Office of Radio & Television

Office of Radio & Television - Bringing Good News to Life

(Note: To reduce spam, we have removed full e-Mail addresses and e-Mail links from this page. All Office of Radio & Television e-Mail addresses are in the format of last name, first initial @ ortv-hartford.org.)

Fr. John P. Gatzak

Fr. John P. Gatzak
Executive Director, Office of Radio & Television
General Manager, WJMJ-FM
Television Mass Executive Producer

Fr. John performed his seminary studies at St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield, Connecticut, where he received an A.A. degree; St. John Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts, where he received a B.A. in Philosophy; and he completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College, Rome, Italy. While in Rome, Fr. John earned his S.T.B. degree and an M.A. in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. On June 29, 1975, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Fr. John was ordained to the priesthood by the Holy Father, Pope Paul VI, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Fr. John celebrated his 30th Jubilee of priestly ordination on June 29, 2005.

In 1980, Fr. John received an M.A. in Corporate and Political Communications from Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut.

From August 1975 to November 1975 he served as assistant pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish, New Britain, Connecticut.

From 1975 to 1979 he served as associate pastor at Holy Infant Parish, Orange, Connecticut.

From 1979 to 1987 he served as Catholic chaplain to Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and The University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut.

From 1984 to 1987 he served as assistant director of communications for the Archdiocese of Hartford. In November 1987, Fr. John was appointed as the executive director of the Office of Radio & Television.

In addition to his duties as executive director of the Office of Radio & Television, from December 1992 to June 1997, Fr. John was the executive editor of The Catholic Transcript, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford; and from August 1996 to October 1997 he was the administrator of Blessed Sacrament Parish, East Hartford, Connecticut.

In April 2008, Archbishop Mansell tasked Father John with the oversight of WJMJ-FM, and in August 2008, upon the retirement of WJMJ's then general manger, Father John became WJMJ's general manager. In January 2009 the administration, operations and staff of WJMJ-FM were merged into the Office of Radio & Television.
e-Mail: ortv

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Mark Andrews
WJMJ Fill-in Host and Catholic High School Football Play-by-Play Announcer

Mark took to the WJMJ airwaves in September 2009 with its first LIVE Catholic high school football broadcast.. More to come.
e-Mail: AndrewsM

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Jason Calvi
Reporter and Writer

Jason joined ORTV in March 2009 after working as a reporter at the PBS station serving Northwest Indiana and broadcasting across Chicago. Among many stories, Jason covered the Presidential campaigns of 2008. Before that, he worked four years for LCTV, his campus television station. Jason studied Media and Politics at Loras College in Iowa, where he also served leadership roles on the hockey team and in campus ministry. In May 2009, he graduated with an M.A. in Theology from Aquinas Institute in St. Louis. He was a reporter for Crossroads Magazine™ until production ended in November 2011. He currently works on various television productions including "That's the Spirit" and writes and reports religious news for WJMJ.
e-Mail: CalviJ

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Glenn Colligan
WJMJ Saturday Afternoon Host and Host of Saturday Afternoon Pops

Glenn took to the WJMJ airwaves in May 2009. More to come.
e-Mail: ColliganG

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Bob Geckler
WJMJ Broadcast Engineer

Bob has been associated with WJMJ since 1984, and, together, with the other broadcast engineers, helps keep WJMJ on the air.
e-Mail: GecklerR

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Paul McGuinness
WJMJ Saturday Evening Host

Paul has been with WJMJ since 2005. More to come.
e-Mail: McGuinnessP

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Lich
WJMJ Afternoon Host

Lich, the "Legendary Little Guy" took to the WJMJ airwaves in January 2011. More to come.
e-Mail: Lich

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Dave Nagel
WJMJ Program Director and Mid-day Host

Dave took to the WJMJ airwaves in April 2009. More to come.
e-Mail: NagelD

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Joan Napp
Administrative Assistant

Joan (aka "Crabby Joan") joined the staff in August 2006 and assists the business manager with business office and other administrative functions including the pilgrimage tours sponsored by the Office of Radio & Television. She was a fill-in Co-host of Crossroads Magazine from May 2007 to November 2007.
e-Mail: NappJ

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Scott Parmelee, CPA
Business Manager

Scott is a 1984 graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a B.S. in Business Administration. He earned his CPA that same year. Scott worked in public accounting for 5 years with "Big 8" accounting firm and 2 years in internal auditing with a major insurance company. Scott started as a volunteer with the Office in 1989 and became a staff member in February 1992. Scott was also the business manager for The Catholic Transcript from 1993 to 1997. Scott is an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist for St. Anthony Parish in Prospect.

Scott is responsible for all the Office's business functions, budgeting, accounts payable, HR, payroll, etc.; maintaining our computer systems and this web site; and he coordinates all the pilgrimages and tours sponsored by the Office of Radio & Television.
e-Mail: ParmeleeS

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Tony Purcaro
Production Assistant

Tony rejoined the staff, part-time, in March 2006. Tony's duties are primarily with the production of the daily television Mass but he also assists with special productions of the Office.

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John Ramsey
WJMJ Broadcast Engineer

John has been associated with WJMJ since 1990, and, together, with the other broadcast engineers, helps keep WJMJ on the air.
e-Mail: RamseyJ

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Kim Sanders
Reporter and Writer

Kim joined the staff in May 2007. Kim was a reporter for Crossroads Magazine™ until production ended in November 2011. She currently performs duties as a producer and writer for other Office radio, television, and special productions. In addition, she assists with the Closed Captioning duties for the various television programs produced by the Office of Radio & Television and writes and reports religious news for WJMJ.
e-Mail: SandersK

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Bruce Stevens
WJMJ Morning Host

Bruce hit the WJMJ airwaves on April 6, 2009. Born and raised in Maine, Bruce should be a familiar voice to listeners having worked many years at WTIC-AM 1080. He also worked in Boston at WBZ and WTKK, enjoys sports (he's a confessed Red Sox fan), trains and photography. Bruce has been very active in charity and public service work in the communities where he has worked, helping such organizations as: The Children's’ Hospital in Boston, the Neediest Kids of All in Cincinnati, The Salvation Army in Conn. and children's charities in Indianapolis and Portland, Maine. His favorite projects...The Children's’ Hospital house in Boston, built from totally donated land, materials and labor... it was sold and the proceeds $230,000 were donated to the hospital. Also a penny drive in Cincinnati collected 5.5 million pennies… and a billboard in Indianapolis supporting the Gulf War troops containing thousands of handprints made by people actually dipping their hands in various colors of paint and putting them on the board. WJMJ is pleased to bring such an accomplished and experienced broadcaster back to Connecticut and its listeners.
e-Mail: StevensB

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Bruce Tumyol
Videographer and Video Editor

Bruce joined the staff, part-time, in June 2007, and became a full-time staff member in January 2008 after graduating from Central Connecticut State University in December 2007 with a B.A. in Communications-Mass Media. Bruce performs duties as videographer and video editor, and various production duties for the television Mass and other productions, and formerly for Crossroads Magazine™ until production ended in November 2011.
e-Mail: TumyolB

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Stephanie Valickis
Reporter and Writer

Stephanie is a 1990 graduate of Emerson College with a B.S. in Journalism. After graduating, she worked for a New London news station, where she wrote, edited and ran studio camera. She first began working for the Office as a freelance reporter in 1995 and was a part-time staff member from 1996 to 2002 when she left to dedicate her time to her family. She continued to freelance for Crossroads Magazine™. She is a part-time Librarian at St. Anthony School in Winsted and is also the Director of the school’s Drama Club. She re-joined the staff, part-time, in November 2007. Upon her return she said, “I’m excited to be back writing and unearthing my creative skills.”

Stephanie was a reporter and writer and co-host for Crossroads Magazine™ until production ended in November 2011. She currently performs duties as a writer for other Office radio, television, and special productions and writes and reports religious news for WJMJ.
e-Mail: ValickisS

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Connie Williams
Senior Administrative Assistant

Connie joined the staff in October 2009 and is Father John's right hand. Connie is tasked with keeping Father John organized and on schedule, no easy task. She also supervises the administrative staff and assists the business manager with business office functions. Connie is a graphic designer by training and lends her creative skills for various office projects.
e-Mail: WilliamsC

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Debbie Wilson
Business Office Assistant

Debbie joined the staff part-time in December 2001, and in January 2004 she became a full-time staff member. Debbie's primary responsibility is the scheduling of donor prayer requests for the television Mass. She also assists the business manager with business office and administrative functions.
e-Mail: WilsonD

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Tom Zarecki
WJMJ Saturday Morning Host

Tom took to the WJMJ airwaves in December 2010. More to come.
e-Mail: ZareckiT

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Sara Ziegler
Videographer and Video Editor

Sara joined the staff in December 2005. Sara performs duties as videographer and video editor, and various production duties for the television Mass other productions and special projects, and formerly for Crossroads Magazine™ until production ended in November 2011. Sara also assists with the Closed Captioning duties for the various television programs produced by the Office of Radio & Television .
e-Mail: ZieglerS

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Jerry Zimmerman
Television Mass Producer

Jerry, not "Gerry", joined the staff in February 1996. Jerry is responsible for the scheduling of the priests, lectors and musicians for the television Mass. As you know, this is a very important position, and Jerry keeps everything on schedule. Jerry also assists in the production of various radio programs produced by the Office.
e-Mail: ZimmermanJ

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Meet The Crew