Roundup: “Who Takes the Cake?”

Tuesday July 16, 2024
From the less messy desk of Amanda Eichstaedt…

Who Takes the Cake?

This morning when I was watering my plants I was thinking about work. I was specifically thinking about an issue I am currently dealing with where something is not working well. It is not yet resolved and it’s kind of a big problem. It will not effect your ability to hear the radio, or access the archives, or check the website, or read this newsletter. It’s an internal issue that has to do with bookkeeping. It will get resolved, but it’s weighing on me.

Yummy cake. Chocolate, my favorite!   photo: Pexels

And while I was watching my little plants drink the meager amount of water that I allow them to stay alive during the summer, I started thinking about all of the things at KWMR that are going well. And I mean, really well. So I decided that it was a good time to thank all of the folks that help us keep doing what we do, do that you can turn on your device and get the latest awesome KWMR programming.

I thank the awesome team at KWMR who staff the station regularly; Richard, Ian, James, Jeff, Mia, and Alyssa. These folks are truly amazing. The KWMR Board of Directors, and our Community Advisory Board are also hugely helpful.

I also sing the praises of our volunteer programmers frequently, and I should probably do it even more because without them, there really would not be the depth of our music, talk, and information programming.

But you likely don’t hear about some of the other folks that I rely upon to do my job here at KWMR and I want to sing their praises, because they truly “take the cake.” And I mean this in a non-foolish way, in a ranking-first kind of way.

Some of these folks I only deal with yearly, other monthly, others when necessary. And as a small organization, I know that KWMR is not alone in reaching out to folks with these skills. Where to start…? I’m going to stick with first names for these folks, but if you need a referral, and they are taking referrals, let me know and I will hook you up.

I want to shout out to Lisa and Jeremy, KWMR’s Auditor team, and Mark who helps prepare the tax return and 990 for the station every year! A big thank you to Elin who is at the ready when I have Human Resources inquiries. Hat’s off to Gabriel who advises us on all things benefits, and to Denise, who is a rock star when it comes to insurance coverage. Not sure what I would do without Frank and his exemplary bookkeeping skills and his great sense of humor. Dave has always been helpful when it comes to HVAC information. Bill is always willing to lend his expertise and skill for electrical work. Alan is our legal ace. Another Bill is invaluable when it comes to audio engineering. Thanks to Nick for servicing the generators. Leslie and Hal are great landlords. Tim weighs in on technical issues when we need him. Gray has our back for broadcast engineering. Adam will drop everything to help KWMR with antenna issues. Travis has been assisting KWMR for over a decade with web and archiving issues. Big thanks to Kevin, Susan, and Karl, and their crew. Deb is an editing whiz, and I should probably engage her more often. Geoff has our backs when it comes to banking. Phil, our amazing phone consultant and Jason our local phone guru. Erik and Everson weigh in on internet issues. Layton, Matt, and their crew are also essential. Shout out to Brent, Lanie, and Mari for excellent information. Anthony builds stuff, Gary paints stuff. Ryan also builds stuff. Andrew helps when he can with great ideas. Will provides insight and translation services. We thank Beverly for her underwriting insights, and the whole crew at NFCB for guiding the community radio ship around our nation.

These are the current cadre of folks, and the list would be even longer if I dipped into the past. Some of the most helpful people over the years are no longer on this earth.

So, it’s not so bad that my initial issue is still not fixed. We’ll figure it out, and it just makes me feel that much better about things that all of the people mentioned, and then some, are there to helps us succeed.

Who takes your cake?

Amanda Eichstaedt
Station Manager and Executive Director