Bruce Haines, president and general manager of PBS Fort Wayne, has announced he will retire in 2025 following 17 years leading the regional public media organization.
Haines stepped into his leadership role in 2008 following 21 years leading Northeast Indiana’s public radio organization.
During his PBS tenure, the station moved from analog to high-definition operations, securing a $3.1 million capital campaign to upgrade all station production and operations to HD and outfit a production truck for on-location field work. The organization also increased their power, incorporated additional personnel to bring local content to new media platforms, and expanded the reach of its five broadcast channels and local productions through streaming services.
In recent years, PBS Fort Wayne has earned national awards for regional historical documentaries and arts programming, including four Telly Awards for local productions in 2023 and three Telly Awards in 2022.
The PBS Fort Wayne Board of Directors is working closely with Haines and senior leadership to maintain focus on the organization’s mission and strategic plan during this transition.
Fort Wayne authors debut children’s book
Fort Wayne residents Daniel Brown and his 8-year-old daughter Elise have released their first book, A Fly That Couldn’t Fly.
The self-published children’s book, illustrated by Ava James, is about finding self-confidence and conquering fears.
Daniel and Elise will be putting copies of the book in community book boxes throughout the region and hope to get copies into area school classrooms and libraries as well.
The book is written for ages 3-12 and is available on Amazon for $9.99.
For information about signings, read-along events, or to get copies email indypendentfam@yahoo.com.
New theater company pops up
Fort Wayne welcomes another theater group, TimeVista Theater, that envisions presenting works that encourage civil discussion about the nature of history and institutions.
Co-founded by Julie Donnell and Mitch Harper, the group will open with the northeast Indiana premiere of The Minutes, beginning Friday, Oct. 4.
This dark comedy about the white-washing of American history was written by Pulitzer-winning playwright Tracy Letts and features a combination of area actors and politicians, including former city council and school board members.
The Minutes follows a fictional small-town council meeting in real time over the course of 90 minutes. What starts out as a slice-of-life comedy slowly becomes a mystery and ends with a chilling conclusion.
The Minutes runs Oct. 4-13, with 7 p.m. performances on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are on sale at artstix.org and timevistatheater.org.
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