As Vernon’s proposed community radio station gets closer to hitting the air, its governing society is opening the booth to those who wish to get involved.
The Vernon Community Radio Society (VCRS) invites the public to join its board of directors at its 2020 annual general meeting via Zoom on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
In September the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) issued a broadcasting licence allowing VCRS to operate an English-language community FM radio station in Vernon.
The non-profit and volunteer-driven society plans to operate the station under the name of 97.9 Valley FM.
“Our board has worked hard over the past two years to get this project off the ground and now that we have a licence the real work begins with fundraising, volunteer recruitment and creation of the station both on and off the air,” said VCRS Chair Gord Leighton.
“We would like to encourage anyone who may be interested in becoming involved with the station and the society to register for the AGM and help us in the next steps to getting Valley FM on Air.”
The station is intended to serve the Greater Vernon area, with reception not likely to reach Lumby, Enderby and Falkland. In contrast with private commercial stations, the VCRS says community stations cannot be bought or sold, and profits will support local programming rather than corporations or shareholders.
A variety of programming is planned for Valley FM, including news, spoken word and and a mix of music genres. The VCRS says local musicians, guests and community content will “play a large part” in the station’s programming.
Attendees must pre-register for the annual general meeting by emailing Vice Chair Vicki Proulx at vpmarketingandpromotions@gmail.com, or by calling 250-938-1327 for more information.
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