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ThinkTV GreatTV 40th Anniversary Auction Begins Tonight!

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Inside the ThinkTV Studio on South Jefferson Street in Downtown Dayton

The 40th annual ThinkTV GreatTV Auction starts tonight, Monday, April 18, 2016 at 6 PM and will be broadcast live on ThinkTV 16 and ThinkTV 14 until its conclusion on Saturday night, April 23, 2016. The auction broadcast will start at 6 PM each night. Proceeds from the GreatTV Auction help support ThinkTV’s many educational services including early childhood and K-12 educator workshops, teacher professional development and ensures that ThinkTV will continue to provide greater Dayton with award-winning PBS programs like the recent two part documentary series Jackie Robinson by filmmaker Ken Burns plus locally produced series and specials.

ThinkTV Studio-3Goods and services available on the auction block include sports memorabilia, jewelry, ticket packages from Dayton performing arts organizations, travel, tuition grants, works of art and much more.

Bids can be placed on major gifts valued at $500 or more by clicking here.

I recently visited the ThinkTV offices and studio on April 8, 2016 for a short tour/photoshoot with Isaiah Ashba, Manager of Events & Projects for ThinkTV. “Celebrating our 40th Anniversary is really a tribute to our community- the support we receive each year, hundreds of donors and volunteers are truly the ones that make the GreatTV Auction such a special event for us. 450-500 volunteers dedicate around 3,800 hours,” said Ashba. In addition, hundreds of local businesses and national companies have donated thousands of items in support of the auction.

“The GreatTV Auction is very much a volunteer-driven event. We have a crew of volunteers who have been writing copy for the auction items every Saturday since January,” said Operations Committee volunteer Jessica Singleton.

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Keep up with the ThinkTV GreatTV Auction on TV by tuning in to ThinkTV 16 & 14, streaming it live at thinktv.org/auction and on social media via these helpful links below.

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facebook.com/thinktv

twitter.com/thinktv

instagram.com/thinktvpbs

 

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Photography by Tom Gilliam of DaytonGram & Tom Gilliam Photography

 

Local Film Picked Up by PBS

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The award-winning short film “Sparkle” by local documentarians Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert has been picked up by PBS for viewing across the nation. Premiering February 7 at 9 PM, you can see the short as part of a new show on PBS.

“Sparkle” was created as part of the pilot for “Lifecasters”. From the Web site: “The goal of Lifecasters is to inspire, engage and motivate national PBS audiences to share their underdog journeys of overcoming the odds. In today’s climate, this series is designed to bring hope and models for achieving goals to viewers.”

Each episode pairs a filmmaking team with a “lifecaster” – someone who is overcoming great odds to accomplish something special. Dayton’s own Sheri “Sparkle” Williams is a featured lifecaster on the first episode due to her great determination and talent in overcoming what could have been a career-ending injury. The filmmaking team of Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar tells the story in a heartfelt and truthful way. Their efforts garnered them the audience choice award for shorts at the prestigious SilverDocs Film Festival.

At the conclusion of A Premiere Evening (a benefit for DCDC), Jennifer Lawson, Senior Vice President of Television and Digital Video Content for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, announced the big news. Lawson spoke with great enthusiasm about how Bognar and Reichert are great ambassadors for our community. Even in all their travels, Lawson shared, “wherever they are, they are talking about Dayton!”

Tune in to PBS (locally – ThinkTV / CET) this February to catch the first episode of “Lifecasters” and see a powerful Dayton story told to the world!