A Message from WVIA to our Community From Bill Kelly, President and CEO PITTSTON, PA (wvia) - Today I have the unhappy responsibility to report several steps WVIA is taking in response to financial pressures with which you are familiar nationally and some closer to home.

WVIA has never been more self-reliant, raising more than 60 percent of our operating budget through local donations of members, business underwriters and auctions. That has not changed, despite the national recession, validating yet again the remarkable generosity of people like you who watch, listen to and support our programs.

But slightly less than 40 percent of our budget comes from state and federal government grants and those sources are not secure. In just the last several weeks our state funding from the Commonwealth has been reduced significantly and we must be prepared for that grant to decline considerably more.

As difficult as it is, WVIA is first a non-profit business and we must act responsibly on behalf of so many of you who expect nothing less.

Management recently came to the conclusion that we would likely be confronted with at least a $200,000 deficit by June 30th if we did not react now to protect our programs and services to you.

We have therefore acted today, with the review and consent of the WVIA Executive Committee of our Board, to preserve those activities for which you most hold us accountable, while implementing the consequences to our highly valued staff as compassionately as possible.

Our plan includes cuts in operations and personnel between January 1 and June 30th. In addition to freezing all full and part-time openings, cuts were made in training, travel, dues, maintenance and hospitality.

Overtime has been eliminated and staff re-aligned in some cases combining two jobs into one. Impacts are across our departments; engineering, TV, radio, general administration, development and corporate communications are all affected.

There are 4 full-time layoffs, which for an organization that has long prided itself on very lean but highly talented staffing, was the most difficult decision of all. Every effort has and will continue to be made to provide an unprecedented severance package, extended healthcare benefits and help with job placement. We most regret the timing of these actions, but WVIA was able to be more generous now than after the holidays. Layoffs are effective immediately.

As President and CEO I am taking a 10 percent salary cut, and our Senior Vice Presidents have accepted a 5 percent reduction in their salaries.

The impacts of government cutbacks and the recession may not end here and further struggles may lie ahead. Therefore, failure to face up to what is in front of us was just not possible. However, we are confident that recovery will come, and with it a stronger WVIA that will champion our communities and citizens in ever more effective ways.

I have never been more proud of the people who come to work here because they so enjoy what we can do. That commitment to excellence and pride in success will not waiver. Nor will our service to you, as we act together to make these short-term challenges invisible to your television screens and radio speakers.

Thank you always for your generosity to WVIA.


Contact Bill Kelly
WVIA President and CE0
office -- 570-602-1120
cell -- 570-905-5037
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