My two year stint as president of LTC, Lowell’s public access television and community media station, came to an end tonight with the election of my successor, Bill Merrill. The meeting, held at Wannalancit Mills, was attended by more than 100 LTC members. Although the election of a new board of directors was on the agenda, the highlight of the evening was the awards ceremony where members were recognized for their accomplishments.

The Municipal Award went to Christine Connolly and Maria Ruggiero of the Lowell Health Department for their efforts to inform the public about the H1N1 influenza. The LTC Spirit Award when to Gus Cota. The Intern of the Year was Danny Dang and the Volunteer of the Year was George DeLuca. The Best New Series Award went to “Musical Talent in Review” which is produced by Susan Gail Koumpouas and Jim Koumpouras. The Best Live Series was “Khmer Talk”, Narong Hul producer. The Best Taped Series was “Lowell Community Charter Public School,” Hap Roeun and Ben Davis producers. The Producer of the Year was Bob McCarthy.

As for the Board of Directors, there are 28 with 6 being appointed by the City Manager (who attended tonight’s meeting), 6 by the City Council and 2 by the School Committee. The remaining 14 board members are elected by the membership at LTC. (All directors serve 2-year terms).

The individuals appointed by the City Manager this year were Victoria Woodley (Pollard Library), Paul Corcoran (Lowell Police), Phil Lemire (Lowell Fire Department), Mike Demaras (Neighborhood Services), LZ Nunn (Director of COOL) and Donna McIntosh (City Manager’s Office).

The City Council appointees were Jim Cook, Lynne Brown-Zounes, Jose Gabriel, Paul Marion, Jay Linnehan and City Councilor Bill Martin (chair of Cable TV subcommittee). The School Committee has appointed Jack Pinard (Director of Lowell Educational TV, channel 22) and has one other appointment to make.

The individuals elected by the membership at tonight’s meeting were John Lawlor, Carol Duncan, bill Merrill, Chuck Wolf, Peggy Shepard, Fru Nkimbeng, Felicia Sullivan, Muriel Parseghian and Richard Douglas. Board members who are in the middle of their 2-year terms are Cecilia Okafor, Fran Grigsby, Sharon Shelton, Thel Sar and me. The officers elected from the board of directors were Bill Merrill (President), Muriel Parseghian (Vice President), Peggy Shepard (Secretary) and Chuck Wolf (Treasurer).

For more information about Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, please visit LTC’s website which also contains a full copy of LTC’s 2009 Annual Report.