2018 2018 2018ANNUAL REPORT 2018 A LETTER FROM LPB A LETTER FROM PREsidENT & cEO LOUisiANA EdUcATiONAL BETh cOURTNEy TELEvisiON AUThORiTy BOARd chAiR KAThy KLiEBERT ear Friends, s chairman of Louisiana Educational Television DThe years seem to be whizzing by at a faster rate. They A Authority, the governing body for Louisiana Public tell me this is a function of age, but i think that the LPB family Broadcasting’s (LPB) six non-commercial licensed television is simply growing larger and our programs are becoming stations (WLPB - Baton Rouge, KLPA - Alexandria, KLPB - richer in context and meaning. case in point, this is the Lafayette, KLTL - Lake charles, KLTs - shreveport and KLTM year we celebrated a Louisiana French Renaissance mark- - Monroe), i can say with assurance that LPB continues ing the 50th anniversary of the council For the development to stay at the forefront of technology, education services, of French in Louisiana. LPB has had a long relationship and production projects guaranteeing that the Louisiana with cOdOFiL. Not only did we produce a documentary viewing public gets the quality programming it has come about its history, but we digitized and saved in our archives to expect. (LdMA) hundreds of hours of French language programs it has been an exciting year for LETA. On the educa- produced here in our state. This year we shared with the tion front, the LPB education department was awarded a country the extraordinary music of Zachary Richard whose $175,000 grant called “Ready to Learn” which serves the moving musical history of the Acadian people was entitled 70802 zip code. LPB provides workshops, camps, head Attakapas: The Cajun Story. We are proud to produce pro- start outreach, and other services that provide educational grams such as this that are uniquely Louisiana. opportunities for a chronically underserved community. Of course we continued honoring Louisiana young he- LPB made a critically acclaimed digital series on you- roes and Louisiana Legends. Our 2018 Legends were d-d Tube called “Nourish”, about whole hog bar-b-que hosted Breaux, Thomas chance, James Elrod, sybil Morial, and by a NAsA engineer. The series provided a well-received Ted Jones. hailing from all parts of Louisiana, we rejoiced in unique twist to food programming. We continue to explore their success and celebrated with their families and friends. new ways to connect with our viewers on many different i especially enjoyed our second concert from the Gover- platforms. nor’s mansion during the holiday season with Louisiana’s i look forward to what 2019 will bring us and what we own Paul Groves, a world class tenor who has generously can give to Louisiana to maintain Louisiana Public Broad- shared his talent with LPB. We were also fortunate in 2018 casting’s high standard of community engagement and to be a part of The Great American Read. We asked you to excellent programming. share your favorite books with us and were gratifed by the passion of our viewers for books. Of course many of your favorite PBs programs from Poldark to Victoria were based on books. Finally, we ventured into the brand new world of digital only productions with our national series, Nourish. The host is a NAsA rocket scientist, dr. howard conyers and his hobby is cooking “whole hog bar-b-que.” dr. conyers traveled the south fnding stories of food and folkways that “Nourish” the viewer and engaged thousands of followers on social media. We are happy to report that this year our resources were 2018-2019 LOUISIANA EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION AUTHORITY BOARD stable at the state and federal level. The future promises new challenges both technical and fnancial but we have so Kathy Kliebert, Chairperson many more stories to share and new generations to reach Valencia Burton, Vice-Chairperson with the message of public broadcasting that the forecast Dr. Tina S. Holland, Secretary looks excellent indeed. Conrad Comeaux, Treasurer Gwen Carter, Immediate Past Chairperson LPB broadcasts on the following television stations. Raedtha Vasquez Baton Rouge • WLPB-DT 27.1, 27.2, 27.3 Julie Cherry Monroe • KLTM-DT 13.1, 13.2, 13.3 Eartha Cross Lake Charles • KLTL-DT 18.1, 18.2, 18.3 Sydni Dunn Lafayette • KLPB-DT 24.1, 24.2, 24.3 Nikki Godfrey Nancy S. Harrelson Shreveport • KLTS-DT 24.1, 24.2, 24.3 Jada Lewis Alexandria • KLPA-DT 33.1, 33.2, 33.3 David Tatman New Orleans • WLAE-DT 32.1, 32.2, 32.3 Christopher J. Wegmann Local cable channels may vary. 2 • LPB ANNUAL REPORT | 2018 A LETTER FROM A LETTER FROM FRiENds OF LPB FOUNdATiON FOR 2018 BOARd chAiR EXcELLENcE iN RAEdThA vAsqUEZ LOUisiANA PUBLic BROAdcAsTiNG BOARd chAiR chARLEs sPENcER or over forty years, Louisiana Public Broadcasting has he Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Excellence in Fbeen the leader in educational television in our state. LPB TLouisiana Public Broadcasting is composed of key com- has provided a public forum for meaningful dialogue, been munity leaders who are committed to ensuring the future a trusted source of information and a stage for cultural and fnancial health of Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Their arts programming. strong commitment to LPB arises from their belief in its vital Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting is a nonproft role in improving our state and its citizenry and in enhanc- corporation operating solely to support LPB through year- ing Louisiana’s public image. round fundraising efforts. The majority of contributions come The Foundation Board oversees the endowment invest- directly from viewers, and in 2018, resulted in $1,282,000 ment portfolio, which follows guidelines that are defned in being transferred to LPB for the purpose of acquiring and the FELPB investment Policy statement. The Policy dictates producing educational and cultural programs for the enrich- the construction of a broadly-diversifed, globally-balanced ment of all citizens of Louisiana. portfolio that is designed to achieve returns that are sup- This year, the Friends of LPB Board of directors, consisting portive of desired spending, while minimizing investment of 30 volunteers from across the state, embarked on two risk. ambitious endeavors: To that end, the portfolio appreciated by 7.98% during First, as part of the recently adopted strategic plan, the fscal year 2018, and exceeded our performance expecta- Board dedicated itself to increased involvement by establish- tions. strong results in a number of asset classes including ing new committee structures, with specifc goals in fundrais- domestic equities and fxed income helped to drive strong ing and marketing. absolute and relative returns. second, as an extension of the fundraising and market- As the economic cycle matures, we continue to explore ing goals, Friends of LPB kicked-off its “20,000 Friends for options that will allow us to deliver suitable returns in an 2020” campaign. LPB knows the media landscape is shift- investment environment that is exhibiting higher levels of ing, audiences are changing, and as always, funding is an volatility. We remain confdent that the portfolio structure open question. in other words, it is the perfect moment for has the ability to weather different phases of the cycle and LPB to lead during a time of transformation and opportunity to meet the Foundation’s objectives over the long term. in media. We invited our 13,000 current members and our Professional investment management and advice continue viewers to help us reach our goal of expanding our circle of to be provided to the Foundation Board by The J.K. Meek friends to 20,000 members by the end of 2020. Group at Graystone consulting. its strong track record Throughout 2018, the talented staff of three and the over in working with the Foundation Board over the years has 150 volunteers of Friends of LPB, produced on-air pledge greatly benefted LPB. drives, engaged in community enrichment and outreach, and Financial support of LPB through annual giving and produced the signature annual event, the Louisiana Legends planned gifts is essential to its future, especially in light of Gala & Auction. the lack of available state funding. Please contribute now to Now in our 43rd year of making educational, inspira- help ensure the continuation of LPB’s excellent programming tional, and entertaining television available to citizens of all for today and all the tomorrows. ages in our state, it is the generosity of those who share our vision who will ensure LPB continues to lead in the digital century. We thank you for recognizing the value that Louisi- ana Public Broadcasting offers and appreciate your contin- ued support of Friends of LPB. 2018 - 2019 FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING BOARD FRIENDS OF LPB BOARD Charles Spencer, Chair Mary T. Joseph, Secretary Dr. William Arceneaux, Director Rae Vasquez, Chairperson Cheri Ausberry Dr. Marshall Sommers-Gunn Sondra Mott Long Bob Emmert, Vice-Chairperson Patricia (Tricia) A. Cran, M.D. Joey Haddad Bettsie Baker Miller Barbara DeCuir Ann Wilkinson, Treasurer John Denison Bo Harris Willie Landry Mount Sally Clausen Bo Harris, Secretary Sloan Deumite Seth Irby Jodi Penn Rives Rose J. Hudson Bill Blackwood, Immediate Past Bob Emmert Martha Juban Jamie Schlottman H. Alston Johnson III Chairperson Donna Ewing Anne Kennedy Carol Shadoin Frank McArthur Sally Fenet Robert Levy Dr. Sue Weaver Darrel Papillion Jennifer Zundel Forest Laura Lindsay Dr. William Weldon 3 • LPB ANNUAL REPORT | 2018 outreach in 2018, Louisiana Public Broadcasting informed, educat- The Great American Read: LPB’s Great American ed, and connected with Louisianans through a wide variety Read Reveal Party took place in October, for the series of social and cultural events, fun family gatherings, and fnale, at the East Baton Rouge Main Library. As part of the enriching educational activities.