This is my answer to the following statement from a BOD member in opposition to the Radio Station Project. “The radio station is outside our mission, is a big distraction, and is being pushed by a small, insular, non-representative group.” Bear Wilner-Nugent. I really disagree with this statement. Here is our mission statement as published in Guidestar (a non-profit evaluator with national recognition): THE OREGON COUNTRY FAIR(OCF) CREATES EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES THAT NOURISH THE SPIRIT, EXPLORE LIVING ARTFULLY AND AUTHENTICALLY ON EARTH, AND TRANSFORM CULTURE IN MAGICAL, JOYOUS AND HEALTHY WAYS A radio station will help fill this mission. The community radio station I helped start in Astoria is a good example of how a radio stations supports this mission. It is really responsible for forming the strong alternative and arts community we have in Astoria. Radio transforms culture. And it was the only emergency radio station that stayed on the air during the big windstorm in 2007. The commercial radio stations all failed and it was the dedication of non profit volunteers that kept KMUN on the air and provided information to the community. The members of the task force are not insular. Meetings are open. It was originally started by Elders of the Oregon Country Fair. I dont see how you can call them a small , insular non representative group. Yes, there is a small working group but that is normal in start ups. KMUN in Astoria was started by three people, one being me (I was the engineer and wrote the engineering part of the application.) In this case we have a very accelerated schedule (18 months) and so it takes dedicated people to get it started. When you get people who want to do the work they often would rather work than be political. So you get aggressive people who want to do the project. This is good. People that start a project like this do not often stick around once the project gets going. I didnt with KMUN, in fact none of the three of us that started KMUN are involved in the current station. I fully expect that once the station is running that almost none of the original task force will be involved. I do hope Dean will stay involved as he has an excellent vision of how the station can function, and he has experience behind him. He will make an excellent station manager if he will do the job. And the radio station should not be a distraction, in fact it shouldnt be a problem at all. I believe (from experience) that good people will come out out the woodwork to participate. It should not take much staff time either, Staff is not trained in Radio Technology and would be involved only as senior management for the Fair. It will be a volunteer project. It also fills several of the Goals of the Fair, In fact it meets goals 4, supporting Artists and Entertainers, Goal 5, shall create participatory events and experiences that attract and include more youth and elders, Goal 6, shall support a healthy and dynamic culture for participation by volunteers and members and especially Goal 7, The Oregon Country Fair shall foster better communication and information exchange. I believe KOCF would support more than the 4 goals I mentioned The Oregon Country Fair By-laws also support forming KOCF. Here is an excerpt of Article 2 that I think applies: ...and the creation of a public forum encouraging the exchange and discussion of ideas about alternative community organization, use of economic resources and appropriate technology. KOCF is well within the mission of the Oregon Country Fair. It is just the will to do it that we need.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 01:00:26 +0000
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