Year Wrap Up - December 2022

Friends of WGDR & WGDH -

We are reflecting on all we experienced and accomplished over the last year. Wow! It was a lot. We were able to meet every challenge and stop and celebrate our many wins alongside so many from our community. Here are just a few of our highlights:

• Celebrations: The life of our dear programmer and beloved community member Ken Feld, reopening the station for live guests and more live programming, and great appreciation for the years of great shows from Ruth Wilder, Sasha Thayer, and (soon) Will League who all have stepped away from shows this year.
• Growth: A new mission statement, our new Programming Committee (which includes award-winning journalists and current/past station icons), more community-generated content with event postings and PSAs on the air, new and renewed partnerships with the VT Historical Society, Vermont Arts Council, Spruce Mountain Inn, and Cabot High School, and support from 29 Vermont businesses and organizations.
• Broadcast Capacity Building: We've invested a great amount of time and funding in upgrading outdated and broken gear. A new transmitter at WGDR, numerous WGDH updates, a new station network, a second broadcast studio for increased Covid-safety, a new phone system, and so much more.
• Increased Community: We knew when we went independent from Goddard that running the station would take hard work by many hands. We are so amazed and thankful that so many have stepped up and in to help us. In total, 47 individuals have come together to help at every level of making CVCR a success this year: 16 non-programmer volunteers helping with high and lo-tech projects, including 3 young adults from Spruce Mtn. Inn (pictured helping "clear the pit," 15 of our programmers taking on small to significant operational duties, our 25 programmers making such great local content, 1 intern from Cabot High School, and 1 paid, part-time station manager and our 4 board members providing guidance and direction. We've also had 260 donors (so far this year), 48 as sustainers, and 78 new donors. Together, we are infusing more community into our stations of WGDR and WGDH and we think you can hear it and feel it. Thank you.

The Top Ten Songs We Played in 2022

Thanks to our Music Directors, Dave Tucker and Mark Michaelis, we've got our top spins of the year. If you missed them, check them out.

Listen to cuts from these albums on our CVCR Spotify playlist.

Holiday Gift Idea! Support Those Who Underwrite WGDR/WGDH

We are very grateful to the 20 different underwriters who supported the station through paid on-air mentions over the last year. First Step Print Shop, Sara Bea Art, DDY Design, Lost Nation Brewing, Hardwick Community TV, Buchspeiler, Woodbury Mountain Toys, VSECU, Green Mountain Community Fitness, Bear Pond Books,  Noyle Johnson Insurance, ORCA Media, Onion River Animal Hosptial, Guitar Sam, Black Bear Biodiesel, West Barnet Woodworks, East Hill Tree Farm, Hunger Mountain Co-op, and the Vermont Arts Council.

We also appreciate the in-kind donations from 9 Vermont businesses for our On Air Drive prizes this year: Higher Ground, The Barre Oprea House, Guitar Sam, Waking Windows Festival, Bread and Puppet, Good Heart Farm, Dave's Community Fitness, artist Julian Soberano, and Nataraja Dance Studios.

Looking Ahead to 2023

We've got 24 new show applications in progress (with more coming in each week). You can still apply to be considered. Decisions will be made in January, with training and new shows coming on the air in the weeks that follow.

It will also be our 50th year broadcasting as WGDR, 91.1 FM. We've got big ideas for how to celebrate and welcome any community support in helping to mark this significant milestone for the station.

We'll also continue to diligently build the capacity of the station, through people power, diverse funding streams, and other resource generation. As always, your support keeps us going. Thank you for listening.

Stay tuned,

Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, WGDR/WGDH Station Manager

Llu@WGDR.org, 802-276-0365

p.s. If you have yet to give this year, please consider a gift before December 31. Every dollar we raise goes directly to supporting the programming you love and rely on.

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 at on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook at @WGDRWGDHVT