CIAO, RICARDO! >>>

Rick Dupea has called the Tacoma-Parkland area home since 1964, but you won't find many of his clients in this neighborhood. As owner of CRE8TV Media Group (you can pronounce it "creative" or "create TV"), Rick over the years has, like many of us, commuted north for work, producing video in Seattle for independent studios and broadcast stations.

Now Dupea gears up for possibly his farthest assignment from home. Destination: Naples! No, not Florida, but good guess.

Go East. That's West, come back! MY East. Go over the Atlantic...further...I know it's far, so shut up and keep flyin'! You want me to turn this imaginary globetrot around?

Okay, we've arrived - Naples, Italy. BAH-DAH-da-DAAAAAH! (James Bond theme)...

So anyway, while poking around this exotic locale three years ago, Dupea ran into a Protestant congregation trying to erect their church, a not-so-simple task in Catholic Country. "[In Italy] there's still a big divide between the two styles of worship," Dupea notes.

This self-labelled "generic evangelical" decided to volunteer his artistic talents, and in a few weeks, under the non-profit banner Arts Renaissance, he will commence work on a fundraising film for the group. Throughout the hectic shooting schedule he will also offer to train several Italian artists in production technique.

And did I mention Dupea won't get a single Euro out of this gig?

"You don't do something like this because you're going to make money," Dupea tells me. "But you do it because it's a rare opportunity to do something really powerful with the skills...God has provided, and you want to put them back into service somewhere else."

Giving so much in an economy like ours is damn near miraculous. Ciao, Ricardo!

To follow Rick's journey visit www.cre8tvmg.com and click on the "Italy2011" or "Arts Renaissance" links on the home page.