Paper Does It Again

First-ever telethon coming to Crawfordsville in July

The Paper of Montgomery County, the only locally owned media outlet in Montgomery County, is at it again. Through almost two decades of innovation, thousands and thousands of stories and growth, The Paper has another new local event – the first-ever newspaper telethon in Montgomery County history!

The telethon will take place from on Tuesday, July 18 at the beautiful Masonic Cornerstone Grand Hall & Event Center. There will be local acts, musical talent, media personalities, interviews and more.

The goal of the telethon is to sell subscription.

“We have shown we are nothing if not creative and innovative,” Board Chair and former Senator Phil Boots said. “I’m very proud of our staff for coming up with this and we’re really looking forward to putting on a great show for the community.”

Headlining the talent portion of the telethon will be the wonderfully talented Steve Trent. Steve has played to packed houses from Indiana to Nashville, Tenn. and was the very first musical artist The Paper approached when beginning to line up the show.

Other acts are being set up now, but there is room for you.

“We have openings for all sorts of local talent,” Paper Publisher Tim Timmons said. “When we started our little-newspaper-that-could almost 20 years ago, no one gave us a chance. We put out that first edition and crossed our fingers and prayed. Here we are now and we’d like to give other talented performers that same opportunity.”

Timmons said that they are looking for local people who want to perform in front of the camera.

“We’ll be streaming this live online as well as have the doors open for people to walk in and catch some of the show,” he said. “We’d love to book magicians, singers, musicians and more. If someone has a talent they want to showcase, let us know.”

Emmy-award winner Mike Haynes, a Denver, Colo. TV personality and former Crawfordsville resident, has agreed to emcee the event. In addition, Timmons said there will be other surprise guests.

The Paper has always been one of the leaders in the state and nation for newspaper innovation. It was one of the first papers to convert to postal delivery. It also was one of the very first newspapers to create an Online Edition – and has watched that grow to the vast majority of subscribers. The Paper has created multiple local community events and helped raise thousands of dollars for local charities.

“We’ve always tried to be a good neighbor and partner in the community,” Boots said. “That’s what local newspapers used to do before they were purchased by out-of-state owners. This is just another example of trying to bring that back.”