"Uncle Chris" was surprised, three local non-profit groups were grateful, and WCTV members heard that their organization is doing well.

The occasion was the second annual meeting of Wareham Community Television, held Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Salerno's function hall in Onset.

The community cable organization gets its funding from Comcast and Verizon, as a requirement of the cable companies' contracts with the town. But WCTV is independently run as a nonprofit organization. Members -- individuals, businesses and organizations -- pay a small fee to participate.

At last week's gathering of members, Chris Engel, known affectionately by the WCTV staff as "Uncle Chris," was honored as Volunteer of the Year. The announcement left Engel nearly speechless. "Well, this is bizarre," he said. "I had no idea."

WCTV Executive Director Jay Heard had a very good idea of why Engel was selected. Director of the WCTV morning show "Your Daily Gumbo," Engel "is really there all the time," Heard said. "He's the one who strung the Christmas lights around the station -- and took them down, too."

Engel, a resident of Rochester, was recruited to the WCTV volunteer world in the summer of 2009 by his brother-in-law and Daily Gumbo host Paul Ciccotelli. He guesses that the "Uncle Chris" moniker came from Ciccotelli's son Harvest -- whose Uncle Chris he really is.

Having worked as an auction coordinator for auction houses all over eastern Massachusetts for 35 years, Engel was unemployed at the time Ciccotelli approached him about trying TV production work.

It proved a good fit. Engel's now a fixture in the Daily Gumbo's "out of control room," from which he banters with host Ciccotelli each weekday morning. In addition, he left the studio this summer to cablecast all the home Gatemen games. He estimates that he spends 25 to 27 hours each week volunteering for WCTV.

Nearly a week after receiving his award, Engel was still puzzled as to why he was chosen when WCTV has so many other dedicated volunteers. But, he admitted, "It's kind of neat to be recognized."

Also at the annual meeting:

• Three local non-profits -- the Onset Youth Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Wareham, and Earth Lodge -- each received $1,577.25 as a result of their participation in WCTV's Live Auction and Entertainment fund-raiser last May. The odd dollar amount is the result of all the proceeds of the event being split equally.
• Auction organizer Sally Morrison explained that WCTV had wanted to establish a fund-raising event to plan for the day when WCTV may need to raise funds for itself. Right now, the participating non-profits need the money more, so it all went to them.
• Heard reported that, during the past year, WCTV has cablecast 541 shows, trained 181 members, and provided $270,000 worth of services and equipment to the town.
• Jim Newman was re-elected to the WCTV Board of Directors.