Community Radio one step closer to broadcasting

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

By Sam Petri

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-The Jackson Hole Community Radio team - who will begin broadcasting in March on 89.1 - were handed the keys to their new headquarters the day after New Year’s. They have now moved their offices from the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts to the basement of the Teton Aquatics building on 155 West Gill Ave., beneath Teton Barbers.

The basement space already screams “radio station,” with interior-windowed rooms that resemble radio studio spaces. Founder of the nonprofit radio station and ex-KMTN DJ, Jim Tallichet, 39, says there will be two to three studios established inside the JHCR headquarters. One of the studios will be outfitted to record and capture live musical performances.

The move into the new space is huge for JHCR as the station has had little progress to report to the public over the course of their history, which has been 12 years in the making. Tallichet founded and incorporated the nonprofit in April 1995. After overcoming many obstacles, including an FCC freeze on applications for noncommercial broadcasting licenses, the organization finally received an existing permit to build a radio station from an organization called Broadcasting for the Challenged in March of 2007.

In the same year the station also received a 3-to-1 matching grant from the Department of Commerce that will match the first $91,000 JHCR raises, for a total of $273,000. The grant is the fourth highest radio construction grant out of 57 available nationwide.

With $55,600 raised from Old Bills Fun Run in 2007, as well as a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation and a few smaller personal donations made online, JHCR has raised close to $67,000 to date. It will be matched 3-to-1 once they reach the $91,000 mark. JHCR continues to seek donations.

“Our goal is to raise $523,000 total so that we can not only build the radio station but have our first year’s operating expenses in order before we go on air so that we’re not always behind the curve,” said Tallichet. “We want to start ahead of the game.”
With the new permit and grants, the JHCR team went to work this summer and fall and built an antenna on the newest of the three radio towers located on leased Forest Service land on top of Snow King Mountain. JHCR will now lease the antenna space from the company who controls the three towers on the Forest Service land, according to Tallichet, and begin broadcasting by March 2008, if not sooner. Right now, they need volunteers to occupy the airwaves.

“A community radio station is kind of an organic process and as people show up and get involved we’re going to start doing training for our programmers come February and March,” said Tallichet. “Right now it’s a first come, first serve basis. Once we feel people have participated in the station and are ready to go on air, we’ll put people in different time slots.” Tallichet recommended signing up to volunteer on JHCR’s website www.jhcr.org.

“We need a lot of volunteers, that’s the nature of this thing. The more participation, the better the organization we will be,” said Tallichet

Once the station is in full swing, JHCR will have four fulltime employees: Station President, Jim Tallichet, Operation Manager/Volunteer Coordinator, Walker White and Development Director, Haynes Poe. JHCR is currently looking for a fulltime News Director.

Tallichet could not yet say what the programming will specifically be, as it is volunteer driven and the station is still seeking many volunteers to get on board. Tallichet did note that KAFM in Grand Junction, KPCW in Park City and KBUT in Crested Butte are stations JHCR hopes to emulate.

Photo by ANDREW WYATT
The staff, volunteers, and board members of Jackson Hole community Radio. (Left side— Haynes Poe, Walker White, Tony Labbe, Luke Bruner; Right Side—Claudia Lair, Walt Farmer, Jim Tallichet, Luis Fernandez-Gotes, Brad Desmond)

PERMALINK:
Community Radio one step closer to broadcasting | Planet JH News Article: General Music Arts and Culture

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