(My writing is for my relaxing and sharing of things that I think are worthy of semi-organized sentences. I'm no professional writer..but it's recreational to me...so, if you're reading this, know It's more of a stream of my thoughts than an organized "column" of any kind. )
Some days are remarkable while still very trying.
This situation we all share right now has so many effects on
all of us, there's no way to count them all.
As a business owner, and as a radio station owner, I share
the fear of other business owners, but
we carry on, because we must. We've seen
a slight drop in advertising from businesses hardest hit, but many of our
familiar supporters are still here on the air, with new messages of
encouragement, reassurance, and the sharing of thoughts, or...just to remind
you they are STILL HERE, waiting for the joyous day of reopening. We, at WION
are so grateful for all of our advertisers and supporters. It's our
advertisers' dollars that keep the transmitter on, the lights bright, and our
streaming coming to you on any device anywhere.
So, on a day where this virus scare temporarily cost us some
major income another miracle occurred, proving to me, as Morning Host and
Manager that I'm here...for the right reasons.
I didn't hear the phone call, but Garry Osborn was on the
air. The call was to our 800 number,
which can ring into the studio. It went
to voicemail, which showed up quickly in my e-mail. A senior-citizen lady, on oxygen called WION,
worried because she was in need of food and didn't know where to turn. "2-1-1" can help people but I could
tell of the immediate need by the sound of her voice on the recording.
One call later, to a local church well known for it's food
pantry outreach, I was assured by a friendly voice on the other end of the
phone that this lady would be called right away, and the comforting words,
"These are the people we need to serve!" Can you imagine just the chance that someone would:
a) be a senior in need. b) Think
to call a radio statoin. c) reach a station with a real staff, not a corporate,
satellite-delivered jukebox, d) ask for help leaving a number for a callback
HOPING someone got the message? Well, it
DID happen. The connection was made.
Granted, this was not an on air issue. But it was a "trust" issue. The
likelihood is that this lady heard Garry mention the number, she called it,
pressed his extension for the afternoon show which also cc'd to me, and hoped
for a call back. Think of it. The TRUST, today, in local media to help an
individual. She didn't call anyone else,
she called a radio station because
we're supposed to be "in touch" with community. In a way, it was a high compliment.
With the issue in the hands of the people who are GREAT at
what they do, which is feeding people regularly from a pantry, I felt as if I
needed to be at WION as owner, etc...etc...insert job here. It felt right to be the caretaker of our license today, and
to know something good came of our mere existence. It felt like a "meant to be." I believe it was, and it helps take away some
of my worry during these times of the essential existence of radio, and the
concern over losing the life-giving revenue of advertising to this radio
station. That concern seems small
compared to the need which was phoned in to us today. My concern for WION as a business was
strengthened by the fact we were here to fill a need and have been for over 15
years!
We are fine. We WILL be fine with the support of our local
community's businesses, some of which are not even open right now....and in the
bigger picture, you can now see...Advertisers support WION, which is here to
bring you music, information, news, and more.
Trust develops from that consistency and reputation, and that shows to advertisers that people
need WION, and...it also shows commitment by this station to our community,
which translates back into
advertisers wanting to be a part of our programming.
Even with some losses today, in the "win" column
was trust in a local radio station to help just one person. Just one!
We hope that you also are another "one" who will
trust us with your time...for information, entertainment, and the marketing of
your business to the mutual benefit of our community, through the good times,
and the rough ones, too.
-Jim Carlyle
No comments:
Post a Comment