Lynn educational station celebrates 25 years

LYNN ? It is a pure labor of love that has brought Lynn school events into focus over the last 25 years through Lynn Educational Television.When John Hoffman was honored during a testimonial earlier this summer, he made it clear that any credit he receives for his work on LETV is to be shared among those who make the network the success that it is.At the top of the list would be LETV Executive Director Phil Terenzoni and Assistant Director Mike Quinn, both retired Lynn teachers and the only two salaried employees in connection with the program. Paul Stafford, who performs a variety of administrative roles, Hoffman and the dozens of Lynn students who work on telecasts receive a stipend and round out the list.Terenzoni, who retired from teaching in 2004 after 33 years in Lynn Public Schools, started his TV career in 1986 as a volunteer producer of weekly services at the Second Congregational Church in Peabody. At the time, he was a shop teacher at Pickering Middle School.When Time Warner Cable came into Lynn a year later, a TV studio was installed at Pickering, and Terenzoni was put in charge. Four years later he transferred to Classical and took over the TV studio there.Quinn was an LPS teacher for 35 years, starting in 1974. He taught woodworking and carpentry at Cobbet Junior High and Breed Middle School for 14 years, before teaching TV production at Breed from 1995 until his retirement in 2009. Like Terenzoni, he has stayed on to help run LETV.LETV is funded through grants from Lynn Public Schools in addition to money from the franchise fees Comcast and Verizon pay the city. LETV receives approximately $300,000 per year and uses the money for equipment, production expenses and salaries.In 2013 there were almost 500 shows on the network, covering everything from athletics, plays and concerts to graduations, National Honor Society inductions and ESL classes.There are also specialty shows, like “Cooking with George,” “Youth of Lynn Spotlight” and “Sports Weekly,” the talk show Hoffman hosted for 30 years.?Anything that happens in the schools that can be broadcast, we do it,” Terenzoni said.All three public high schools offer TV production classes, taught by Ken Vorspan at English, Afton Dean at Classical and Don Hussey at Tech. Within the last few months, new studios have been installed at the three high schools and Breed, and the Breed equipment was moved to Pickering. The new Marshall Middle School will also have an LETV studio. A live news show is produced and aired in the schools daily.Terenzoni said the most rewarding aspect of LETV is the student participation. This past school year, 70 students worked for the station, gaining TV experience while getting paid. The program has also spawned some impressive alumni including columnist and TV/radio contributor Christopher Gasper, who co-hosted (with Justin Pagano) the “Sports Authorities” show as a Classical student in 1996-97.?Being on live television in high school was a tremendous opportunity and learning experience for me,” said Gasper, who was a guest speaker at the Hoffman testimonial in June. “It helped me learn to think on my feet and speak extemporaneously under pressure. It taught me the importance of being able to present information in a clear, coherent, engaging and entertaining fashion. Those are skills I employ when I do TV and radio.”Another LETV product, 2004 Classical graduate Debbie (Comeau) King, is an assignment editor at New England Cable News. Josh Polonsky, a 1996 Classical graduate, is studio manager at Comcast SportsNet New England. Sean Donahue, a 2004 Classical grad, is operations manager at LynnCam and co-host of “Lynn MA Sportscast.” Eric Smith, a 2012 Classical grad who attends Purdue, still works at LETV in the summer as a cameraman. As a student, he hosted a sports show called “Breakdown,” in which he predicted the results of collegiate and professional sporting events.?A lot of kids got their first taste of television production with us and ha