WKYC Partners With Cleveland Metroparks And BVU To Make A Difference In Northeast Ohio

Hundreds of volunteers will join forces on Saturday, October 26th as Northeast Ohio celebrates Make a Difference Day.

WKYC is leading the charge on this national day of volunteering. Partnering with the Cleveland Metroparks and BVU: Center for Non Profit Excellence, WKYC is encouraging viewers across Northeast Ohio to join them in helping to make our community a better place to live.

Make a Difference Day started more than 20 years ago when USA Weekend Magazine and Points of Light joined together to sponsor the largest national day of community service. It’s grown into a day that has millions of volunteers around the world uniting in a common mission to improve the lives of others.

This year WKYC is focusing its volunteer effort on the Cleveland Metroparks. So far more than 500 volunteers have registered to work at various locations across the Metroparks on Saturday, sprucing up and beautifying the park areas enjoyed by so many. The Cleveland Metroparks spans more than 23,000 acres of walking trails, bike paths, nature reserves, community spaces and a nationally acclaimed Zoo.

In addition, BVU has worked to create and fill dozens of other volunteer projects across Northeast Ohio on Saturday. Those projects include efforts by students at Cleveland State University who will be working in several of the area Boys & Girls Clubs. More than 700 students from the University of Akron are signed up to work at nonprofit organizations across Summit County and  more than 100 volunteers will be spending their time in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

WKYC News & Notes: 10/14/13

By Frank Macek

It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center.

October is here already, the baseball season is just a memory for the Indians this year and we are in the middle of Browns season. Where does the time go?

The staff of WKYC will once again join in the nationwide effort of our parent company, Gannett, for "Make a Difference Day" on Saturday, October 26th. This year, we are partnering with the Cleveland Metroparks to make a difference right here in our  own community. You can sign up to volunteer for multiple different projects around the area. Anyone who signs up will be entered to win some great prizes. To get involved, head over to wkyc.com/common/mdday for more information.

The all new wkyc.com is coming soon. You'll see our new design launch on Wednesday, October 30th. The new format is especially designed for mobile users and will feature a look very similar to our sister publication, USA Today. You can get a Director's Cut exclusive sneak peak of our new look at wbir.com. The new wkyc.com will contain even more local news, weather, traffic, entertainment and other sections that are important to our viewers here in Northeast Ohio.

The last few months have seen some new faces at WKYC, while we have said farewell to others in our tv family.

WKYC technician Robert "Bob" Keyes retired after nearly 30 years at Channel 3. Bob was a "do-it-all", behind the scenes guy who worked in signal acquistion, editing, cameras, videotape and other areas of operations. Plus, he was a master of the one-liners that kept many of us entertained through the years. Also, engineers Raleigh Himmelright and Julie Borwosky have moved on in their careers.

WKYC 11 p.m. Executive Producer Jennifer Nickels has headed south to Louisville, Kentucky, where she joined WAVY-TV in the same role. Jennifer has been instrumental in the rebirth of our late night news growth.

WKYC Multimedia journalist Stephanie Coueignoux has decided to move to Florida just in time for Cleveland's brutual winter. Her last day with us is October 23rd. And reporter Pamela Osborne has joined WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh where former WKYC anchor Jodine Costanza works. Best wishes to all.

On the flip side, Kristin Anderson has rejoined the Channel 3 News team as a multi-media journalist. Kristin returned to Cleveland with her husband and WKYC morning anchor John Anderson since coming back from Philadelphia last year. Look for Kristin's reporting on various editions of Channel 3 News.

Former Channel 19, 5 and 43 reporter/anchor Jack Marshall is now reporting on a freelance basis for Channel 3 News. Jack joined us in September and brings years of local experience and knowledge of the Cleveland market to the Channel 3 News team.

Danielle Wiggins has joined WKYC as our new morning Traffic Reporter after she received the most votes in our "Traffic Tryouts" when hundreds of people across northeast Ohio auditioned for the job and our viewers voted for the person they liked the best. That was Danielle. Wiggins most recently produced the Regina Brett Show at WKSU-FM/89.7 FM.

And, welcome to Robert Ryan who joins the Channel 3 Engineering team full-time in our operations department. Welcome to all!