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U ITED ETHODIST CHURCH
January 6, 2012
Office of Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
Attention: Disability Rights Office, Room 3-B431
445 1ih Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
RE: Petition for Exemption from Closed Captioning Requirement
Gentlemen:
The Ocala First United Methodist Church records its Sunday Morning service and then rebroadcasts it to
a small local area. The primary purpose of the broadcast is for the benefit of the shut-in or ill members
of our congregation. A handful of faithful volunteers do the camera work, tape and post production of
the video. We have no paid staff members assisting in the work due to lack of available funds. Our only
expense is the monthly fee charged by the TV station to broadcast our program.
With the current economic conditions our church has already had to cut back on many of its ministries.
On January 1st of 2010 we cut our program down from one hour to thirty minutes in order reduce our
costs to the point we could keep the program on the air. If we are not granted a waiver from closed
captioning we would have to hire an outside firm to do the work for us. The best price we have been
able to locate is $7,150 per year (See Attachment #1). In addition to this out of pocket costs, additional
time would be required of our volunteers. Time they do not have. Our church policy does not allow for
the use of corporate sponsorship of the program. We did request help with the cost from the local TV
station and were rejected (See Attachment #2). Without this waiver our church cannot afford to
continue providing this service to our elderly congregation (See Attachment #3).
We therefore request that you grant Ocala First United Methodist Church an exemption from Closed
Captioning for its "Sunday Morning Service" program.
Respectfully Submitted
~~
Tim M. Gude
Chairman of TV Committee
Ocala First United Methodist Church
-----~--~- ------~' ~_.~~-- - ---.-
40 South East 1'!th Avenue () Ocala, Florida 34471 1> p352.622.3244 3 l' 352.732.9701- () WWW".tumco.cala.org
!From: Jenny Carson [mailto:jcarson@uscaptioning.com]
senlt: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 11:46 AM
To: Tim Gude
Subject: RE: U.S. Captioning Company
Hello Tim
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I checked into Fox 51, and due to their current captioning
contract, I am only able to provide you with post production as an option. However, we do provide
multiple options for payment if you were to utilize our services, including debit/credit card payments.
With 3 day turnaround, roll-up mode (what you usually see for closed captioning) for a 30 minute
program would be $137.50. That is the final cost, no hidden fees. Also, since the process is digital, you
won't be dependant on getting the project in the mail. Also, we will do a test with you to ensure
compatibility between our softwares. That process involves an upload of your content, about a minute of
it, and we would provide you with a captioning file to insert.
If anyone else at the church has questions, please feel free to share my contact information with them.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Jenny M. Carson
Captioning Sales Director
U.S. Captioning Company, Inc.
Country World Productions, Inc.
Phone: (920) 338-9201
Fax: (920) 338-9202
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Thursday, December 1,2011
Tim Gude
Chairman of TV Committee
Ocala First United Methodist Church
40 SE 11 th Ave.
Ocala, FL. 34471
Dear Tim,
In regards to your request for financial assistance, our station does not subsidize program
production costs incurred by parties who purchase air time. Consequently we must
respectfully decline your request.
Sincerely,
Gainesville: 2622 NW 43'd St. Suite 84, Gainesville, FL. 32606 ph: 352-371-0051 fax: 352-371-4172
Ocala: 1551 SW 37th Ave. Ocala, FL. 34474 ph: 352-873-6951 fax: 352-237-5423
December 22, 2011
Mr. Tim Gude
Chair
FUMC TV Committee
Re: Closed Captioning - First United Methodist Church Ocala, Florida
Dear Mr. Gude:
We have received your request for the church to pay for closed captioning for our weekly broadcast.
You've explained that closed captioning has been required by the FCC - even for a not for profit
organization that is purchasing TV time.
As you are aware, Ocala Florida has been severely impacted by the recession. In 2008, the Ocala MSA
had the 4th highest increase in unemployment in the nation. This has impacted church operations. The
last 3 years, our church has run operating deficits as follows:
2008 $98,886.00
2009 $100,101;
2010 $102,094
Unfortunately, these large deficits have depleted the church's operating reserves. We are working to
preserve our existing ministries, but we can no longer carry a deficit budget. The television is a priority
ministry for the church and we have committed to funding it as its present level. However, the chwrch is
not financially capable of absorbing the expected $7,000 cost of providing closed captioning.
Sincerely,
~~~
Mark A.lmes
Finance Chair
First United Methodist Church
Ocala, Florida