Selectmen pick Aube as new Wilbraham Public Access director

Date: 2/28/2013

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

WILBRAHAM — At its Feb. 26 meeting, the Board of Selectmen elected to appoint Anthony Aube the next executive director of the Wilbraham Public Access Television station.

Aube was selected from a group of five finalists, coming out on top over Gerri Gagnon, Paul Temple, Clark Bennett and Eric Goldstein. In total, the town received between 35 and 40 applications for the position, the deadline for which closed on Jan. 15.

The five finalists were presented to the Board of Selectmen by an interview panel consisting of Town Administrator Rober Weitz, Human Resources Coordinator Herta Dane, Information Technology Director Nathan DeLong and members of Wilbraham Public Access Television.

The position became vacant when Executive Director Caroline Cunningham passed away on Dec. 2, 2012 due to complications from leukemia. She was 44.

In his interview with the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 19, Aube said that he had 18 years experience in broadcasting and a "passion for bringing things back to the community."

Aube explained that he started his broadcasting career working with public access television at Westover Air Force Base before moving on to other projects including teaching broadcasting in higher education.

He added that he felt that Wilbraham Public Access Television was an attractive destination for him because of what he could see the station becoming.

"I think the station has a lot of potential," he said. "One of the things I would really want to capitalize on is the great amount of volunteers. That is a strong asset."

While he valued the current volunteers, Aube added that he would make a conscious effort to augment community involvement in the station.

"In the first year, I would want to impact content through enthusiastic outreach to the community," he said.

Aube said that he would also look to boost cooperation between the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District and Wilbraham Public Access Television, something to which he felt his background in education could contribute.

"I'd like to reach out into the school systems and get children involved," he said. "It's essential for our children to be effective communicators in this day and age."

He also said that within the first year, he would like to develop a strategic plan for the station's future.

"We have to have a plan of where we want to be and how we want to get there," he said. "We need to have a linear plan of attack."

Aube said that in his first week on the job would involved a great deal of observation in order to determine what steps would be needed to move the station forward.

"The first thing I would do is observe to see what works well and what might need some tweaks," he said. "I'm going to roll up my sleeves and get involved. I'd like to shadow people who perform different tasks to better understand what is involved in their jobs."

Wilbraham Public Access Television, operating out of "The Little Red Schoolhouse" on Springfield Street, produces content for multiple channels and is funded primarily by a license agreement between the town and Charter Communications.

The position, which is full-time at 35 hours per week, commands a minimum salary of $38,229 and a maximum of $56,148 and includes a full benefits package.