One of the most respected and valued members of the CAPS Media staff is leaving after two decades of service to the community. Evan Carpenter has been the Chief Engineer at the CAPS Media Center since the start nearly 20 years ago. In fact, Evan built or supervised the building of every component of the CAPS Media Center, the studio, production truck, radio station, remote facilities and much, much more. In honor of his valued contributions the board of directors voted unanimously to name the television studio the Evan Carpenter Studio.
Evan is the quiet and masterful media wizard working behind-the-scenes, keeping all the technical and electronic plates spinning at CAPS, all the while creatively collaborating and supporting staff members (who have changed over the years), and training and mentoring hundreds of CAPS members. To say that Evan will be missed is a tremendous understatement. No one knows the ins and outs of the media equipment and facilities as well as Evan.
Evan is returning home to Canada, to embark on the next stage of his extensive career among friends and family. Every staff member, board of director, and all the CAPS members who have had the pleasure of working with Evan over the past two decades thank him for his dedication, guidance and friendship. We all wish him good fortune and success on his next adventure.
Rest assured, somehow the good ship CAPS will cruise along. Collectively the CAPS staff is up to speed and skilled in operating all the equipment, systems and gear. As a result, CAPS Media will continue providing quality service to the public and public agencies 24×7 on television at CAPS Media Channel 6 and 15, radio on KPPQ FM 104.1and streaming at capsmedia.org.
Evan’s final farewell event was on Saturday, March 12th when the CAPS team covered the return of Ventura’s favorite spring event: The Ventura County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. After a two-year COVID induced hiatus the parade returned in all its glory with nearly 100 entries cruising down Main Street on a beautiful Ventura day. This year the CAPS professional staff was fortunate to have outstanding support from a dozen El Camino High School students who are learning media production and communication in the VUSD/CAPS/ECTV CTE program.
Saturday’s parade was an ideal opportunity for the zealous students to be mentored by the CAPS pros and work hands-on, side-by-side to take on the myriad of tasks needed to record a nonstop, live event. The combined CAPS/ECTV crew worked seamlessly to record the parade and turn it around in a few hours to air on CAPS Media Channel 6 the same afternoon. The parade continued to air on CAPS Channel 6 at various times throughout the following week.
Thanks to everyone’s diligence it appears that the COVID crisis is slowly fading. At this time, the CAPS Media Center remains closed to the public. We continue to serve the community and fulfill the CAPS mission: To create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. For information go to capsmedia.org.
