Host

Deborah Holt

When UNC-TV decided to produce a program that would showcase all the great places and events North Carolina has to offer on the weekends, Deborah noticed a significant portion of the day was being sorely overlooked. “I hear a lot of young adults complain that North Carolina has nothing to offer in terms of great food and quality grown-up entertainment after 10 o’clock. My mission is to prove them all wrong by discovering and highlighting stimulating hot spots in our state that are open after dark and late into the night.” A graduate of Saint Augustine’s College, Deborah Holt enjoys the dual role of producer and reporter for several UNC-TV local productions. In addition to her on-air assignment as the nightlife correspondent for North Carolina Weekend, Deborah is the producer and fill-in host for UNC-TV’s weekly public affairs program Black Issues Forum, airing Friday nights at 9:30, and the producer for High School Assembly, UNC-TV’s quarterly live hour-long talk show for teens. Prior to coming to UNC-TV, she earned her Master of Arts degree from the University of Maryland at College Park, and worked in video production for an industrial company in Raleigh as well as for WHMM Television at Howard University in Washington, DC. She has also won recognition and awards for her historical documentary “Exhausted Remedies: The Joe Holt Story,” about her family’s pioneering effort to integrate Raleigh Public Schools.

Reporters

John Bollenbacher

Take a look North Carolina, because John has been studying you since he moved here in the fall of 2001.  After growing up in New York, studying in Atlanta, and working in Boston John found himself in the Old Tar Heel State. John joined the staff of UNC-TV in October of 2001, and after a year and half of working on everything from Biographical Conversations, to Focus On..., to High School Quizbowl he began his journey with North Carolina Weekend in the summer of 2003. Since that time he's appeared 200 feet up the side of Looking Glass Rock, in small town auctions, historic movie theaters, microbreweries, and motorcycles - and that's just a small sample.  In the name of finding all things unique and exciting in North Carolina, John Bollenbacher continues to travel the state to get it on film and bring it all back to your living room. 

John lives in Chapel Hill, with his wife, two sons, and dog Bruno.  Check in with North Carolina Weekend to see what he has gotten into lately!

Rick Sullivan

Rick Sullivan joined the UNC-TV crew as a freelance producer/reporter in the spring of 2003 after 25-years as a television sportscaster. Rick was weeknight sports anchor at WLFL-TV (1995-2003). He covered such events as Super Bowls, Final Fours and the Carolina Hurricanes. Before joining WLFL Rick worked as weekend sports anchor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh (1985-95). His pre-North Carolina days included stints at TV stations WCIA in Champaign, Illinois (1984-85), WOWT in Omaha, Nebraska (1980-84) and KOLN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska (1979-80).

Rick holds a Bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism with minors in film and political science from the University of Nebraska. He spent one year trying to play college football at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska before realizing he was receiving more injuries than playing time. Cycling and triathloning have turned out to be his activities of choice in recent years.

Rick lives in Cary with his wife Lisa, his children Erin and Ryan, his dogs Chloe and Billy and his Siamese cat, Leo.