Former WAPC Board President Mick Givens passes away

By Mary Cardona, former Executive Director Wisconsin Community Media

On Saturday, November 29, Mick Givens, 77, passed away suddenly at his home in Sarona.

Mick spent 17 years of his career managing Rice Lake Television, the local PEG station, helped found what is today known as Wisconsin Community Media, and was a strong leader in the campaign against state-level legislation that ended cable television industry support for local PEG media.

Beginning his cable television career as a district manager for Marcus Cable in the Rice Lake area, Mick saw the value of community-based media, unlike most in the industry. “I always found public access to be beneficial to the cable business,” he once said. In 1995 Mick was named manager of Rice Lake Television, bringing with him his considerable experience in the industry. In 1997, Mick was among the small group that banded together to form the Wisconsin Association of PEG Channels (now Wisconsin Community Media) and served on its first board of directors. During his 17-year tenure as the head of Rice Lake Television, he helped negotiate a strong cable franchise agreement, with two separate PEG fees that the city had not collected before. When CTC Telcom filed a petition against the City of Rice Lake at the Federal Communications Commission in 2002, the city prevailed. Mick was particularly proud of that win. Mick also oversaw the move of the station from “Old City Hall,” to a prominent storefront on Main Street in 2000, where the station is still based today.

In 2007, when municipalities were fighting the state franchise bill that ultimately wrested regulation of cable TV from municipalities and sunset support for PEG channels, Mick drove nearly four hours to speak at the eight-hour public hearing, joining a packed house of PEG advocates. In 2009, he returned to the WAPC board during a devastating time. The new law would sunset cable company support for local PEG stations shortly and WAPC was hoping to pass remedial legislation to undo the worst of the damage. Mick knew it was a key period for the future of access television, and after serving as Secretary, he decided to run for President of the Board to lead the campaign. In his pitch to the board Mick said, “I believe we must be firm and strong in our fight to keep our member stations operating, and that we must be swift and proactive in our activities to accomplish that end.”

Mick proved to be a strong leader during this time, even though WAPC failed to beat the cable and telephone industries. In my remarks when Mick was honored with the WCM Hall of Fame Award in 2015, an award that is bestowed on one person each year, I said, “What I learned about Mick was that whatever he took on, he dedicated himself to it. Whatever he did, he did to the best of his ability. I learned he has very high standards for himself and everyone around him. Meetings started on time. Committees were expected to make written reports. He made sure that every board member knew how much they mattered to the organization. That went for me, too.”

Those of us who knew Mick well know the loss we recognize today. Funeral services will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 17 at Appleyard’s Home for Funerals in Rice Lake. Visitation will be prior to the service from 3 to 5 p.m.