It’s popular to focus on all that went wrong in 2020, but despite everything negative and stressful, I saw a lot of positive things happening in our community throughout the year —as did everyone watching NCTV17.
I love a good list, so I’m taking advantage of the new year to share one with you on what I picked up from the NCTV17 programming in 2020 on air and online!
1. Naperville Sports Weekly – My respect for boys and girls sports grew as this past fall we covered girls swim & dive, girls tennis, boys and girls golf, and cross country. It was a pleasure to see these sports get a larger spotlight. As one boy’s golf coach commented to me, his team felt like “rock stars” with all the coverage! And I couldn’t have agreed with him more!
2. I learned what “together” means, as it was the theme for this year’s Naperville YMCA’s Mayor’s Interfaith Community Breakfast, titled “One Community Together.”
3. NCTV17 has a wonderful array of talk shows, and each host is like a friend,
welcoming you into the conversation. Whether it be on Dana Being Dana,
talking about women supporting women; or a Spotlight special bringing
together nonprofits to talk about a critical issue like mental health; or Finding Common Ground, which debuted this year, which brings to light differing
points of view in the hopes of, well, finding common ground!4. Naperville News 17 – I think we all relied heavily on the station’s news team to help us learn what COVID-19 was all about and what we needed to do to protect our families, our community, and ourselves. I think we also learned new ways of doing things, from making masks, to creating zoom choirs, to turkey tips from Butterball.
5. For me personally, my holiday spirit was renewed at year-end as I joined the #TDHSanta team to help Santa make his way around Naperville for the 12 days before Christmas. To see the joy and the anticipation on young and old as they waved and yelled hello to Santa as he drove by—with some children running up to him to give him a handwritten letter—warmed my heart.
Thinking ahead to 2021, I look forward to:
1. Election Coverage 2021 – We may be “electioned out” as a nation, but our local elections can have a greater impact on our day-to-day lives. City council, school board, and park district seats are all up for grabs, and NCTV17 is proud to bring residents complete live coverage.
2. GameOn! is back with Danielle Tufano in April. If you haven’t caught this local game show you don’t know what you’re missing! It’s humorous, it’s witty, it’s competitive, and most of all, fun right in your own home!
As we enter 2021 and have a few more months to go before we clear this pandemic, why not check out your local television station on air or online? When you’re watching NCTV17, you’re sure to find something interesting to keep you engaged, informed, and entertained, all being produced right here in your hometown.
– Liz Spencer, NCTV17 Executive Director
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