Presentation About WOMR at Chatham Library
Executive Director and Chatham resident to speak about the history of Cape Cod???s only community radio station.
Provincetown, MA – On Saturday, September 8th at 2:00 pm, the Eldredge Public Library in Chatham will present an informative talk by WOMR???s executive director John Braden, who will be joined by David Wilber, a Chatham resident and WOMR board member. They will be giving a presentation about WOMR???s history as Cape Cod???s only independent, community-based radio station and its future role in serving the towns and residents of the outer, lower, and mid-Cape.
Community radio is at its core a venture into building humanity.??Local people produce and broadcast their own programs and participate in all phases of operations; the station provides space for the community to meet and collaborate. In 1976 a small band of radio visionaries began working to create such a community radio station in Provincetown. After several years of raising awareness and money, and negotiating the complicated permitting process (both national and local), WOMR went on the air on March 21, 1982 at 91.9 on the FM dial.
With only 1000 watts of power, the signal initially barely extended beyond Provincetown itself. Today WOMR broadcasts at 6000 watts from Provincetown at 92.1 FM and from Orleans at 91.3 FM. That small band of visionaries has grown to over 80 volunteers who create and broadcast an infinitely wide variety of year-round programming. Featuring music of all types, spoken word shows, and live public-affairs programs, WOMR is fulfilling its mission to keep area residents entertained and informed.
John Braden has been with the organization since April of 1991, starting as a volunteer before becoming operations manager and finally named executive director in October of 2012. Chatham resident David Wilber is a longtime fan of the station (he installed an antenna in his attic to improve reception before WFMR began operational!); he joined the community advisory board in 2014 and the board of directors in 2016.
???This event will allow us to interact with Chatham residents and listeners as well as to talk about the future of the station,??? says Braden, adding that ???WOMR is a great community resource for all of Cape Cod, and we want to make sure we hear as many voices from that community as possible.???
Questions and further conversation will be welcome after the presentation. Refreshments will be served.??
About WOMR: Listener-supported and volunteer-driven, WOMR is a noncommercial, nonprofit educational community radio station offering an eclectic blend of music and spoken-word programming since 1982 and broadcasting from Provincetown, Massachusetts???making it truly the ???outermost radio.??? WOMR is not affiliated with any educational institution and derives its financial support from listeners, businesses, and funding organizations. More information at www.womr.org.
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About the Eldredge Public Library: Located at 564 Main Street, Chatham, the library offers generous selections of modern literature, local historical materials, a genealogy department, newspapers, DVDs, music CD, audio books and adult and children’s computers with high-speed internet access and Microsoft office. The EPL and the Friends of EPL sponsor a variety of events such as lectures, performances, and classes year-round. More information at www.eldredgelibrary.org.