinds, while maintaining and improving the quality of the sports and local government coverage our volunteers provide.

Our Mission

The mission of BRCTV is to document the community life of our region, in as fully-rounded and representative a way possible, warts and all. In order to do that, and ensure our future viability as a well funded non-profit organization, we need your help in spreading the word about what we do and how important it is to the community.

Board of Directors – Bios

President – Laurie Knowlton, Vice-President – Ken Marston, Secretary – Larry Crane, Treasurer - Millie Santiago
Michael Christopher, Paula Ragsdale Arsenault, Kathy Bugbee, Jackie Paskal

Laurie Knowlton is a photographic artist and the owner of Saucy Contessa and Moon River Studio, a gallery and retail shop in Boothbay Harbor. Originally from New Jersey, where she worked in the administration at Princeton University, she lived in the Caribbean prior to moving to Boothbay in 2004. She has served on many fundraising and steering committees including the Alumni Council of Princeton Day School and the Friends of the Medical Center of Princeton, as well as currently serving on the Board of Directors of Rising Tide and River Arts. The daughter of an engineer, she is interested in alternative forms of energy and substainable living, and serves on the steering committee of the Substainable Energy Expo, as well as organizing local grass root environmental efforts.

Kenneth D. Marston
Occupation: Restaurant Consulting.
Education: Boothbay Region High School, USM 2 years
Local History: I was a member of the following boards; Boothbay Region Student Financial Aide Fund
Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce, Boothbay Region YMCA, Boothbay Charities Classic,
Special Olympics of Maine, President 08’ and BRCTV, V.P. 07’ & 09’
Clubs / Organizations: Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis, American Cancer Society, Special Olympics of Maine, Everybody’s 40 years, High School Football breakfasts, High School Field Hockey breakfasts
Fund raising for local organizations and people, Annual Lobster Shoot Electronic dart tournament with 200 people from around the country, BRCTV Volunteer filming and editing
Joined the board 2006, VP in 2007 and 2009; President 2008

Larry Crane is fortunate enough to be at a place where his life experience and interests mesh nicely with the mission of several local organizations. He is involved with the activities of the Friends of the Southport Historical Society, the Investment Committee of the YMCA Endowment, as well as BRCTV. Born in Illinois, he joined the Army as a West Point graduate and served at several posts around the country, in Europe and Vietnam. He subsequently earned a graduate degree in business from New York University, and made a career evaluating the investment management of large pension funds in New York. All aspects of video production are favored activities at the Station. Larry and wife Jan closely follow the southern Maine theatre scene, and are both working playwrights.

Millie Santiago - Treasurer
Years On Board: 2 months

Academic History: B.S. Mathematics, Inter-American University, Puerto Rico; Post Graduate Education in London, U.K. in Acting at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts; Warren Robertson Acting Workshop, New York, NY.

Personal Info: Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Life Partner – Jim Gagnon.

Professional History: A balancing act that brings together my acting, producing, editing and directing experiences of over three decades (I am a member of AEA, AFTRA, SAG and worked with a professional repertory company in New York, N.Y. for 6 years, as well as untold part-time, contract, consulting and project work), with office management experiences which aren’t all that different: helping people and organizations to produce work, and works of art, that are exceptional.

Why You Feel Community TV is Important: At a historical moment when all media are undergoing drastic changes in demand, business models, access and use, Community TV is ideally positioned at the intersection between broad, multi-media access and intimate, immediate, community interests. The possibilities are limitless.

Paula Ragsdale Arsenault, a working artist, operates Ragsdale Studio/Gallery on Barter’s Island Rd. in Boothbay, producing portrait, landscape, graphics, and fine art. Paula was raised by an engineer and a Montessori educator, along with six siblings, in Levittown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, where she learned how to be a good swimmer and survive public schools. After receiving an Associate of Arts Degree in Fine Art from Bucks County Community College, she was granted a full tuition scholarship to Rhode Island School of Design, where she majored in illustration, and graduated with honors in 1981. Together with her husband Billy Arsenault, she also operates’s Knickerbocker Lake Cottages, and has raised two wonderful sons. She is very interested and invested in local youth issues, political causes, attempts to write poetry, and still loves to go swimming.

Jackie Paskal

Michael Christopher

Kathy Bugbee

Jonne Trees – Station Manager
Born in Farmington, Maine and have lived in Maine most of my life, with time in other states and the U.K. during a 5 year plus stint in the U.S. Air Force. I have been working with video and computer equipment since the military. In college after the U.S.A.F. I studied physchlolgy and art and worked in the college television studio and started taping weddings and other events besides my college assignments. I have been a teacher of students and adults with disibilities, worked in construction, been a roadie for various bands, and studied various alternative healing methods. When I was working on a job in East Boothbay I disovered the incredible beauty of this area and decided to stay.