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The Tri-Valley's community television station may have experienced some bumps in the road, but new programming and leadership are taking TV30 to a new level.

Its newest feature is "Tri-Valley Community Focus," hosted by Danville TV personality Mark Curtis and Tri-Valley Community Foundation president David Rice. The half-hour program, filmed twice a month and airing on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., will feature local leaders and organizations that are giving back.

"Our community foundation believes that a strong business community benefits not only people who are employed, but people who are very needy in our community," Rice said. "Those who are fortunate enough to be employed might find it in their hearts to help their neighbors in need."

It's good community news stories like these, Curtis said, that are important and aren't being shown in larger media outlets.

Many businesses in the foundation's coverage area of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, Sunol, San Ramon, Danville and Alamo have been practicing what Rice calls "corporate social responsibility."

"We wanted to shine a spotlight on companies that are doing unusual and innovative things in the Tri-Valley and also that care greatly about the community at large," he added.

In the first show, they interviewed Rick Stulen of Sandia National Labratories in Livermore, where they talked about new technologies and their charitable giving campaign. The second show featured Reena Jadhav, the CEO of a start-up company called nuAlerts, a social media marketing tool, as well as Toby Brink, the president of the Tri-Valley Business Council.

Curtis said he also wants the show to help bring attention to deserving nonprofit service organizations in the area.

"There's a lot of need out there right now and a lot of people hurting," he said.

Some of these spotlights could be on groups such as Open Heart Kitchen, Curtis said, which use donations since it nearly closed its doors last year due to insufficient funds.

TV30 isn't a stranger to financial hardships, but has recently revamped its programming thanks to the new executive director Melissa Tench-Stevens. New shows like "Tri-Valley Community Focus" hope to have great advertiser and viewer response.

The goal with any TV station is to get more people to watch, Curtis said, and the plan is to have featured guests and viewers spread the word. Upcoming shows will feature some of the area's largest employers, such as Kaiser Permanente, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Hacienda Business Park, which will they hope will motivate employees to tune in as well.

Many of these local companies are supporting the show by providing financial backing.

"None of the companies who might support this program series are supporting their own program," Rice said. "If they happen to be featured, program support would come from many companies.

Rice said they're planning to accept nominations in the near future, and will be doing it through the Tri-Valley Business Council's website, www.trivalley.org, as well as the foundation's site, www.tvcfoundation.org.

In addition to featuring businesses, the Tri-Valley Community Foundation will also highlight "community champions" in 30- and 60-second segments airing on TV30 as well as its other channels, 28 and 29.

To learn more about TV30 and to see a programming schedule, visit www.tri-valleytv.org.

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