About Rockford TV51

Welcome
TLN TV51 is Rockford's very own Christian television station, reaching over 350,00 broadcast and cable homes in Rockford and the surrounding area.

TV51 produces three programs in-house, and also acquires several programs from local churches.

Publicize Your Next Community Event
TV51 offers a complimentary service to churches and ministries that wish to invite the public to their next community event. At TV51's discretion, we will post these events on our website as well as air them on our Community Calendar TV segment. Just contact us and provide the name of the event, description, date, time, location, contact number and any other pertinent information.

Our Mission
TV51's mission is to direct people to Christ and to provide tools for a vibrant relationship with Him through the electronic communications media. In the Rockford area, TV51 strives to produce more local programming, while building a greater community presence through increased interaction with local pastors and churches.

Advisory Committee Members
Steve Benson, Benson Stone Company
John Brandon, TV51
Pastor Dola Gregory, Rock House Ministries
Bob and Connie Griffin, Rockford Renewal Ministries
Steve Haight, Careers, Etc.
Dave Johnson, Winnebago County Clerk
Rebecca Kopf, PR Etc
Deb Leininger, Leininger Investments
Pastor Keith Manley, Grace Family Church
Barbara Seaworth, TV51
Holly Swanson, TV51
Valerie Tippitt, Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Vernon Wanner, WSI

TV51 Fulfills its Mission by Reaching Out to the Rockford Area
Learn about TV51's involvement in the lives of our viewing audience by going to What's New and What's New Archives.

Our History
TLN Rockford TV51 was acquired in 1988. This low-power station began broadcasting 24 hours of Christian programming that came from TLN Chicago. It wasn't until August of 2000 that TV51 had the opportunity to become more than a rebroadcast of TLN Chicago.

A new studio in Rockford was opened in September. Holly Swanson was appointed Station Manager by TLN President Jerry Rose. In December, TV51 hosted a ribbon cutting / open house that was attended by approximately 100 people including local dignitaries, pastors, viewers and the press.

In January of 2001, TV51 was granted a new Class A license and received approval from the FCC to triple its power. As of September 2001, new equipment was ordered and will be installed shortly. After the increase in power, Rockford and the surrounding state line area will see a much stronger and clearer picture.

Our Staff
The staff in the Rockford office is excited about reaching the local community. Holly Swanson, General Manager, has worked diligently to meet with the Pastors and civic leaders in the area.

Holly Swanson wins
"2006 Business Leader
of Tomorrow"
award for the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce

Holly Swanson became the General Manager of Total Living Network TV51 (WCFC) in Rockford, Illinois in August of 2000.

Holly Swanson General Manager

As General Manager, Swanson has acquired a Class A license for TV51, overseen the increase in TV51's power and coverage area, and got TV51 added to Insight cable channel 15. Swanson is responsible for maintaining a clear presence on the air, fulfilling all FCC requirements, increasing the amount and enhancing the local programming, increasing viewers, donors and advertisers, building relationships with churches and pastors, meeting with governmental and city officials, sponsoring and supporting local events, as well as handling many office duties.

Swanson has been in the television production field since 1996. She began freelancing as a Production Assistant, and then went to work full-time as a Producer/Director of TV spots, corporate videos and television programs. Two years later, she became a Production/Account manager at a multimedia production company. She began working at the Total Living Network in May of 1999. She was hired in the Cable Relations department where she worked to build TLN's presence on cable and increase TLN's subscriber base. In the summer of 2000, Swanson was elected Chairperson of the "Rockford TV Committee," which was designed to start up TV51's new studio. After two months of intense work in Rockford, she was promoted to the first General Manager of TV51.

Swanson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lake Forest College, where she double-majored in philosophy and psychology. Her interests are in ministry, animal care and athletics.

Barbara Seaworth is the Receptionist and Manager's Assistant at TV51. She has been with TLN since October of 2000. She welcomes all visitors, makes and receives calls to and from viewers, pastors and clients, handles TV51's accounting, updates the public file, prints and verifies logs, compiles lists of churches, businesses and people, exhibits at local promotional events, handles daily office duties, and works closely with the General Manager among many other things.

Barb is a native of the Rockford area and is married with two sons. Outside of work, Barb enjoys spending time with her family, teaching Sunday school classes at her church and making crafts.