38 | SUNRAYS APRIL 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
News & Views Turns 10!
Resident-produced show celebrates 500 episodes
By Maggi Jones
I
n 2003, the Community Association
was considering starting a TV pro-
gram on Channel 79. The CA had sent
out a resident survey in fall 2003 asking
residents what they thought of Channel
79. Their answer: “We want program-
ming!” Residents wanted to see more of
their neighbors; more of the folks who
lived in Sun City Texas.
Judy Weckerly had been in Sun City Tex-
as only two years, having moved here in
2001, but she knew she could handle it
and decided to lead the project. The first
broadcast of the brand new Sun City TV
show
News & Views
was April 5, 2004,
and for 25 weeks the show aired live on
Channel 79. However, after those first 25
weeks, the crew began pre-taping their
shows, allowing for smoother transitions
and a more professional program that
could now be edited.
A Decade of Hard Work
Fast forward, and Judy and her team,
including her husband John, are now in
their 10th year working on this resident-
focused amenity, and even celebrating
their 500th episode! Since the program’s
inception, Judy and the
News & Views
crew have been working at least six
months ahead of each broadcast, sched-
uling rooms in which to tape, finding a
focus for each month, and figuring out
who to interview/contact to fit with each
monthly focus.
Ten years is quite an accomplishment,
and Judy attributes that to the nature
of the show itself. “It’s a show for and
about
us
[the residents],” she said. “You
can share things with your peers, and
even strangers who are a part of our com-
munity. We want to hear about ourselves
and our neighbors, and it makes our com-
munity tighter.”
John agreed, but he and the rest of the
crew also attribute the show’s success
to the woman behind it all: Judy, who
everyone agrees is the heart of the show.
“Judy has been the driving force, and
keeps us moving all of the time. I can’t
think of anyone else who could keep it
going quite as well as she has,” John said.
What’s Next?
Now that the show has hit this milestone,
they have no intent to let their success
go anywhere but forward. The crew’s
main goal is to achieve a permanent
space, instead of roaming from venue
to venue for each taping. They also hope
to possibly increase show times and grow
their online audience. For those inter-
ested in seeing
News & Views
episodes
online through 2012, visit
org and under the Communications tab,
click Videos.
For Judy and her team, the thing that
makes all of their hard work worth every
second: “We have the pleasure of helping
to tell the stories behind every door in
Sun City Texas.”
Back row, left to right: Gary Anderson, Charleen Scott, BJ Page, John Weckerly, Kay Hester, Mary Jane Berry, and John
Bickle. Front row, left to right: Sally Daly, Judy Weckerly, and Cheryl Wills.
