By Jeanne Sager
JEFFERSONVILLE — January 18, 2005 – Hey, Jeffersonville – ready for your close up?
The village will make its prime time debut Saturday night with the first of six episodes of The Learning Channel’s (TLC) “Town Haul.”
But in recent months, the colorful characters who television officials say attracted them to Jeffersonville have been part of a national multi-million dollar advertising campaign.
There have been two-page color spreads in Woman’s Day featuring Duke Devlin, Mayor Ed Justus and Kelly’s Kones owner Kelly Sattler – the magazine ad talks up “Trading Spaces” designer and “Town Haul” host Genevieve Gorder.
“You’ve seen what she does with one room on ‘Trading Spaces.’ Now Genevieve Gorder is taking on the challenge of her life,” the ad proclaims. “With the help of some local color, she’s redoing a whole town.”
There are spots in the New York City subway stations and mentions in the “what to watch” sections of national magazines.
And half the town’s already been on TV – commercials promoting the show on TLC have featured Gorder, Justus, and a slew of townsfolk who stopped by the “confessional” crews set up behind the office they rented from local chiropractor Dr. Dave Sager.
Some of the residents even have their bios posted on the TLC Web site for the world to see.
Sunday, the town hit the big time – Jeffersonville was subject of a full-page spread in The New York Times’ prestigious Arts and Leisure section – the second Times treatment since TLC came to town.
Although not always complimentary – to either the town or the show – the story featured an overview of the first episode, which will reveal the work done to turn what the article deems the “amateurish” looks of Kelly’s Kones into an ice cream dream.
A promo on the TLC Web site chronicles work done on the Jeffersonville firehouse – with lots of face time for project manager and firefighter Dave Yanetta.
Over the past few months, the county’s smallest village has dealt with growing pains – an influx of new people, costs of some TLC projects falling back on the village and minor neighborhood squabbles.
But half the town has a fresh coat of paint, and in TV land – where everything is hunky dory – a town that was already hailed for its small-town sensibilities and its unparalleled beauty is expected to shine bright even under the glare of celebrity’s spotlight.
Saturday, everything will be revealed when the first episode kicks off at 10 p.m.
TLC is seen locally on Time Warner Cable Channel 39.