There is an E-Talk truck in the driveway

E-TALK IS NOW PRIZE-TALK. CAMERA HUNTS DOWN AND CAPTURES (ON TAPE) THE STARS OF THE 2010 CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE FOR LITERARY NON-FICTION

CTV's popular entertainment newsmagazine E-Talk, is producing a special show on the 2010 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. The programme will be aired nationally in February shortly after the Awards Luncheon.
The E-Talk crew is in the process of interviewing the "stars" of this year's Award programme. E-Talk is interviewing the authors and members of the Prize Foundation in relevant settings. Short-listed author Kenneth Whyte was interviewed in his Maclean's Magazine office (he is the publisher). Francophone Daniel Poliquin was interviewed in Toronto's most famous French Bistro, Le Select. Ian Brown was filmed in his home and at his desk in the Globe and Mail newsroom. Dr. John English will be interviewed soon. And Prize trustee Dr. David Staines? Against a backdrop of a private library of course!
David is a professor of English at the University of Ottawa. He is a founding member of the Scotiabank Giller Prize Advisory Board and he also serves as General Editor of the New Canadian Library and Editor of The Journal of Canadian Poetry.
This year's short-listed authors are:
Globe and Mail columnist Ian Brown - The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search For His Disabled Son;
Dr. John English - Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000;
Dr. Daniel Poliquin - Rene Levesque;
Maclean's Magazine publisher Kenneth Whyte - The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst.
The Prize commemorates the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada's foremost essayists, a foreign correspondent and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community whose dream was to raise the public profile of literary non-fiction.
The Prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and $2,000 for each runner-up with promotional support for each shortlisted title.
The winner of the 2010 Prize will be announced at a Gala Luncheon and Awards Ceremony on Monday, February 8th. The Prize is presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation with generous support from Bravo!, Book Television, Ben McNally Books, CTV, CNW Group, Event Source, Windfield Farm Limited, Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, The Globe and Mail, and Quill & Quire. For more information:www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca.
Photographs by Stephen Weir
CUTLINES: Top - Dr. David Staines under the glare of the E-Talk camera lights
Bottom - There is an E-Talk truck in the driveway!

Book 'Em Danno - Literary Non-Fiction Event Makes For Television Magic

Book 'Em Danno at Non-Fiction Book Lovers Love-In

Close to 150 Toronto book lovers crowded into the downtown Masonic Temple to watch the live taping of a literary discussion between the four short-listed authors for this year's Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction and CTV host
Seamus O'Regan. The taping was for an upcoming hour-long Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction special Arts & Minds special on Bravo! and Book Television.
The Friday evening taping had Seamus O'Regan asking the authors "what literary non-fiction is?". Over the course of the hour long show, each man talked about his book and gave O'Regan a take on the meaning of the genre. Audience members asked questions, books were given away and television magic was made!
And when it was all over? Indigo Books had set up a table in the Masonic Temple where audience members could purchase the four books and (if you were quick) get them signed by the authors.
All of this year’s four short-listed authors appeared at the Masonic Temple. Those authors are:

Globe and Mail columnist Ian Brown - The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search For His Disabled Son;
Dr. John English - Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000;
Dr. Daniel Poliquin - Rene Levesque;
Maclean's Magazine publisher Kenneth Whyte - The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst

The Charles Taylor Prize is the country's most prestigious non-fiction award. Since 2000, the Prize has been a major driving force behind the recognition and growth of Canadian non-fiction. Now in its 9th year, the privately-funded prize celebrates Canada's literary voices, recognizing the exceptional authors and journalists who captivate us with their stories, insights, and writing style. More than 125 submissions competed for a place on the 2010 Shortlist. Originally awarded every two years, since 2005 the Prize has been awarded annually to a Canadian author whose book best demonstrates a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception.
The Prize commemorates the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada's foremost essayists, a foreign correspondent and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community whose dream was to raise the public profile of literary non-fiction.
The Prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and $2,000 for each runner-up with promotional support for each shortlisted title.
The winner of the 2010 Prize will be announced at a Gala Luncheon and Awards Ceremony on Monday, February 8th. The Prize is presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation with generous support from Bravo!, Book Television, Ben McNally Books, CTV, CNW Group, Event Source, Windfield Farm Limited, Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, The Globe and Mail, and Quill & Quire. For more information: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca.

Photographs by Andrew Weir
CUTLINES

Top: Journalist and author Allan Fotheringham and fine art dealer Anne Fotheringham were in the audience. Author Ken Whyte can be seen in the background.
Second from Top - left: Ken Whyte (back to camera) talks to fellow short-listed author Ian Brown.
Second from Top - right: Isme Bennie, vice president and general manager of Bravo! was the driving force behind the evening taping. She attended the one-hour literary discussion
Bottom - The empty chairs on stage

MEDIA PREVIEW WITH EAST COAST ARTIST TOM FORRESTALL AT THE McMICHAEL

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McMichael Canadian Art Collection’s Tom Smart curates exhibition and writes the book about renowned Canadian realist painter, Thomas DeVany Forrestall.
Artist to attend Thursday media preview and Sunday opening for
Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings

When Thursday, January 28, 2010, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg (just north of the Major Mackenzie Drive, Islington Avenue intersection)
Why Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and curated by McMichael Canadian Art Collection Executive Director and CEO, Tom Smart, is a retrospective exhibition which chronicles the artist’s curious observation and exploration of his surroundings, the nature of his creativity, and the source of his visions, through his works. Forrestall’s art has been classified as Magic Realism – an imprecise term often used to describe the work of a coterie of East Coast Canadian painters who emerged after the Second World War (Alex Colville, Christopher Pratt, Mary Pratt). Although their geographic roots, styles and vocabularies were similar, these artists applied themselves differently, each adapting naturalism in a personal way.
Who Meet artist Tom Forrestall and exhibition curator and author, Tom Smart, McMichael Executive Director and CEO.
What A rare opportunity to meet East Coast artist Tom Forrestall. Mr. Forrestall will tour the exhibition with visiting media. Tom Smart has written a book which traces the development of Forrestall’s art and the depth of his long artistic career, and will be attending the Media Preview. The exhibition opens Saturday, January 30 and runs to April 25, 2010. Mr. Forrestall will speak and sign books at the exhibition opening on Sunday, January 31 at 1:00 p.m.
About the Gallery
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of more than 5,500 artworks, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, First Nations, and Inuit artists.
The gallery is located on Islington Avenue, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in Kleinburg, and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking. For more information about the gallery visit www.mcmichael.com.

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To RSVP, for further information or to receive high resolution photographs, contact:
Stephen Weir, Publicist
Gallery: 905.893.1121 ext. 2529
Toronto Office: 416.489.5868
Cell: 416.801.3101
sweir@mcmichael.com
Cathy Lepiane, Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
clepiane@mcmichael.com

Charles Taylor Prize Authors to speak at a TV special Writer's Circle in Toronto

Charles Taylor Prize Authors to speak at a TV special Writer's Circle in Toronto. Media and public welcome. Friday January 22nd, 7pm

TORONTO, Jan. 15 /CNW/ -

WHAT:
Taping of a literary discussion between the short-listed authors of this
year's Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction and CTV host Seamus
O'Regan. Public free to attend. RSVP is required. The taping is for an
upcoming Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction special on Bravo!

WHEN:
Friday, January 22, 2010 Doors Open: 7:00 pm. Taping Begins: 7:30 pm

WHERE:
MASONIC TEMPLE, 888 Yonge St (at Davenport)

WHO:
Ian Brown - The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search For His Disabled Son,
John English - Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968 -
2000,
Daniel Poliquin - Rene Levesque
Kenneth Whyte - The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William
Randolph Hearst

WHY:

This is the only opportunity for the public to hear the short-listed
authors. The public should rsvp at: audience@bravo.ca.

The Charles Taylor Prize is the country's most prestigious non-fiction award. Since 2000, the Prize has been a major driving force behind the recognition and growth of Canadian non-fiction. Now in its 9th year, the privately-funded prize celebrates Canada's literary voices, recognizing the exceptional authors and journalists who captivate us with their stories, insights, and writing style. More than 125 submissions are competing for a place on the 2010 Shortlist. Originally awarded every two years, since 2005 the Prize has been awarded annually to a Canadian author whose book best demonstrates a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception.
The Prize commemorates the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada's foremost essayists, a foreign correspondent and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community whose dream was to raise the public profile of literary non-fiction.
The Prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and $2,000 for each runner-up with promotional support for each shortlisted title.
The winner of the 2010 Prize will be announced at a Gala Luncheon and Awards Ceremony on Monday, February 8th. The Prize is presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation with generous support from Bravo!, Ben McNally Books, CTV, CNW Group, Event Source, Windfield Farms Limited, Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, The Globe and Mail, and Quill & Quire. For more information: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca.
For further information: Media are requested to confirm their attendance with Stephen Weir & Associates: Stephen Weir: (416) 489-5868, cell: (416) 801-3101, sweir5492@rogers.com; Linda Crane: (905) 257-6033, cell: (416) 727-0112, cranepr@cogeco.ca

Media Launch All Wet at Toronto's Indoor Lake

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Boat Show Friday morning Media Launch leaves other media events in its wake and snowbank.

My associate Linda Crane penned the slogan "Put a Little Summer in Your Winter at the Toronto Boat Show" over a decade ago. It worked then and it works now - a visit to the boat show does wonders for me ... it is uplifting, fun and it makes you think warm weather is just days away (even though it is so cold security is running around the CNE grounds giving battery boosts!)
I briefly attended a Photo Opportunity at the Boat Show on Friday (January 7th) the day before the show officially opened even though I had other important (i.e. paying) jobs to look after. The Media Alert issued to the boating media by Holmes Communication is printed below.
Videographer George Socka (Beach Digital) met up with me at The Lake, Canada's only temporary indoor lake. It is 4ft deep and the size of an AHL Hockey Rink ( not a surprising because in fact, after the boat show ends, it becomes a hockey rink for the Toronto Marlies).
Although it is a small space for wakeboarding, the Boat Show was able to put on an interesting aerial display for video crews and still photographers (I might have been the only print journalist there).
The wakeboarders didn't use a tow boat to get them up to jumping speed. Instead, a high speed wire whip winch was employed to pull the performers across the water and onto a jumping ramp. In the sport of wakeboarding it is important that one climbs the ramp at a high rate of speed - the faster you go, the higher you can fly off the ramp.
On Friday the wire winch was pulling slow, so there were spills and chills (the water is near freezing) along with thrills as the boat show performers went aerial at a very slow speed!
Pictured are Mississauga's Scott Duke (white helmet and vest), Oakville's Matt Sacchitiello (red & grey safety vest), Chris Guard (the upside down wakeboarder who has just lost his white helmet) and Port Carling's Dan Brown (in grey).
The media event was well attended by the electronic media (CP-24, CITY TV and Global TV) but less so by the dailies. The Toronto Sun dropped by briefly to take pictures,while the Star, the embattered National Post and the Globe gave the event a pass. Always an opportunist, I took four of George Socka's pictures shown above and offered them to the Star City Desk gratis. It was late in the day, it was an event they had passed on, and, I didn't send them cutlines ... so, the pictures printed above never did see the light of day beyond this website.

For Immediate Release January 7, 2010 MEDIA ALERT/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Wild Wakeboard Riders Perform
on The Lake Inside Ricoh Coliseum

What: Professional wakeboarders and wakeskaters will take to the water to perform on the world’s largest indoor recreational venue in a sample of the spectacular Winch Jam at the Toronto International Boat Show. These incredible athletes will demonstrate the range of their skills and provide a sample of their show jam-packed with grinds, tricks and flips.

Performers:
• Scott Duke/Wakeboard
Manages North America’s largest wakeboard camp
• Chris Guard/Wakeboard
Global Team Rider for Gater Boards
• Dan Brown/Wakeskate
One of Canada’s top wakeskaters
Where: Ricoh Coliseum, 100 Princes’ Blvd (enter via Heritage Court on the West side of Direct Energy Centre)
When: 10am sharp, Friday January 8, 2010
Media should contact the Toronto International Boat Show PR contact for access to the event:

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Media Contact:
Chris McDowall
cmcdowall@hccink.com
(416) 628-5648
www.HolmesCreativeCommunications.com

Four Authors Chosen For This Year's Charles Taylor Prize Short-List

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The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction Announces its 2010 Shortlist
TORONTO, Jan. 5 - This morning, at a news conference at Toronto's Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, Noreen Taylor, prize founder and chair of the Charles Taylor Foundation, announced that the jury - composed of award-winning author Andrew Cohen (Ottawa), Tim Cook (Ottawa), winner of the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, and award-winning translator Sheila Fischman (Montréal) - read 125 Canadian-authored books, submitted by 34 publishers from across North America. Mrs. Taylor went on to introduce Mr. Cohen who made the following announcement before an audience of publishers, media, and booksellers:
The 2010 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction finalists are:
Ian Brown for The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search For His Disabled Son, published by Random House Canada.
The jury notes, "In telling the story of his son afficted with a rare, mysterious disease, Ian Brown takes us into a netherworld where medicine and morality meet. He recounts the quotidian struggles of Walker with artless candour, quirky humour and unsparing detail. Marshalling a journalist's investigative tools, Brown searches out the disabled and finds not only them, but a community of geneticists, neurologists, ethicists, and secular saints. His account of his journey is deeply discomfiting and deeply affecting. Along the way, Brown discovers himself - and the capacity for love."
John English for Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968 - 2000, published by Knopf Canada.
The jury notes, "Just Watch Me, the second of a two-volume biography, examines the leadership of Pierre Elliott Trudeau as he manages the threats to Canada's unity and prosperity in the last third of the twentieth century. A master of synthesis, John English brings the sharp eye and deft pen of the seasoned historian to his engaging interpretation of Canada's most provocative, if erratic, prime minister. Here is a memorable portrait of Trudeau at full flood - as nation-builder, strongman, electioneer, aesthete, intellectual, outdoorsman, husband, father, and lover - drawn with authority, humanity and sympathy."
Daniel Poliquin for René Lévesque, published by Penguin Canada.
The jury notes, "Daniel Poliquin offers an engaging portrait of René Lévesque: a nation-building hero to some, a nation-destroying villain to others. Richly insightful and deftly written, Poliquin pivots easily from the man and society, his enemies and friends, his victories and defeats, all the while capturing his complexity and conflicts. René Lévesque is a high-octane narrative."
Kenneth Whyte for The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst, published by Random House Canada.
The jury notes: "In masterful prose, Kenneth Whyte recounts the struggle between America's two greatest newspaper publishers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Based on prodigious research and a deep understanding of late-nineteenth-century newspaper empires, he reveals how these megalomaniac millionaires reshaped the publishing world, capturing the conflict and struggle as they gambled with their fortunes to win readers and drive their enemies into bankruptcy. The Uncrowned King is a page-turner; readers will never look the same way at their daily newspapers."
The prestigious Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction recognizes excellence in Canadian non-fiction writing. Since its inception the prize has fostered a growing interest in non-fiction, engaged Canadians in the genre of literary non-fiction, and boosted sales of the winning authors' books. Founded in commemoration of the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada's foremost essayists and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community, the prize is awarded annually to the author whose book best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception.
The 2010 prize finalists will be in Toronto for media days in mid-January and then again from February 6 - 8, 2010. On Sunday, February 7, they will speak about their writing at a special instalment of The Globe and Mail/Ben McNally Books brunch series event. The finalists will be honoured and the winner announced at a Gala Luncheon and Awards Ceremony the following day. Both the Sunday and Monday events will take place at Le Meridien King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto. The prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and $2,000 for each of the remaining finalists, as well as promotional and publicity support to help all of the shortlisted books stand out in the national media, bookstores, and libraries.
The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation with the generous support of its partners: Ben McNally Books, Bravo! and Book Television, Canada Newswire (CNW), Event Source, Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, Quill & Quire, The Globe and Mail, and Windfields Farm.
To Download high-resolution images of the jury, finalists, and shortlisted titles, please go to:
http://www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/2010/photogallery_10.asp
For more information please visit: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca
Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/taylorprize
For further information: Media contact: Stephen Weir & Associates, Stephen Weir: (416) 489-5868, cell: (416) 801-3101, stephen@stephenweir.com; Linda Crane: (905) 257-6033, cell: (416) 727-0112, cranepr@cogeco.ca

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Cutlines: Top - Noreen Taylor at the podium. Photograph by Dave Tollington
Middle: Author and journalist Andrew Cohen, one of the jurors for the 2010 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction joins Prize chair and founder, Noreen Taylor following the announcement of this year's finalists. This year's Shortlist was announced today (Jan. 5) in Toronto. (CNW Group/Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction)
Bottom: Duking it out...Noreen Taylor, founder of The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is ready for the match between two of this year's finalists. Coincidentally books about political adversaries (Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque) were among the four shortlisted books. This year's shortlisted authors are: Ian Brown for The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search For His Disabled Son; John English for Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau; Daniel Poliquin for René Lévesque; and Kenneth Whyte for The Crowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst. The finalists were announced today (Jan. 5) in Toronto. (CNW Group/Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction)

Hours of work to make seconds of TV during CFTO weather forecast

Weather Or Not It Is Worth It.

Back at the TV station it is considered Pimping Up the News Broadcast. In an endless stream of accident reports, murder stories, gridlocked traffic reports, the bright spot in the news cycle is the "live-eye" reports. You know the drill. An on-air personality takes a remote crew and visits an event to give a series of good news 2-minute hits during the newscast.
In Toronto, Roger's owned CITY-TV pioneered the "live-eye" remote with its morning crew, anchored by singer and TV personality Jennifer Valentyne. Cross-town rivals, CTV's CFTO have countered with their roving weather reporters - Anwar Knight and Tom Brown - who go on location at events and happenings to wrap good-news stories around their newscast weather reports.
Regardless of which station you watch, the "live-eye" reports are always upbeat and hopefully fun for the viewers. Although the remotes seem light and breezy the stations spend considerable thought and funds into each daily foray into the community. There are satellite trucks, remote cameras, technicians and talent dedicated to visiting everything from the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, to Scotiabank Caribana. Over a year the live-eyers talk to civic leaders, trade show pitchmen, performers, artists, authors and yes, sometimes even clowns in full greasepaint. And, at Christmas they talk to religious leaders.
People like me are often involved in setting up live-eye visits. Television crews depend on outside help that they trust to round up guests to appear in a visually interesting setting and talk for no more than two-minutes about a specific subject. The guests have to be articulate, to-the-point and interesting. They shouldn't stutter, have thick accents or strange facial expressions. They must be willing to get up painfully early and wait for hours to appear on the "live eye" and accept with good grace having their segments moved or dropped. Most importantly the guests and all the location/events support staff (and publicist) must not charge the TV station for their time and costs.
In PR terms it makes sense to help out. Because the live-eye visits are good news skewed there aren't hard questions to answer. The guests that appear live are permitted to explain to viewers why they should be interested in their story. The live-eye is one of the few opportunities in the broadcast cycle for people to show and tell, and 2-minutes is a long long time on TV. Since the live-eye remote returns to the same location four times over the course of a broadcast, your story gets to repeatedly hit on the ever changing viewership which drops in and out of programmes many times over an hour.
On Wednesday December 16th I received an email from weatherman Anwar Knight at CFTO to ask for assistance with the noon "live-eye" on Friday December 19th. It took us a few hours to actually connect by phone, so, whatever help the station's weatherman needed, had to be organized by end-of-day Thursday.
In the lead-up to Christmas CFTO was sending Anwar to places of worship to see how different communities and different religions celebrated the holiday season. On Friday CFTO was to visit a Jamaican Canadian church, however, the Jamaican consulate somehow dropped the ball and there was no church for the station to visit. Did I know of any church that could help out over the noon hour on Friday?
I did. A year ago I had met with Pastor Pat Francis of the Kingdom Covenant Ministries in Mississauga. A special envoy to the United Nations, a charismatic preacher and the leader of a growing church, she hoped to hire me to help with a building project. The church, its private school and offices are currently entrenched in an old warehouse. The warehouse church is big but not big enough for its growing congregation. They currently have 3 services on Sunday and 1,000 people worship at each service.
Pastor Pat wants to build a $30 million church and school near the Mississauga / Toronto border. She figures she will need the help of a PR agency. I quoted but never heard back (even churches do that Toronto thing -- silence means no). I didn't forget Pastor Pat and always thought she would be great on TV.
With calls to the Church Deacon in Trinidad and the help of Andre Newell, a church member and a member of the Scotiabank Caribana marketing team, we were able to open the church up 48 hours after Anwar's call and help created 4 segments of good television.

This is what happened.

Wednesday - 2 calls to Trinidad from the vegetable aisle of Loblaws
Thursday - Pastor Pat agrees to appear on television
- Andre Newell asks Olunike Adeliyi,, an actress who recently appeared in the Flashpoint drama TV series to come to the church on Friday and help with the broadcast (she is a member of the congregation)
- Andre talks to Jamaican restaurant who donate traditional Caribbean Christmas dishes
- Andre asks gospel singer and organist to perform during the broadcast
- Stephen Weir provided CFTO with location map, background on the church, Pastor Pat and some of the Christmas traditions celebrated in the Caribbean.
Friday - Stephen Weir meets the three-man crew at 10.30 at the church. Cables are laid from the remote truck into the alter area of the church.
-Stephen Weir meets with Pastor Pat and members of her church to talk about the broadcast
- The Organist and singer arrive. The organist begins performing background music
- The Church has an A/V department which set up their own camera and lighting. A Christmas tree is decorate and a corner of the church is draped for a food segment
- Andre sets out the food.
- Anwar Knight arrives and meets the crew, Pastor Pat, Tattiawna Jones and members of the church.

At noon the broadcast began. After giving the weather Anwar interviewed Pastor Pat asking her about how Caribbean Canadians mark Christmas. Anwar wanted to stress that Christmas is a time for families to be together. Pastor Pat agreed but reminded viewers the most important thing over the holidays was Our Savour.
The second segment was with Olunike Adeliyi,talking about Christmas. Our gospel singer sang and the cameras saw how the Church was decorated for the holidays
In our third segment Anwar, Pastor Pat and Olunike Adeliyi, sampled Jamaican food. (We did get a plug in for the restaurant the home-made sorrel, black cake and a beef-patty like dish).
The fourth and last segment didn't run too smoothly - we had hoped the children attending the Church's elementary school would appear on camera (they were having an end of the year party in the next room). No model releases - so CTV was concerned about having the young students on air. The school principal didn't like the fact that kids were out of uniform, so, the children segment was scrapped.
In its place Andre and I hustled around and collected wrapped presents and put them under a Christmas tree. Dr. Pat talked about the Church's Toy Drive. It is being done in conjunction with CHUM radio, but, she was asked not say CHUM radio. Even though CTV owns the radio station, CFTO has its own Toy Drive and didn't want to promote someone else's drive!
CFTO was also worried about the copyright of the songs sung by our singer and played by our keyboardist. The solution? She sang a really old song and the organist played music that was copyright free.
By 1 o'clock it was all over. Four live segments were shot giving the church 10 minutes of air time. It took 20 volunteers, a few international phone calls and 8-hours of work by Andre and myself.
Was it worth it? Hard to tell! Do people still watch noon-hour TV? Will they remember the name of the church or its charismatic pastor? Who is going to pay me for a day of my time?
I don't have all the answers. I know viewership numbers are down but I think at least 100,000 people caught at least one of the spots. They might not remember the church's name, but, I believe they will remember Pat and her passion and intensity and profound faith.
For me, I didn't have to come, I could have done everything over the phone - however I do worry so, I made a point of being there. And I accept the fact that I am not getting paid. Cell calls to Trinidad were made on my dime. The drive, the two hours at the church and three hours of prep work were pro-bono.
I did send a note to Matt Garrow CTV's PR guy telling him I'd helped Anwar out. Can't hurt. Would I do it again? Depends on the Weather ... and I don't mind helping out a good cause.

Cutlines:
Top: Pastor Dr. Pat Francis
Middle: Anwar Knight with a member of the congregation
Bottom: The broadcast in session

Pat Francis - Biography

Dr. Pat Francis through her local and international ministries has reached millions of people with the message and mission of hope.
Pat believes that "knowledge is power" and through her dynamic teaching seminars and weekly television program "Good News with Pat Francis" she empowers millions of people with wisdom and practical strategies to reach their full potential with the help of faith in God. She believes that education is the door to freedom and provides the foundation for a prosperous future. Pat Francis and her team have developed many schools from kindergarten to College and many associated programs to provide academic, social, and spiritual enhancement for children and young people. Over one hundred scholarships have been awarded to students to aid them in achieving their goals.
Pat's latest project "KC Collegiate" is an alternative high school with a customized program for high school dropouts providing a solution for the thousands of young people who are frustrated with the traditional public school program, with learning challenges and greatly at risk. Her Restorative Justice and Rehabilitation Program for youth were recently featured on "CFTO TV" referring to Dr. Pat Francis as a person that is "saving lives and stopping the cycle of crime in young people".
In 2004, Dr. Francis was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the United States Senate for her work in the faith community and her efforts to rescue at risk youths. She was also awarded recognition in "The International Who's who" because of her passionate commitment to helping children at risk and her positive influence in the local community.
Through her international charity "Compassion For The Nations" Pat has supported orphanages, pastors, and annually takes teams to third world countries and the Caribbean for medical missions, develop health care centres and teach at conferences throughout North America, The Caribbean, India, Africa, Peru, China and other nations.
As a Business Person, Dr. Pat has developed several businesses. Additionally, she has engaged the services of the business owners to teach people on successful business strategies and has helped hundreds to purchase their own homes or start businesses.
Dr. Pat is a graduate of the University of the West Indies in the medical field of Radiography. She is also a Certified Psychotherapist and holds two Masters degrees and a Doctorate from Christian Life School of Theology, Columbus, GA. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Pastoral Counseling and is the founder and President several charities.
She is an author, pastor, humanitarian and international conference speaker.

LOCATION OF CHURCH

Kingdom Covenant Ministries
20-1224 Dundas St. E.
Mississauga, ON
Canada
TL: 905.566.1084
Website: www.patfrancis.org