N.C. EastEnders Fan Club - April 13, 2002, Luncheon

Royal China Buffet, Raleigh, North Carolina

The North Carolina EastEnders Fan Club gathered for lunch at the Royal China Buffet to celebrate our recent success at UNC-TV's Festival fundraiser. Our club staffed the phones one evening during Festival and collected $27,320 in pledges from EastEnders fans! This was up from our 2001 total of $26,751, an amazing feat in today's economic climate.

UNC-TV provided a marvelous guest speaker for our lunch meeting. Dennis Dowdy is the Network Traffic Manager at UNC-TV and a staunch supporter of EastEnders and British programming.

Dennis Dowdy

Dennis gave a talk on UNC-TV and customized it to cater to our group's interests. Besides being EastEnders fans, many of us follow other British programming. Dennis gave us the scoop on our favorite show, as well as upcoming series like "Monarch of the Glen" and new episodes of "Mystery." It was a treat to hear programming news in advance. Everyone was delighted about the new shows and the return of favorites like "The Vicar of Dibley."

Dennis provided a fascinating overview of UNC-TV's digital conversion project. He explained the benefits of the technology in a way that everyone could understood and appreciate. He generated a lot of excitement with his vision of the potential for multicasting. Now we're all eagerly anticipating the new digital broadcasting era!

Dennis also addressed the state budget crisis and its impact on public television funding. He held a question and answer session after his talk, and we could have kept him there for hours. His candor, sense of humor, and inside knowledge are an irresistible combination! We hope to welcome him back to more meetings in the future.

In addition to our excellent guest speaker, we indulged in another scrumptious Chinese buffet and mingled with fellow fans. Larry Jaffee, publisher of The Walford Gazette, sent us complimentary copies of the latest issue. We also perused a write-up by Melissa Berry about meeting Anita Dobson ("Angie Watts" of EE) in Florida. Melissa was invited to participate in a UK TV special featuring Anita. Melissa will share the tape with us at an upcoming meeting.

Stay tuned for details about our next meeting, which will be held sometime early this fall!