Spring Drive Results

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Friends of WGDR/WGDH -

We know you are all eager to know how our Spring Drive ended up. Well, in short, even as we wait for the final checks in the mail, we are confident in saying this was the most successful drive we've had as a community-owned station.

❤️ Just about $9,500 raised ($10,000 goal)

❤️ 132 total donors

❤️ 41 new donors (50 goal)

❤️ 10 new sustainers (10 goal)

These 10 new sustainers, along with our current 50 monthly donors, will now fund the entire rent for WGDR's studios and WGDH's broadcast shed every month. This is a huge milestone for our fiscal sustainability.

We are so proud of how this drive came together too. So many of our new programmers jumped right in to pitch, other programmers did special programming, and even non-programmers took to the airwaves to help share why WGDR & WGDH are so darn valuable. A long-time programmer said, "this is the most fun I've had fundraising for the station, ever!"

This is what it is about folks. Funding a station that means so much to all of us and having fun while doing it.

If you missed your chance to give, you still can! Just know that you can’t be entered to win the prizes. Give securely at WGDR.org/donateor by check to “CVCR” and mail to 123 Pitkin Rd. Plainfield, VT 05667.

As always, thanks for tuning in,

Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, Station Manager

Llu@WGDR.org, 802-276-0365

p.s. In case you haven't had a chance to learn about our new schedule and locally-made shows, please do. There are some fantastic new programs worth tuning in for.

WGDR/WGDH broadcasts at 91.1 FM in the greater Plainfield area, 91.7 FM in the hollows and hills of Hardwick and beyond, and at WGDR.org to the whole world. Our studio is located at the Eliot Pratt Center on Goddard College campus at 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, VT 05667.

Follow us on social media on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook at @WGDRWGDHVT

CVCR 2023 Summer Internship - Filled

2023 CVCR Summer Internship

Update: As of 5/5/23 this position has been filled. Thank you for your interest! 

Overview

This summer you could spend ten weeks engaging rural and urban Vermont communities in conversations and celebration about community radio. Come join Central Vermont Community Radio as we embark on a summer of meeting up with our listeners at farmers’ markets, festivals, and parades.

You’ll help recruit new listeners, programmers, underwriters, and supporters; work on our big 50th celebration party of WGDR for the fall and learn about how a small non-profit can make a big impact. The station has lots of additional experiences to offer you two including learning technical skills, radio production, marketing and promotion, fundraising, project management and more.

While this internship is focused on community engagement and organizing, we are eager to customize the work toward what you are interested in learning. This internship is part-time, 20 hours a week, remote and in person, with a range of additional professional development opportunities.

Prior Skills, Interests, & Resources Needed For Success

·      A willingness to talk to and turn strangers into new friends of the station.

·      Good communication skills in writing, inter-personally, and as part of a team.

·      Project management and an ability to plan for attending events, tabling, collecting data, and following up with that engagement.

·      Interest in community radio and rural Vermont communities.

·      Access to a car (we will reimburse mileage from the station to events).

Your Summer Project Responsibilities

·      Grow Our Station Community Engagement: Help us deepen our connection with our listening community about both stations. We are especially looking to work on WGDH’s engagement in the greater Hardwick area. This will include attending summer community events, networking with area businesses to help with underwriting, and helping us recruit new volunteers and programmers.

·      Build Up Our Programming Marketing: Develop messaging in email, web, and social platforms to help highlight our new programming line up for the summer. This will include multi-media features (short video, audio, and graphics), to help tell the story of our new programming to our listeners.

·      Help Us Party: Assist our 50th Party committee in planning for our October celebration, including helping to find sponsors, event planning (promo, talent, logistics), and working with the committee.

·      General Station Support: We are eager to have the intern identify which part of non-profit work or a radio station brings them most interest and to customize a part of the internship to teach them about it. This could be how to fundraise, the programming of radio, or tech and engineering.

What You Will Learn & Gain Experience In

·      How to connect with community members and engage folks on the value of their community radio station, including fundraising through underwriting.

·      How to work with a variety of personalities and talented volunteers.

·      How to plan a large scale event alongside volunteers, deepening skills in project management and fundraising via sponsorships.

·      How to develop messaging and stories to highlight the programming of the station, including how to use social media platforms, email marketing, a SquareSpace website, and more.

Work Schedule

Have the ability to work at least 200 hours during the summer, which is about 20 hours a week for the 10 weeks. Some nights and weekends are needed to attend community events, which will make this a flexible schedule most weeks. Date for the internship must fall between May 30 and August 5, but the internship start and end dates are flexible within those dates.

Compensation & Perks

Pay rate is between $13-20* an hour.

We offer a great work environment, that includes remote, in-station, and in-community work. Our organization is made up of one-paid staff, our Station Manager, to whom the intern will report. We also have a large team of volunteers who have a range of skills they are eager to help teach. As part of this internship, you will be part of a cohort of Central Vermont interns who will participate in paid, weekly professional development workshops hosted by UVM and CVEDC.

A computer can/will be provided for use during the internship, to be returned to the station at the end of the summer.

Our listening area is most of Central and Northern Vermont, which will have you in the most beautiful parts of Vermont, during the most gorgeous time of the year. In addition to being paid to attend some of the best summer events our community has to offer, you’ll always be near great swimming holes and creemee stands.

Our stations are committed to being a caring, equitable, and connective place to work, volunteer, and make radio shows. As an organization, in staff, volunteers, and programmers, we aim to reflect the diverse community we broadcast to. We believe that being intentional in our inclusion makes our stations better.

*The higher end pay rate is available for UVM enrolled students only. That program is funded in part by the Statewide Internship Project Pilot, a partnership between the UVM Office of Engagement and the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC).

About Central Vermont Community Radio

CVCR’s mission is to provide a community radio station which serves the people of north central Vermont and beyond; to provide a forum for cultivating social change that re-harmonizes human communities with the natural world, supports the independent arts and celebrates diversity, creativity, and freedom. We inform, entertain and educate through the presentation of alternative news, artistic expression, and public affairs programming. We do this by broadcasting local, community made and national syndicated radio content via two stations, 91.1 FM, WGDR, Plainfield and 91.7 FM, WGDH, Hardwick, as well as streaming worldwide at WGDR.org. We are two years into community-ownership, after 48 years as Goddard College’s radio station. We are located on the Goddard College campus in Plainfield, VT.

To Apply

Send a cover letter describing your interest in this internship and a brief resume to Station Manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak: Llu@WGDR.org. No calls, please.

PDF Copy of this Internship Description

The Spring Drive Is Live: 4/16-4/30

Friends of WGDR/WGDH -

If you're tuned in this morning (Sunday, April 16) you are hearing Alan & Steven kick us off with the Spring On Air Drive. They're offering up seeds and ramps as incentives to get donors to jump in right away with gifts--a very WGDR/WGDH and spring-time way to start us off.

Together, we're aiming at raising $10,000 by April 30th through:

• 50 first-time donors

• 10 new sustaining donors

• and a suggestion for a $50 gift (if you can swing it) in honor of WGDR's 50th this year.

Over the next two weeks, our programmers and special guests will talk about why WGDR & WGDH are such a critical and beloved part of central and northern Vermont. As a long-time supporter, we know you get how valuable it is to you, too. We ask that you make a donation today to invest in our continued growth.

You can give securely online (and follow our progress there too) or give by check, made out to "CVCR" and sent to WGDR, 123 Pitkin Rd. Plainfield, VT 05667.

To sweeten the spring drive a bit more, we're also offering up incentives to encourage you to give during these next two weeks. Every donation (online or by check) given by April 10 will be entered to win one of these great prizes:

2 tickets to see Grace Potter this September at the Shelburne Museum via Higher Ground.

A banner or poster from the Bread & Puppet print shop.

2 tickets to see John Gorka at the Highland Center for the Arts on June 3.

2 tickets to see Ziggy Marley at the Flynn Theater on July 6.

During this drive, we are not just celebrating spring, we are celebrating some huge milestones:

• As of this month, we've been on the air for 50 years at 91.1 FM.

• In May, it will be two years of community ownership--a testament to the commitment our community has to our success.

• And right now, you are hearing the difference your gifts from the fall drive are making, with the launch of our new schedule with 27 new shows coming on the air.

This is a really exciting time at the station and we are so grateful to be your community-owned and operated radio station.

As always, thanks for listening!

In great gratitude,

Llu Mulvaney-Stanak

Station Manager WGDR/WGDH

CVCR 2023 New Schedule Changes

New voices are coming to Central Vermont Community Radio. This will be our biggest schedule change in a long time and one that everyone at CVCR feels both proud and excited about. The new programs and voices are part of our continuing effort to put the community at the center of Central Vermont Community Radio.

It’s been three years since Covid forced us to reduce live and local programming. We know that many listeners have tuned out due to losing so many local voices. This revamped schedule will return us to majority live and local programming. Changes will occur across April and May.

We are eager to have you tune in, give the new shows a listen for a while, and then let us know what you think.

This new schedule will double the number of locally made programs, from 23 to 50 shows. We will continue to air long-loved national shows like Letters & Politics, Sprouts, UpFront Soul, All Mixed Up, Democracy Now, and many more, some with changed airtimes.

 These 27 new local programs will: 

• give voice to a diverse mix of folks of various backgrounds, social identities, and ages, including five youth!

• offer a variety of music currently not heard on WGDR: bluegrass to world, to metal to hip hop.

• dig into more discussions with listeners and members of the community. We’ll have many more shows that will take live calls and talk about various creative and cultural content. 

• You’ll hear these new shows coming on the air throughout April and May. A current schedule can be found at WGDR.org and once completed, a printable schedule will be available by June.

• For the most current schedule and on-demand listening via our archive go to WGDR.org. 

This schedule was carefully curated by the CVCR Programming Committee. This committee is made up of six community members, including three programmers, a past programmer, and former and current long-time Vermont journalists. These folks were appointed by the board and/or voted for by current programmers late last summer. The committee spent the last six months recruiting new programmers and developing a schedule that prioritizes local content, retires rerun shows, and continues airing beloved syndicated programming. They’ve also curated each day to have less long “talk blocks” of shows, shifting to music by midday, then back again for a couple of hours of talk/news programming, then back to music. The majority of the new local schedule is set, with shows coming on the air between now and mid-May. You will now hear nearly all local programming airing between 9am-11pm, everyday! Our early overnight programming is still being worked on.

You can explore the new schedule line up, with the air days and times of all current, and new shows. You will see where new shows are booked and where some syndicated shows have been moved.

In this new schedule, we are going from 23 to 50 locally-made shows and from 40 to 53 syndicated shows. In total, we’ll go from the 63 shows you were hearing to 103 shows. Indeed, we’re going to sound better than ever! From all these changes you are going to find so much more great programming in our schedule.

New Locally-Made Programs

• The Immanent Grove w/ Conni Mags - cultural music, traditions, and stories that celebrate diversity and will entertain.

• The Revel Level w/ Emma Manion-Kohr - a music show with a variety of music to make you dance.

• Kaleidoscope w/ Will Ibey - a youth-programmed music show of progressive rock and beyond.

• Blluminations w/ Stefanie Lingenfelter - a talk show focusing on healing, plant medicine, and more through interviews and music.

• Delia Gillen’s show - a music show with world, folk, cajun, and bluegrass.

• Theme Time Radio w/ Sydonia Axis - themed shows with poems, musings, and music from all parts of the world.

• Gilded Splinters w/ Kevin Titterton - a free-form music show with experimental, obscure psych rock, ambient and global sounds.

• Borderlands w/ Stefan Nickum - dance music, from house to electronic music, celebrating club culture sounds.

• Deep Blues w/ Les Mawson -a music show keeping the love of blues alive.

• All the Crooked Saints w/ DJ Sacramento - A music show featuring covers and educational content on themes and topics of the day.

• Get Fresh with DJ Llu - new music focus, featuring the latest releases in rock, R&B, and RPM each week.

• Still Life with Club Soda w/ Serena Matt - a variety show of music and talk, focused on community engagement and sharing of resources.

• Still Live with Orange Peel Ada Bowman - a variety show of music and talk, focused on community engagement and sharing of resources.

• Merry Gangemi’s Show - A talk and interview-based show (returning on the air & live!)

• Country Sounds in Modern Music w/ Barry Matthews - a music show focusing on Americana and non-mainstream country.

• Rumblestrip w/ Erica Heilman - A Peabody award winning Vermont based podcast, telling the stories of Vermonters everyday lives.

• August’s Show - a youth-programmed variety of music

• Oliva’s Show - a youth-programmed variety of music

• The Jive Turkey Show w/ Turkey Joe - a youth-programmed variety of music

• Barndance Bluegrass w/ Daniel & Kellon Menucci - bluegrass music featuring traditional and local music

• Fire and Ash: Talking about Death w/ Poa Mutino - a talk-based show celebrating the diversity of ways humans age and embrace death.

• Bread & Salt w/ Maria Shuman - a story-based show of family oral histories and traditional music.

• Pollinator Report w/ Emily Lanxner - a talk show with interviews and other content focused on Vermonters focused on protecting pollinators in our state.

• Kitchen Permaculture w/ Rebecca Beidler - a talk show about local and seasonal food, cooking, growing food, and more.

• Predictably Unpredictable w/ Chris Buckridge - a music show celebrating creativity and freedom of off-beat expression in genres of rock and beyond.

• The Metal Edge w/ Willis Pratt (returning on the air!) - a music show featuring rock and heavy rock.

• Hoi Polloi w/ Damien Taylor - a variety show of music and talk focusing on activism and the issues of our day.

• The weather with Bob has also returned to its former schedule, Monday-Friday live at 9am and Sundays live at 7am.

Continuing Locally-Made Programs

• Curse of the Golden Turnip w/ Alan LePage and Steven Farnham

• Transformational Listening w/ Dennis Darrah

• Thought Pasture w/ Maura Quinn

• Spanning the Chasm w/ Peter Goreau

• Bon Mot w/ Rick Agran

• Personal & Political w/ Stephanie Fraser

• Trailing Edge w/ David Ferland

• InCommon Sounds w/ Brother B

• Gathering Peace w/ Joseph Gainza (returning live!)

• The Quilting Hour w/ Maura Quinn or Sasha Thayer

• Spawning Stones w/ Ben Bashore

• Music as Art w/ Uku Meri

• Relocalizing Vermont w/ Carl Etnier

• Hittin’ the Note w/ Bill Hahn

• Xav Wax w/ Xav Jimenez

• Flow Eclectic & Heavy Metal Radio w/ DJ Eben Flow

• Magical Mystery Tour w/ Tonio Epstein

• Long and Winding Road w/ Dave Tucker (now 3 hours!)

• Geezer Rock w/ Jeff Lindholm (now 2 hours and back live!)

• The Meltdown w/ KingTone

• Amy’s Kids’ Show w/ Amy Hornblas

• Boxful of Blues w/ John Foster

• Acoustic Harmony w/ Mark Michaelis

• The Beatdown w/ Z-Point

New Syndicated Shows

• Food Sleuth - a national program exploring food systems and challenges in the U.S.

• Green Bubble Tea - a music show focusing on the music of South-Eastern Asia

• Prison Pipeline - a national program

• Train to Skaville - a music show focusing on Jamaican music and the genre of ska

• Around 12 more new talk and music syndicated shows are to come as well starting in May.

Continuing Syndicated Shows

• Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour

• Big Picture Science Show

• Timeless Oldies Radio Hour

• Short Wave Report

• Rock Sexy

• Out of the Woods

• For the Wild

• Thom Hartmann Program (1 hour best of) - We will be alternating THP with Ian Masters’ Background Briefing Monday-Friday in the 6am-7am slot.

• Background Briefing with Ian Masters

• Democracy Now, 8am live show and 6pm daily rerun

• Making Contact

• Economic Update

• Full Moon Hacksaw

• Letters & Politics (Monday-Thursday)

• Deep Threes

• Rising Up with Sonali

• Alternative Radio

• The Final Straw

• All Mixed Up

• New Dimensions

• Woodwarbler’s Jazzgrass Show w/ Brian Aust (shifted to WRMW-LP as his local station during covid, not a locally-made show for now)

• And You Don’t Stop

• Oldies Time Machine

• Indigenous Music

• Afronsonic Taxi

• Upfront Soul

• Baroque and Beyond

• Counterspin

• Law and Disorder

• Peace Talks Radio

• Sprouts

• This Way Out

• TUC Radio

• Radio Free Albany Blues Show

• What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?

• Planetary Radio

• The Children’s Hour

Syndicated Shows Retiring

• Juke in the Back - Retired due to violation of the DMCA law, a liability we could not risk with broadcasting and streaming the show anymore.

• Moccasin Tracks, Dark Side of the Tune - Retired due to frequent technical and length issues.

• Explorations - Retired due to no longer providing new content.

• Thom Hartmann Programm (3 hour full show, overnights)

Feedback on the Schedule

We know that these changes may not please all listeners. However, we’re confident that once you hear about these new shows, you will enjoy the freshness and diversity that it adds to our schedule. It’s a work in progress, and we’ll adjust as the need arises.

We welcome your feedback about our programming at CVCR. You can send an email to the Station Manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak at Llu@WGDR.org and they will pass it on to the Programming Committee.

These changes come as the station celebrates two major milestones. 2023 marks WGDR’s 50th year of broadcasting, an anniversary that also coincides with our second full year as a community-owned station after Goddard College gifted the licenses to CVCR. Altogether, there is so much to celebrate in community radio being made right here in Central and Northern Vermont.

Thank you for listening.

We’re About To Sound Even Better!

Friends of WGDR/WGDH -

Late last year we put out a call for new shows and wow did we get a response! Starting in March, you will begin to hear changes to our schedule as we prepare to bring on 25 new locally-made shows.

This is what you, our supporters, have so patiently waited for and what we have dreamt about since we took over ownership of the station. Our ability to train these folks this spring is also a direct result of the fall on-air drive support many of you gave us. Thank you!

How we will sound even better?

• We will more than double our current local lineup going from 23 to 49 locally-made shows.
• Live programming will dramatically increase from the current 15 live shows to 38 by May.
• There will be new genres of music to enjoy including bluegrass, Americana, electronica, jazz, northern traditional music, and international music.
• New local talk shows will expand your listening into family oral histories, local storytelling, local and statewide news, and teach you about permaculture, alternative healing, and more.
• We've got Vermonters of all ages and very varied backgrounds joining us who will help us better tune you into the diverse voices of your community.

We are so grateful to our Programming Committee of John Dillon, Erica Heilman, Tonio Epstein, Dave Tucker, Merry Gangemi, and Mark Michaelis. These folks dutifully reviewed all the show applications and decided who would be a good fit with our station mission.  Thank you to them!

Who are these new programmers?

Show Name	New Programmer	Show Type
Country Sounds in Modern Music	Barry Matthews	Music - country/roots/Americana
TBD	Will Ibey	Music - prog rock
Revel Level	Emma Manion-Kohr	Music - to dance to
Seat of the Pants Radio	Steven Farnham	Talk - guests & call in & discussion
TBD	Serena Matt & Ada Bowman	Talk - discussion, unheard voices, and a mix of music
TBD	Dave Gram	Talk - local news issues, call in
TBD	Delia Gillen	Music - variety
TBD	Daniel & Kellon Mencucci	Music - bluegrass
Blluminations	Stefanie Lingenfelter	Talk - medicinal topics, alternative healing
Gilded Splinters	Kevin Titterton	Music - jazz, freeform rock
TBD	Conni Magnuson	Music - international music & stories
Theme Time Radio Hour	Sydonia Axis	Music - world music & musings
Kitchen Permaculture	Rebecca Beidler	Talk - permaculture and veggie discussions & call-ins
Borderlands	Stefan Nickum	Music - underground electronica
A Northern Tradition	Kevin Dunwoody	Music - northern traditional music
TBD	Willis Pratt	Music - metal
TBD	Richie Walker	Music - variety
TBD	Les Mawson	Music - blues
Bread and Salt	Maria Schumann	Talk - oral history of family and memoirs
TBD	Poa Mutino	Talk - multi-generational conversations
Undercover Lover	Audrey Homan	Music - cover songs
TBD	Barry Zimmer	Talk - variety
TBD	Chris Buckridge	Music - jazz
The Pollinator Report	Emily Lanxner	Talk - pollinator and activism issues, interviews, and call in
TBD Get Fresh with DJ Llu	Damian Taylor Llu Mulvaney-Stanak	Talk - activist news, talk, and music Music - new music releases in rock, hip-hop & RPM

When will we hear it?

New programmers will begin training in March, with special live-on-air "shadow slots" occurring for 3 weeks as part of the process. This is the best way to teach folks the studio and introduce them to listeners. If you catch one of these training shows, please call in and welcome the new folks to the WGDR/WGDH community. They are excited, but also understandably a little nervous. New shows will start appearing in the schedule throughout April, with a full new schedule running by May 1.

Many of our current programmers are helping us train these new folks beyond studio time, mentoring them, teaching them about broadcast rules, and how we collectively make the station a success. We are so grateful to all who are part of making this a warm welcome for new programmers.  

Schedule changes are to begin in March.

• "The Long and Winding Road," with local host Dave Tucker moving to 3 hours, 1-4pm on Fridays.
• "Geezer Rock," with local host Jeff Lindholm, moving to 2 hours and returning live to the airwaves, 4-6pm on Fridays.
• Temporarily we will rerun "Afronsonic Taxi" 1-2pm on Fridays and WGDR/WGDH's "New Music Mix" Saturdays 12-1pm. New local shows will take over these slots by April.
• These changes mean the Friday rerun of "Woodwarbler's Jazzgrass Show" and "Gathering Peace," as well as the Saturday rerun of "Geezer Rock" will retire.
• By April we will also say "see you again soon, thanks for all the tunes" to the long-running music show "InCommon Sounds" with local host Brother B. This great thematic music show has inspired many of our new local shows. We will miss you Brother B and hope to have you back on the air again in the future.
• Once the new schedule kicks in, we will have the beloved "Bob's Weather Watch" return to its prior Monday-Friday 9am and Sunday at 7am regular schedule too.

All Syndicated Programs Are Sticking Around

Even with all this new local programming, we will still have room in the schedule to air all the syndicated shows you have come to enjoy. We had to heavily rely on these shows to help fill the schedule during covid and the station ownership transition. Now, we get to retire runs and adjust the schedule to prioritize locally-made shows during the most listened-to times of the day. The syndicated programming will find new airtimes during the week and all our content can always listen on demand through our archives.

Exciting things are happening on the air at Central Vermont Community Radio.

Stay tuned!

Llu Mulvaney-Stanak

WGDR/WGDH Station Manager

Central Vermont Community Radio is the non-profit managing WGDR/WGDH. Our community-owned stations broadcast at 91.1 FM in the greater Plainfield area, 91.7 FM in the hollows and hills of Hardwick and beyond, and at WGDR.org to the whole world. Our studio is located in Plainfield, Vermont.

Follow us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook at @WGDRWGDHVT

Station Update: WGDR is 50!

Friends of WGDR/WGDH -

This is a huge year for us. WGDR is turning 50 years old!

5 decades ago WGDR, Plainfield (then WGOD), went on the air at Goddard College at 91.1 FM on the local radio dial. In the years that followed, the station became not just the heart of the local community, it became the voice of generations of Vermonters sharing their stories, thoughts, and love of music.

We are looking to celebrate this milestone in creative and connective ways and we need your help.

We want to hear your stories about how WGDR has impacted your life.  Why do you keep listening? How has WGDR connected you to the community and happenings locally, in Vermont, and around the world? Send us an email or leave a voice message after hours on our office line at 802-276-0365 and we’ll share your stories on the air throughout the year.

We’re looking to party too! If you want to help us plan ways to celebrate the station, email station manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak and get involved in the fun: Llu@WGDR.org.

New Local Shows Are On the Way

It may still be winter here in Vermont, but we're already feeling a sense of spring renewal and growth here at the station. This is because our Programming Committee just approved 24 new locally-made show applications, which doubles the number of locally-made shows on the air. There is an amazing mix of show ideas, proposed by Vermonters of diverse backgrounds. These folks will be in training for the next few weeks, with a big schedule change coming in April. Get excited about what's to come!

Changes to Bob’s Weather Watch

Long-time listeners know the friendly forecasting voice of Bob Mitsenbeger, providing a daily forecast for WGDR/WGDH Monday-Fridays at 9am and Sundays at 7am. Due to volunteer limitations, we need to scale back the live forecasts temporarily while we await our slate of new programmers to join us.

For the next couple of months, Bob will be doing live weather with our programmers on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9am and Sundays at 7am. For all other days, you can call in for his daily forecast at 802-454-7707.

NFCB Features Our Approach to Creating Change In Community Radio

Back in December NFCB interviewed our station manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, about all the changes happening at WGDR/WGDH and how Central Vermont Community Radio has approached the work. The full interview is available on our website. Here is a snippet:

Lisa: What's your approach to change management?

Llu: I think the best strategy for change management is modeling, persisting, and being very patient. In my career, I've been part of organizations, for one reason or another, that have been in an inflection moment, a change moment. People are can get uncomfortable trying new things. Sometimes people want to be quick to be critical because something didn't work, as opposed to reflecting and saying, "Hey, why didn't work, should we just toss it out? Should we try again?"

The challenge is this – how do we hold space for all of that, but also be accountable, and not allow negativity and resistance to impact moving forward – because, you're not going to get everybody to always agree, and at the end of the day there still needs to be someone who's in charge of making decisions.

The whole point of community radio is right in the title – community. You've got to come together and be in space together. We're building authentic connections, relationships, and trust with each other at the station, even remotely. I see many signs of success in these moments. I feel like radio could be, dare I say, fun! Most importantly, we are putting out a product that we're all feeling really proud about. That's the direction I keep trying to move people in.

I'm such a 90s kid, but I think about Captain Planet a lot. The concept of "the powers combined." He doesn’t have his power unless all five people come together with their elements. I often think about that as an analogy – I cannot do this by myself. The concept of power hoarding, which is often what people run up against, is of no interest to me. I think the trick about change management is reminding people that they've had the power all along. That's what makes successful organizations. Finding that sweet spot,  when people feel empowered and when they actually are empowered."

Central Vermont Community Radio is the non-profit managing WGDR/WGDH. Our community-owned stations broadcast at 91.1 FM in the greater Plainfield area, 91.7 FM in the hollows and hills of Hardwick and beyond, and at WGDR.org to the whole world. Our studio is located in Plainfield, Vermont.

Follow us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook at @WGDRWGDHVT