While we enjoy the ME TV channel with all of the old shows, as well as the History and Discovery channels, 50 percent of the time, you’ll find our TV tuned into local access Channel 7. Whenever we get sales calls encouraging us to give up cable and buy a dish, we firmly explain that we’re not at all interested because they don’t carry “the local channel.”

They’re always quick to point out that yes, indeed, they do broadcast them, meaning 6, 8, 12 and 13, but we’re equally ready to respond that by “local” we mean our public access channel.

We’ve never lived anywhere else, so we don’t know what kind of coverage other towns get on their own public access channels, but we’d wager a guess they don’t come close to ours in qualifying as a true “community” TV station.

We keep trying to remember what it was like before we had Channel 7, and continue to be amazed at how director Jonne Trees and his small volunteer crew can manage to be so many places week after week, month after month.

Meetings of the selectmen, school committee and other public boards are regularly televised. Whenever Y-Arts, community theater groups or school actors take to the stage, we can watch the performances on Channel 7. Time for the Y-sponsored dip in the frigid ocean water at Murray Hill New Year’s Day? It’s covered.

When it’s time for Santa’s pre-Christmas visit, the impressive lighted boat parade, gingerbread house competition and the Festival of Trees at the Opera House, the cameras will be rolling. Local cooks vying for honors? Not without TV coverage. Students or our Community Band entertaining us at a music concert? Count on Channel 7 to be there whenever possible.

Channel 7 even broadcast an impressive tribute to veterans in November, prepared, we assume, by the American Legion, posting individual photos and information on many in the area who have served. On Memorial Day, each and every ceremony and parade at the individual memorials throughout the region is televised.

For sports enthusiasts, Channel 7 makes sure that folks who didn’t make it to the event get to catch all the action. High school football games, both home and away, appear on our screen soon after they happen, as do cross country and track meets, field hockey, and this time of the year, varsity girls and boys basketball games. With a granddaughter who plays, we try not to miss any games, but we definitely watch all of them — over and over — on Channel 7.

Seeing the girls’ games live isn’t complete until we’ve watched the Channel 7 replay filmed by Bill Harvey and heard the entertaining commentary by our wonderful, biased announcers, Merritt Grover and Mike Wallace.

Yes, Channel 7 is everywhere — even in the skies these days, thanks to a drone, so we get to see many events from a whole new perspective, as well as view the region from the air, which further affirms why we all love where we live so much.

We haven’t even touched upon the many people, places and events Channel 7 brings into our living rooms every week, but as 2015 begins, we just wanted to thank them for making life so much more enjoyable for all of us, and for showing folks everywhere what a special community this really is.