Bill and Betty Laramore

By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — “This should be about WNIT, not me,” said Betty Laramore. “That’s what it’s all about.”
That thought, and the actions that went with it, are some of the main reasons the television station WNIT took time to honor Betty, and husband Bill, at a special luncheon at Plymouth’s Country Club Thursday.
The station announced that long-time public television advocate and volunteer Betty was recognized with a resolution of commendation from its board of directors. She was presented with that commendation by WNIT President and General Manager Mary Pruess and Board Member Dave Gibson.
Gibson’s father, Dan, a former member of the WNIT board himself, was a big reason for the gathering, according to Mary.
“I blame it all on Dan Gibson,” said Betty with a laugh. “He asked me to help line up auction gifts in the late ‘70s. I started hitting up my friends to come up and answer phones and getting groups to sponsor nights of the auction.
“When he left the board in 1984, I took his place.”
During Laramore’s time on the board at WNIT much of the station’s civic thrust began to take shape.
“I remember when we were trying to get funding from the legislature all those years ago and talking to (State Representative) Pat Bauer and he asked me, ‘What’s channel 34?’,” she said. “It was obvious we needed to do something to get people more informed about PBS.”
One way that happened was her creation of the program “Capital Views” on the station beginning in 1988. The show has since changed names, now called “Politically Speaking.”
During the show’s run Laramore has been intimately involved with the production.
“Back when I started it, volunteers were everything,” she said. “I even asked the questions of the guests at one point. I was off camera of course but we worked it out somehow.”
One show Betty is proud of wasn’t one of her own.
“We heard the station in Evansville was doing well with Lawrence Welk,” she said. “I remember asking station manager Kevin Gill how much it would take for us to have it. We raised all the money for it in Marshall County.”
The Marshall County involvement with the station is one thing that Laramore is most proud of in her time there.
“It’s just an altogether different type of programming for all ages and so many local things that other stations can’t do,” she said. “I’ve been very proud of how heavily involved Marshall County has been with the station.”