Westborough TV Director Ready For Next Stage

Although Westborough TV Executive Director Donna Kelly is known for filming community events, "I have no background in video production," she says.

"My background is in English, in literature. So, I know a good story when I see it. I really think that Westborough's a town that has lots of good stories to tell," Kelly said Tuesday.

Kelly's story takes a twist -- "It's the next stage," she said -- when she steps down in early 2014, ending roughly five-and-a-half years as Westborough Community Access Television's top administrator.

"Michael and I both grew up, literally, in shoreline towns in Connecticut. And we're moving back to the shore," in Rhode Island, where they have a home, said Kelly, who hopes to leave Westborough TV in March.

"What I hope to do when we're down there is, we are really in a sort of arts community there. And I will be spending a great deal more time painting and creating, and launching my own blog site."

Kelly said the first stories she told for Westborough TV were as a volunteer, videotaping "primarily my son's hockey games, with a group of hockey dads."

"I had the time, because I was not working. I really like showing people at their best. And in this case, it was showing a bunch of kids playing sports," she said.

Kelly ultimately began filming other sports as well. She even had a show where Westborough High School coaches discussed their team.

She became Westborough TV executive director in September 2008.

The studio has grown considerably since then, adding staff, students and interns, she said.

"When I started here, we had, per month, between public, education and government channels, there was a total of perhaps 12 hours of original programming a month." Kelly said.

"Now, we do, as our goal, between 30 and 40 hours."

And a prospective volunteer who has completed Westborough TV's application process can be trained in 30 minutes -- a far cry from the three 3-hour evening sessions Kelly said she had to finish.

"The cameras look so much less impressive, because they've gotten smaller and lighter and easier to use. So, it's accessible to everyone," she said.