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That was how Seymour FM president Ian McOwan described the past year at the community broadcaster.
Speaking at the radio station’s annual general meeting, Ian said there had been bumps in the road throughout the year, but a net gain was the result.
In the past year, the station has added new programs, seen former presenters return and made improvements to overall program quality.
The station also received a $21,660 grant from the Community Broadcasting Foundation, which will fund equipment to build a second studio to provide on-air changeover, enhanced production facilities and equipment for transmission facilities to enhance sound quality and provide better monitoring.
Ian also discussed future plans, including improving the local news service, adding more content to the music library and working with the community to deliver special programming content such as debates and documentaries.
Ian said underpinning past success and future ambitions was the ongoing support of local sponsors.
“It goes unsaid that the support of our sponsors is paramount to our survival. It is the generosity of our sponsors that allows us to do what we do,” Ian said.
“Unfortunately, in the community radio sector it is not uncommon for stations to be financially on the precipice, inevitably surviving on grants. So, to our sponsors I say thank you for your ongoing support.”
But even with the most generous sponsors and the best equipment, a community broadcaster would not survive without the tireless hours of its volunteers.
“The time, ideas and energy of our volunteers are intangible, they often fade into the background. It becomes easy to ignore or forget the contribution they make,” Ian said.
“Because our volunteers come and go at different times of the day, we often don’t see them perform their activities. We don’t get to say hello, we don’t get to hear what might be happening in their personal lives, and we become detached.
“Often we don’t know or comprehend what our volunteers experiencing. More so the impact that it may have on their activities at Seymour FM. We take for granted their generosity and only notice when disruption occurs.
“Yet our volunteers form the backbone of our product and our industry. Without volunteers, lots of volunteers, we would be unable to provide the programs for our community.
“At Seymour FM we are fortunate to have a team of dedicated volunteers that keep things going. We need to recognise, encourage and reward the valuable contributions our volunteers make.”
Award winners announced on the night were:
Alan Solomon and Dale Lorraine — endurance and commitment to program presentation.
Margaret and Neil Tingay — endurance and excellence in program presentation.
Stuart Crockett — enduring commitment, support and program presentation.
Robert Rickard — commitment to program operations and support.
Callum Watson — endurance and excellence in program presentation.
Peta Bulmer — endurance and excellence in program presentation.
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