As Stefan Holt began the next segment of The Morning Show: Naperville’s Tapestry, he had this to say, “It takes many threads woven together to create a community like Naperville. What makes Naperville so unique is not only its news and sports but also the arts, culture, and traditions. NCTV17 does a remarkable job of weaving all those threads together into a tapestry of stories for our community.”
Ten years ago on the footsteps of City Hall, Mayor Pradel created both the Chinese and Indian community outreach programs. Krishna Bansal was selected as Chairman of the Indian Community Outreach (ICO) and as he says, “Naperville is the best city to live in.” Bansal goes on to say, “Pradel was a visionary. He decided we needed to have an outreach program for the largest and fastest-growing segments of our community…the Asian communities and the Indian-American community. He wanted to weave them into the fabric of Naperville.”
“Just in ten years, we have come a long way. We have played a big role. We were able to attract a lot of businesses who came in and contributed to Naperville. They are part of the nonprofits and part of the civil and civic engagements,” said Bansal.
Holt continues, ” Naperville is a world-class city where people from all over the world live. Jacque, you’re a lifelong resident here and a former commissioner of the Special Events and Community Arts Council. Now also an audience favorite winner on Dancing with the Celebrities, what does it mean to you to see how Naperville has embraced arts and culture over the years?”
Jacque Clermont answers, “Yes, 45-year resident raising my children here now, which is a great opportunity. My mother was a music teacher at Beebe Elementary. I was in the choir, Young Naperville Singers growing up. There are just so many different cultural opportunities that I didn’t have when I was growing up in Naperville. I think there are still a few threads that we need to add to the tapestry, but we’re definitely farther than we were when I was a student.”
Clermont continues, “Working at Naperville School District 203, I get a front-row seat to see what the students have available to celebrate their traditions. Within our district, we have 91 different languages spoken, which is which is great. Jefferson Junior High alone has 47 languages spoken within its walls. Our newsletters have a translation button, so every parent can have the communication they need to be successful with their students. So it’s exciting.”
“Krishna, what does it mean to you to see that?” asks Holt. “The main goal of outreach is reaching out to people, and NCTV17 is that vehicle, that mass media that helped us. They’ve been there at every stage since 2013, they helped us to reach out to people, tell the stories, what we do, and engage them with us,” answered Bansal. “So that helped tremendously. And NCTV has played a magnificent role in making our town what we are.”
Holt says, “NCTV17 covers all the parades and special events. That’s got to be great too.”
Clermont adds, “…because of these events being captured, you can revisit them again. They are for people who aren’t able to attend all of these events. It brings them into their household, and it gives them access to these events. If you want to go back and look at a parade or a thrilling dance, you can do so.”
