APTV may have new Executive Director soon

Here’s hoping APTV’s glory days are ahead!

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Alabama Educational Television Commission calls special meeting to discuss new APT executive director

Published: Friday, August 17, 2012, 3:18 PM     Updated: Friday, August 17, 2012, 5:50 PM

By Bob Carlton — The Birmingham News

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The Alabama Educational Television Commission, which has come under attack since it fired Alabama Public Television executive director Allan Pizzato in June, has called a special meeting for Saturday to discuss hiring Pizzato’s replacement.

According to a notice posted this afternoon on the Alabama Open Meetings Act website, one of the items on the agenda for Saturday is the “selection/hiring/appointment and discussion of Executive officers including but not limited to Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.”

The special called meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. at APT headquarters in Birmingham. [Ed. note: The meeting is scheduled for 3PM, Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 2112 11th Avenue South, Suite 400, Birmingham, AL 35205; Contact: 205-328-8756. The Open Meetings Act notice was filed Friday, August 17, 2012 at 12:09:08 PM, and described a “special/called” meeting type.]

Ferris Stephens, chairman of the AETC, confirmed this afternoon that the commission plans to vote on a new executive director at Saturday’s meeting, but he would not say if the commission already has a candidate or candidates in mind.

“I expect a vote on an executive director, if that’s what you’re asking,” Stephens said.

Regarding the short notice and the timing of the meeting, Stephens said it is “not unheard of” for the AETC to meet on a Saturday.

“This is the thing,” he said. “We’ve got commissioners from all over the state and from all seven congressional districts, so that just happened to be the time that was just best.”

At that same June 12 meeting where it met in closed session to fire Pizzato, the AETC also dismissed deputy director and chief financial officer Pauline Howland.

In wake of their dismissals, APT chief operating officer Charles Grantham announced on Aug. 1 that he will resign at the end of this month.

In his resignation letter to interim APT executive director Don Boomershine, Grantham said he could “no longer trust the long term goals of the Commission,” referring to the AETC.

According to Stephens, the commission will discuss the CFO and COO openings at Saturday’s meeting, as well.

“We are going to discuss that and just the whole thing in general,” he said.

Since his firing, Pizzato has filed a lawsuit against the AETC, claiming the commissioners violated the state’s open meetings law when it held the closed-door session to terminate him.

Last week, Jefferson Country Circuit Judge Joseph Boohaker ruled that Pizzato’s attorneys could proceed with the lawsuit and scheduled another hearing for Sept. 4.

Email Bob Carlton

Twitter: @BobBhamNews

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