I used to dread grant writing. ICTV relies on grants for about 30 percent of its income, so it is a necessary task. And, now is the season. The reason I don't dread it any longer is that I have found that when you write a grant, you really get to celebrate all the good work your organization has done recently over again. It's two minute party at the keyboard. You also get to retool what didn't work so well--remind yourself how the Board of Directors wants to adjust to the new economy, changing memberships, changing technology. It is also all about the deadline. I thrive on the final edit (the old journalist in me). And, just when you think you've had enough of writing one, balancing the project budget again, you get a prize--the call that says you got a mini-grant for the Sept. 30 taping of an election forum. Now that I have my prize, I am re-energized to re-read the latest grant request. Party On!

Minnesota Citizens for the ArtsThe Minnesota Citizens for the Arts released video interviews of the 2010 candidates for Governor on the topic of Minnesota arts. What a timely release on a day that the Grand Rapids Arts group meets to get more board members and volunteers involved. See the video of three candidates and a transcript of the independent candidate's answers at http://www.mncitizensforthearts.org/actnow/legislatorsupport/governor-ca...

We are pleased to feature some student work on www.watchictv.org this week. The staff of ICTV has been working with ISD 318 to provide a video class. We are proud of the topics the sixth through eighth graders chose for their PSAs. They tackled smoking, texting in cars, the social pressure of cliques and drunk driving while learning about various shots and angles of the camera. We are also featuring some of the school-year work of the Middle School art class. They worked on stop animation this spring. It always gives us a new perspective to work with the up and coming videographers. Click on our "Community Hotlinks" videos to see the work.

Next week is a very busy week at ICTV. We'll start with the last phase of our fixtures being installed. All the producers are getting work stations with a little additional space and low privacy walls. The assistant is getting a desk with a transaction table, so visitors can be greeted and have their paperwork handled efficiently. My desk (which currently curves in the center for the "working-in-a-wok effect) will be replaced and all should be right with the world. We will then be entrusted with 20 Middle Schoolers in Camp Discovery for a psa project. We'll wrap up the week at the Blues Fest. So, if you see an ICTV member next week, please boost them along. They each will be going above and beyond for public access cable television next week.