"Thumbs Up" to listeners of WION! "Thumbs down" to Emergency officials!

Emergency?  or just "another event?"

YOU decide.

Last week, with just hours to go before the first-ever "Wizard of Oz" festival in downtown Ionia, a construction crew hit a gas line, which, in turn, caused the "evacuation" of at least one city block full of businesses near the noon hour, visitors, and those preparing for the festival.

A huge THANK YOU and "thumbs up" goes to our listeners who alerted WION to this situation, which allowed WION to beat ALL the news media with a live report from Consumers' Energy about the situation, it's repair time, and estimated time that residents and businesses could return to their normal activities.  WION's report was quoted in much 'larger' media which made their jobs easier, and...being IN Ionia, we had the info as it happened, where out-of-town media had to come here, find the people with whom to talk, and then get their reports back to the "big city."

This blog, however is not meant to say, "we did it first." It's meant to compliment our listeners on tipping us off to the need for information which we provided!  At the same time, the finger of shame points in the direction of any and all City or County officials charged with the handling of emergencies for ZERO contact with a live, local media right here in town!  (WION). Just as in the January prison escape, City and County officials took NO action to notify WION, yet...even without a fulltime news department, we had the situation covered and calmly brought you information and even some "appropriate for the situation" music. (songs with "dig", "flow", "pipeline" and other words or names in them...just for fun while on the air "live" with credible information.) 

WHY should local officials contact WION with local emergencies? Well, for one, we're the quickest local media!  Even if the evacuated businesses couldn't be near their in-store/in-office radios, they could use smart-phones to hear WION's information with our free APPS!  This isn't the 1970's...WION reaches the WORLD now, at any given time. As I write this, our afternoon show is being enjoyed In Tawas City, Cedar Springs, Grand Rapids, Chesepeake, VA, and Southfield, MI just to name a few locations that are tuned-in via the web or phones. It's simple. Radio is a medium you can HEAR while driving, walking, working,  or even evacuating. You don't have to "read" radio!

Our local officials seem to believe that Facebook is the save-all for their poorly-run  P.R. departments.  Facebook does NOT reach people driving TO Ionia, or anyone driving, period!  It doesn't reach busy business people who are tuned-in while actually WORKING,  it doesn't reach businesses where the I-T department BLOCKS Facebook, and it doesn't reach clients of our local businesses who are shopping, or in waiting rooms, or doing business with any of our OVER 125 LISTENING IONIA BUSINESSES.

What will it take for our local city and county officials to realize that MASS COMMUNICATIONS is best achieved via local radio?   We've seen what happens in storm-related emergencies....cell towers fail, power goes out, and cable/DSL is worthless.  What's here 24/7 for YOU, our community? WION Radio.  We INVESTED in this town a decade ago by moving our lives here, and improving WION beyond any owner's effort to date.  We STAFF around the clock in emergencies. We are NOT the "enemy" and we don't act like TV-8 and other media in G.R. who's only apparent goal is to make Ionia look like the butt of the world by covering only BAD news.  Did you notice that the TV media was here on Friday, but didn't do ANYTHING to talk about our new Wizard of Oz festival, even though they were already in-town? We, at WION, on the other hand are LOCAL people who want our town safe, informed, and "in touch" when emergencies demand it.

Oh, and yes, Friday was an "emergency." In case you're too busy to look it up, "Evacuation" is defined as follows: evacuation is the immediate and urgent movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a storm or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or approaching weather system.

Please take a moment to urge your City and County of Ionia officials to stop relying solely  on "social media" for emergencies. It's obvious our listeners who called us with tips about Friday's "gaseous situation"  care more about mass-notification via radio than our local officials, and this HAS TO END. You saw this happen during a prison break, and it happened again last Friday, June 22nd.

TEN YEARS of service to this city and this county deserves better treatment by officials. We're here to help. We raise money for charities. We raise money for Bertha Brock Park's improvement fund each year at Fallfest time.  We help Big Brothers/Big Sisters with donations from our advertisers.  We broadcast from the Ionia Freefair. We're the ones who STARTED the County-Wide Food Drive.  Once again this year we're actively raising money for Ionia's Relay for Life.   Every year for the past 4 we've picked a charity at Christmastime,  and given-away 100 percent of proceeds from our locally produced radio play of "A Christmas Carol."  We run public service announcements for non-profits around the clock.  Simply put, we give back more to community than any other local media.

The bottom line is this: In an age where broadcasters seldom take their service to the public seriously, WION has never varied from it's commitment to you, for entertainment, information, and in emergencies. WION cannot, however serve you, if the chain of information is broken before it gets to our studios.  As we often tell people with regard to their community events, "we can't  help you if you don't tell us about your event.  The same applies to emergencies and those who are charged with public safety and contacting the media. No automated system replaces ONE VERIFIED contact with us for immediacy, and nothing replaces the human voice received by hundreds if not thousands of people for the purpose of mass  communications in all venues:  work, home, school, office, and car.

We simply ask again that local officials include us in notification during emergencies. Radio has always been useful in emergencies, large or small.   WION has treated its commitment to community seriously since our team bought the station, now nearly 10 years ago, and will continue-to do the same as we grow further.

Letter to the Public from WION regarding the recent Ionia Prison Escape.

And...What WION listeners need to know about our involvement in emergency notifications of all sorts.

When it comes to being up to date, WION has all the currently mandated Emergency Alert System equipment. It is quite familiar to most listeners for its regular tests with Garry Osborn's voice reminding you about the Medical Reserve Corps' place in our community, and you've often heard it used (it's most frequent use) for summer weather alerts, like tornado or severe thunderstorm watches and warnings when it breaks into programming.

This system is multi-part, monitoring larger cities' stations to the West  for weather and other West Michigan emergencies.  When the monitored stations issue an alert or test of weather or OTHER types,  it triggers our EAS automatically, day or night, relaying the test or emergency information to you, our listeners.  It's up to date, and was new two years ago, costing us $2500 and mandated or "be fined" by the Federal Communications Commission.  It is also mandated to be tied into the public internet for triggering by either Local or State-Level officials.

The connection to the internet part of the system  was the reason for the updated hardware  being required by the FCC and the Federal government.  Our EAS system also monitors regional emergency servers in Lansing for State and Federal disaster information or tests.  The "idea" of the system is that in our area, if something threatening life or property happens, an alert can be triggered over WION by state, local, or regional officials whether there is anyone in the radio station's  control room or not.

During the recent prison escape NO alerts of a local or regional level were triggered by the City of Ionia, the County of Ionia, or any State of Michigan official, even though the local "emergency" was quite real, and the type of alert we could and should have received is called an  "L.E.W"  (Law Enforcement Warning) alert, and can be triggered on  EAS boxes in the affected area.   In the opinion of this radio station owner, these triggers should have been used for Ionia, Greenville, Hastings, Grand Rapids, and Lansing, all of these towns being in reasonable travel time for an escapee from MDOC in Ionia.  To me, this  makes sense. Using this alert system would also have served to notify owners of broadcast stations in these areas of the serious issue at hand.  (given that stations have some type of forwarding for listener  phone calls 24/7 like we do!) 

FACEBOOK is not a way to notify public in serious situations.  While noted as "not part of the procedure" in a recent Sentinel-Standard article,  it's obvious that those charged with Facebook communications at our city level don't understand how FB works.  The article claimed 55 THOUSAND people saw their post. A simple look at the page shows this is not correct, and if it were true, that number would be equal to most of the population in Ionia County.  This may be the total hits  to their FB page AFTER the story went national, but during the early minutes and hours of the emergency, a few dozen are logged as "seeing" the Ionia City Public Safety posts about the prison escape. For those that don't know, Facebook does NOT deliver all posted messages to all followers of any page.  Research it!  Facebook  delivers messages only to people who regularly interact with the sender in the hopes of more eyes on their page's ads. It's how this FREE service works, and remember, we all get what we pay for when Facebook is concerned.  Facebook controls the flow of information you provide.   When you combine that, with relying on 'social media" for information, you have a recipe for a local disaster.

WION has been here under our ownership for a decade this year. We were "on air" during the ice storms of 2005-2006. We had Sheriff Dennis in our studios during it.  We installed full time generator backup to better serve you.  We bought and built an FM license and station for Ionia County so you can receive us 24/7, and we maintain all our equipment in top-notch condition.   We developed our OWN streaming service which repeats 100 percent of our on-air programming (not only 'part' like big city stations do) to anyone in the world, local or far away 24/7.  This includes EAS alerts, tests, weather warnings, and ANY activity our EAS box is required to pass on to you, by automatically overriding programming.

Additionally, any phone calls to WION are forwarded to our owners 24/7. ANY communications by phone to us will notify an owner. This is NOT required by the “Feds” for our license, but rather a service we feel is necessary to best serve our listeners. 

The fact is, more than one public entity charged with your safety dropped the ball where notifying WION about the local prison emergency is concerned. Even given the hours  in which the event unfolded,  we would have gladly assisted, and calmly notified listeners of the situation, to be alert, and to lock doors and cars.

As an owner and on air personality,  I can tell you that in 25 years of being on the air, I've dealt with many emergencies;  severe weather, 9-11 as it happened, serious local floods, lost children called-in live to swap shop shows, and have experience in the research, writing, and delivering of news when needed in a calm and organized manner.   The lack of early notification by officials to WION directly contributed to our inability to serve you, and had NOTHING to do with OUR abilities, and has EVERYTHING to do with local officials at multiple levels dropping the ball where notification is concerned.  WION received NO calls (to be forwarded automatically) NO faxes, and no EAS activations.  This comes after an e-mail from one city official promised in a January to WION,   " I am going to work harder this up coming year to be more proactive on my outreach."

We're here for you.  Completely capable of calmly distributing information on AM, FM, and online to listeners, and to (our) Facebook, and even our own website since all of this is done in-house, not "contracted out."

If you want better coverage in emergencies on WION,  then please raise your voice toward better communication by public officials to WION and to ALL MEDIA,  before the next local emergency becomes a local DISASTER.

WION, meanwhile has raised questions with radio station engineering leaders in West and Central Michigan as to why this new federally mandated EAS system was ignored in our own county, and our area, if not the whole state. At some point, the whole state could have been alerted, given the direction of the fleeing escapee was not known.   The experts at other stations to whom we've spoken find this to be a valid point,  and we're all involved in researching what CAN be done to fix what we see as a huge hole in the “Emergency Alert System.” (and it's lack of use by Ionia officials during the recent prison escape.)

WION is your station, Ionia County. We've proven it in our backing of the POSITIVE things in our county. In raising money for great causes. In donated airtime, and in improvements to this station that NO ownership has done more-of in the 60 years of WION's existence.

We trust that this clears up any questions, and will  show our commitment to you, our listeners and community, hopefully with improved communications from those in power during emergencies.

It is not our intent to point blame at individuals, but to ask that officials better communicate to better protect our listeners. By doing so, we learn from this event how to be better prepared for future situations.

Jim Carlyle

Owner, Chief Operator and Morning Host,

WION-AM and FM 92-7

www.i1430.com

office@i1430.com

I became a number today. Yes, a NUMBER.

I've got an expiration date, and it's one year from the end of THIS YEAR, 12/31/14.
Nope, I'm not planning on dying, but, I'll be TOLD I'm now one of the millions who can no longer handle my own affairs, where health care is concerned.

Until today I've avoided everything with this mess called the "Affordable Care Act." (Obamacare.)  You see, I've always viewed healthcare as a "perk" of working, and a of having a marketable talent. It's always been a good thing for an employer to offer! (or, in my case for the past few years, for me to be able to AFFORD to buy, thanks to hard work!)

Today I got royally VEXED, CHEESED, HOSED, AND PI**ED etc as I have been drawn into this huge mess that is all over the news on  WION and every radio and TV station nationwide.

When I left my former employer and came here to  save WION radio from extinction, I didn't have coverage. I had carried it with previous employers, but, during our startup of WION by need, I lived on the principle of, "Pray you don't need it and Pay for coverage and services if you do!"  Along with that came the responsibility that MY BILLS ARE MINE, nobody else's. In other words, If I'm in the hospital, so be it! I know it's my bill!  I'll pay it, I'll find a way, it's my RESPONSIBILITY.  Having an income to pay bills, including those incurred through healthcare is a by-product of working hard at one's job, and earning either the cash to pay those bills, or the coverage which does the same.

A little history of Jim Carlyle.  I have NEVER been on unemployment since being out of high school. I have NEVER been without a fulltime job for longer than a few weeks, when I CHOSE to change my geographic location.  I have never been on any kind of "aid" from the state or the Federal Governments, except one time when my CPA said I was "automatically eligible" for home heating credit, and filed it on my behalf, presenting all the forms to sign on April 15th.  I pay for my own car, my cellphone, my life insurance, my entertainment,  and my conservative existence on this earth. (By conservative, I don't mean politically, I mean in terms of the methods by which I live....my lifestyle in general.)  

When WION was put back on the air, we did it on a wing and a prayer. We saved the local bank's behind, (literally) by walking in and asking them to finance the station for us.  They were holding the station on behalf of  the estate of the deceased former owner. The license was nearly expired. Had we not arrived, WION would now be silent, having Ionia with NO radio station, and the land likely sold to developers; the towers brought down.

We overcame technical issues, building and grounds issues, image issues, and many others, but we did it on a shoestring, and have built it to enjoy the STRONG following it has today in West Central Michigan,  and even worldwide.  (The worldwide appeal is due to the unique sound of our AM stereo transmission and web-stream.)  We did it all!  And, we do it better than the big boys do, because we CAN. There's no corporate controller saying "no"....and we don't have to check someone in another state to get approval of changing the toilet paper roll in the restroom.  

There was one thing missing, however when WION started up in 2004, with me as it's Morning Host, Manager, and jack of all trades.  MY health insurance. It was a cost we just could not take-on at the time,  but the risk was mine, and it gave me a goal of building the station (the business) to the point of being able to afford coverage!  It was MY choice that the bills of the business (WION) came first;  MY risk of being in an accident or having health issues in my late 30's, MY risk of the business closing if my medical bills were bigger than budgets.  

In year number four, we were offered the chance to buy a sister station in Greenville, Michigan and we did. (WGLM.) It was already operating, and had a small staff. At that time,  WION had stabilized enough for me to afford my own health insurance, so I bought into their group coverage which we opted to continue when we bought the station.  Later,  I decided to buy my OWN coverage, and I've had it for quite some time, bought LOCALLY.  (we preach about buying locally  so much)...I've been happy knowing I have a local person to call regarding my coverage, and that I am the one who selected what was important to me.  I was proud of my business having achieved the level of financial stability that a commitment for health insurance was possible. 

Well, today, the letter came. My local representative has been informed that my plan will be "mapped to one of the new compliant plans which will include all of the "health essential benefits required by the Affordable Care Act."  I am NOT pleased. I've already chosen  MY plan: bought locally, and, I'll come right out and say it;   If the new ACA rate is higher for me in this new, "everyone is ENTITLED TO CARE" situation, I'll pay the penalties and say to hell with insurance as long as possible!  My company's responsibilities comes first, and it can't afford additional costs incurred by a government with no clue what small business is like!   Business is tough enough these days without a sudden increase in my healthcare costs being mandated, and the control of my choice taken away.

In the last calendar year, WION radio has seen increases in utilities, music licensing costs, music streaming rights, and...to top it off, a Michigan representative to our federal government wants to eliminate advertising as a "deductible expense!"  WION and many other businesses LIVE on advertising!  Advertising is needed for EVERY  business!  We're fighting on enough fronts already!  Health care, until today was not on the list.  I've worked hard, and have built-up  this businesses on which people now rely for their livelihood.  I've paid into unemployment, social security, and other required "employment taxes" all my adult life, never needing them or calling on them. Now this. 

You're reading one UNHAPPY business owner's blog......who has now decided to become an activist against this messed up plan! I don't believe in entitlements, or "give me's." It's gone way too far!  In fact, its a darn good thing I didn't get this letter last Friday, when in downtown Ionia, a canopy was set-up at a local check-cashing business and on it proclaimed the phrase, "On Aid? Get your FREE cellphone here!" 

Seeing that canopy upset me even more! Having a cellphone is not meant to be an entitlement. Neither is access to the internet by dialup,  broadband, or even having landline phones! 

A person can live without  free phones, facebook, free cable*, and even healthcare when necessary.  To me, the health care has always been a "benefit" of employment. Until today.

Certain things should be earned! They should also be your CHOICE.   And, if you've already bought a product by choice, (in this case, health insurance) WHY... why... WHY....should you be told you need to consult with the federal government on your decision? Sometimes I believe this age of "entitlement" was augmented when digital TV was mandated. Suddenly Americans were faced with not seeing TV unless they bought a little black box!  Oh, wait a minute, that got bought for Americans,  too: 

"Sure, we're the government! We'll make sure you have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of television by buying you (all) a converter box for your TV, whether you're a millionaire, or on welfare! Here's your coupon for a free box!  It's our JOB as the government to make sure you're happy!"

Think about it!  They really did that!  The digital TV conversion verified that in our country, every citizen is  ENTITLED to watch television! I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking they're ENTITLED to the same things that I work so many hours-for!  (by the way, I never got a "free" converter box.)

Maybe I'm just asking too much of society.  WORK for your rewards. WORK for your perks and your livelihood.  Have a goal of being successful through hard work!  Good things will come. When this happens, we have a self-respecting nation of people proud to be working. 

That's how I thought it was supposed to be. That's what I learned, watching my very responsible parents raise our 4-person family on a factory worker's income, and I was never short of food, shelter, entertainment, or family fun.

Believing in those days ended  abruptly for me today when I got this letter. I'm now a number. A number in a pool of people  told (by their government)  they're not smart enough or stable enough to buy their own healthcare anymore, whose self-respect is being taken away, one government policy at a time.

Disclaimer:  This blog was written by the owner of radio stations WION, WGLM and WGLM-FM. It does NOT mean that the stations' staffs and other management or ownership reflect or endorse this view!  It DOES mean that as a media owner, I'll do all I can to tell listeners and my (few) readers what I believe is wrongdoing by those in power who seek to curtail the ability of hard-working individuals to have choice in important decisions.

Decisions.... which should be....100 percent...their OWN, and not the government's!


*(I've been told by a friend who is a Michigan landlord that in some  low-income homes without an antenna in Michigan,  people's basic cable is paid by the state! THE STATE! I'm sorry, "BUY SOME RABBIT EARS!!!!!!")

Nothing starts a week with more anger than...

the words on your "rollover" line,  "Hi, this is Heather from Account Services!  There's nothing wrong with your credit card account, but you must act now to lower your interest rates!" 

First of all, it's our rollover line which is unpublished. Secondly, I've TIME AND TIME AGAIN pressed the correct button to get us off the list of this VERY FAMILIAR voice and telemarketing scheme.  I've even politely tried to talk to a "real" person (most of them are not) to ask for WION to be removed....and what happens? They start being smart-asses and acting like it's a joke that they interrupted MY business day!  

If this had happened on a WED or THURS where we did the extended morning show, I'd have happily made fun of them live on the air.  Why?  Because the FCC says we can't air calls without permission, but THEY CAN BOTHER US through our on-air lines during business hours when we may just be doing live calls!  Plus, we run our "live phones" informational disclaimer regularly on the air about our morning show!  TOO DARN BAD if they can't hear it, being out of our market and a telemarketer!  Take that, FCC rules! If they can bother us, we can bother them, too!

Folks, last week or so the FCC sponsored "no fraud" week to help educate people in how NOT to be taken by telemarketers, bogus e-mails and websites. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE....hang up on these people.  Complain about them. Oh, and....by the way, the caller ID was spoofed, too. It read, "THOMSONREUTERS"....and in my world, "Thomson" is a consumer electronics company, and "REUTERS" is a news service with which we as a station are not affiliated.

If you read my other blog about the music industry, you'll find that even legitimate companies are "removing caller ID" when they call. The music industry is in such bad shape that when they call to see "if you received your invoice for music licensing this month" they don't even use THEIR OWN NAME in calls!  BMI, ASCAP and SESAC are all too embarrassed to do this when calling for a one-month bill that they must need to keep their beautiful offices kept with great lawns, plants, break rooms, and cushy jobs.
  
It's time that our list of priorities changes as a nation. Why NOT TELL YOUR FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES you've had enough telemarketing?  Why is it LEGAL to bother businesses but not homes?  WHY are we not prosecuting companies that spoof or block caller ID when calling to solicit you?  Wouldn't we all be happier if this little  annoyance went away in our lives? I know I would be...and I'd be writing "happy" blogs, not ones like this!  

Well, back to my Monday......hopefully a normal one in radio-land....and one without telemarketers.  

Oh, and before you tell me that "everyone needs a job and to these people it's an income...."...(I've heard that before)...I DON'T CARE! Don't bother me. If I want your services, I have the whole darn internet at my disposal to find you....

And, if you call me enough......and annoy me enough...I WILL FIND YOU...and you won't be happy with what happens when you're reported to every authority possible.

THERE. I feel better. Now back to the kinder, gentler, Jim Carlyle who has a radio station to run, and much more productive things to do

I do have ONE thing to thank the telemarketer for....I was looking for BLOG material! 

-Carlyle

Conntected...and not by phones, internet, or skype. REAL connections!

...but it all STARTED there!

As many of you know, I'm a satellite geek. I enjoy the technology, the challenge, and the "finds" that exist for us to catch in our dishes. I also enjoy much more....the communications with friends of similar geekdom who have helped me grow in the satellite hobby.

This weekend, Satellite hobbyists, radio station employees, friends of radio people, and listeners all met in my town of Ionia, Michigan for a night of discussion, laughter, and fun as the cap to a weekend of showing off our historical features in town, with the help of the McCord family and other volunteers. New friendships were made, and old ones renewed as we all gathered at the Lamplight Grill.

The group which was the genesis of this wonderful gathering is called "satellite guys." It's a worldwide group of people who enjoy technology in home, phones, home theatre, satellite, internet, and more. The owner and operator of the site has known about WION for a few years through my membership and has inspired us to stream publicly, and has put Ionia on the map through a listener to listener forum they host for us as a service!

The weekend included a visit to the Ionia relay for life as well, and that was quite moving. The team WION helps, known as "volunteers for a cure" was given $811 by donations of WION listeners and satellite guys members....making it another tie between this online group and the people of our town.

I'd like you to read what Scott wrote about WION, and the people of Ionia after he and his wife Eva spent the weekend visiting us....Not an "event" weekend, either. Just your average Ionia county weekend. Enjoy Scott's post from Satelliteguys.us:

***************
Well folks...

As you know I travel a lot for SatelliteGuys, and I got to admit, this  is the first trip I can remember going home feeling happy and satisfied  about where we just left.  On this visit I feel we touched a number of  peoples lives, and they touched ours as well.

Last night its difficult to explain the night other than magical.  As I  sit here in the Bishop International Airport in Flint I am still riding  the high of the entire week.

First off I want to thank SatelliteGuys member "Radio" otherwise know as  Jim Carlyle of WION Radio for having us and bring our host for the 4  days we are here.  He made us feel like royalty while we were here...  but to make things more special the entire town of Ionia, Michigan  made  of feel welcome.  It was amazing and we saw some amazing things and  were giving access to some sites and things that nobody else ever gets  to see... and they were excited to have us.  It was so fun going down  Main Street and going into the local shops and doing some shopping, we  got great deals but in a few cases made some good friends who we will be  doing business with again going forward. Jim enjoyed taking our members  on tours of his radio station, and he also loved coming on the tours of  the town with us, he actually saw sites and places that he was never  able to see before.  I think that our visit was as much of a vacation  for him as it was for us.

We had the McCords give us tours of Ionias Historical landmarks and  they enjoyed giving them to us as much as we enjoyed going on them.  Its  hard to explain how happy it made me to see the joy in their faces as  they almost never get to show visitors these hidden treasures that Ionia  holds.

Everyone also took my wife under their wing and showed her a great time,  and on the day of her birthday showed up with cards and gifts.  I don't  know how my wife felt but I was amazed and humbled by the kindness  shown by these people we just met.

Then there was Rich Thompson the owner of the Lamplight Grill, which for  this trip was our home away from home.  Not only was his food at his  restaurant great, but Rich went out of his way to make us feel welcome,  including getting my wife a delicious chocolate birthday cake to help  celebrate her birthday.  Everyone who attended out get together last  night  all mentioned what a perfect spot it was to hold our event.  If  you are ever going to or driving through Ionia please do yourself a  favor and visit the Lamplight Grill.  

We got a amazing all access tour of the Historic Ionia Theater by Amy,  and she was so happy to show things off and was able to answer all of my  geeky questions that I threw her way.  She loves the theater and loves the  town and it shows.  For a theater of its age I have never seen one as  modern and clean inside.  It was interesting to see how the received the  digital movies and how they transferred those movies to their  projectors.

Another place you should visit when coming to the area is Danny Boy's  Drive In Theater.   Unannounced we surprised Bart the owner of Danny Boy's,  by just showing up to his drive in, in the middle of the day and he was  just ecstatic to have us there and gave us a deluxe tour of everything  that Danny Boy's offers.  Now;  Danny Boy's is not just a drive in  theater is it so much moreDanny Boy's does things before movie time  that will make memories for kids and adult alike that they will remember  for years.  Please if you are in the area go check it out, you will not  be disappointed. Make sure to check out the bathrooms!

Thank you to everyone who traveled to our event, we had people from as  far away as Kentucky and Chicago drive to our event, and I honestly  believe all of them went home last night as happy as we were.  Everyone  who came last night went away with a armful of goodies.  I was also  happy when we were doing our drawings for prizes  that Scott Beeman was the winner of  the FTA System donated to us by SatelliteAV.  Scott is the engineer for  WION radio and the entire time we were there he was talking about how  much he wanted to get into FTA but didn't have the resources to do so...  well now that's not a problem for him.  He was so happy when his ticket  was picked out of the basket!

The 4 days went quick, but we are now going home happy, we not only made  a lot of people happy by having us in their town and shopping in their  town, but we made some new friends. 

We didn't talk about them much here, but I want to say a quick "hi" and  thank you to some other people that I didn't have time to write about  here.  I could tell you great stories about each one of them, and  appreciate their kindness and the friendship they have shown.  These people  include, Vicky and her husband, Dan and his wife Bonnie, Bill from WION and  his wife, Phil, Devin,  Leftlane, Jason, Claude, Dave, the other Dave and his wife.  (A reminder  to all those we met... watch out for Channel 2... its a doozy!) (You  had to be there!) :D

Again thank you to everyone who made us feel welcome and to everyone who  joined us for the magical night last night, I truly hope you enjoyed it  as much as we did.

I will be posting pictures later today or tomorrow after we get home as the camera is in our checked baggage.

And now with that.. I think REO Speedwagon sang it best... "It's time for me to Fly!"  Thank you Ionia, Michigan!

Ladies and gentlemen of Ionia County, my friends and WION listeners, every one of us is an ambassador to our town.  I had the pleasure this last weekend. I hope you do someday, as well, and rise to the occasion.  It's wonderful having new friends who now know what Ionia looks like, and how it can welcome them!

-Carlyle

PS...it costs nothing to JOIN satelliteguys.us and post your questions, comments, ideas, and needs in cable TV, interenet, satellite TV, smartphones, streaming video, and more.  Please join us, and use the WION forum that satelliteguys.us has provided! There's a link on our main page at the top of www.i1430.com!

I don't "Like" the word "Like" anymore.

Facebook and other sites on the internet that solicit public input have made me realize that I should strike the word "like' from my vocabulary.

No, not because it's a 1980's cliche used to describe the "valley girl" or because it's "like the word I tend to use like when I need to....... like.....tell somebody that someone like...said something. 

No, it's not that at all.

It's because it has taken on a use all its own that doesn't fit it's true meaning.

From the dictionary:
Like:  (verb) To take pleasure-in or regard with favor.

Now that everyone is on Facebook and other social media, the "like" button is overused and often wrong. For instance, as I  began to write this in April of 2013, my town was  in the midst of a flooding emergency. There was  a page posting images and information about the flood,  and I wish there was an alternative way to indicate (online) "I have read this information and agree with it!"  Why? because the pictures and postings were getting "likes."  NOBODY LIKES A FLOOD!

Last week, for the second time in as many weeks, there was an interruption in the power grid in Ionia. Since  I reluctantly operate a Facebook page for WION radio,  I thought I'd put it to good use, and ask, "did the power outage affect anyone downtown?" Of course, I expected answers in English. What did I get on the posting?  LIKES!  Again, I ask...how do you answer a question with a "like?"  It's impossible! NOBODY answered the question, but it got LIKES!

I've seen postings of family tragedies and serious things that nobody should "like"...but, of course, instead of typing a reply, people hit, "LIKE!"  

I don't like LIKE.  I used to like LIKE when it meant something!  Back when it meant appreciation, affection, and not "yep, I saw this." 

My Advanced English class in high school had a very particular teacher. She liked good verbs. Good Adverbs. Good sentences, none of which I've used in this rant; however I do know, she'd be appalled at the use of "like" today.  She loved creative sentences such as (like) "The house boasted big awnings over the windows which overlooked the lake." The word boasted impressed her. I remember it as if it was yesterday.  

If I had written my papers back then in the manner that our Facebook public has butchered the English language today, I'd have received an "F" immediately and never passed high school.  

I don't like LIKE anymore.  If it has not been thrown out of the English language by the Unicorn Hunters at Lake Superior State University, I hope it will, and I'm going to nominate it right after I finish this blog. 

I don't like.....LIKE.  It's like the worst thing to happen to like the English language since like...the early days of the internet.  And, it's...like  getting worse all the time.

Please don't "like' this blog post.

-Carlyle

GARAGE SALE 101 REVISITED.....

It's nearly "Summer" 2013.  The garage sale season in west-central Michigan is off to a rocky start. Partly due to Mother Nature and her flooding, mood-swings in temperature, and taking national "kite flying month" to the extremes with wind.

It's also partly because many of you holding garage sales are not following the basic rules to make everyone happy...buyers and you, the sellers!  So, here we go, part of this blog thanks to a draft written mid-season last year but never published. 

There's been some real "dogs" where sales are concerned kicking off the season this year,  and real "dolts" who don't seem to know:  


First, the basicsl.

1) Advertise your sale. Craigslist is good, but...

2) Signs help us find you. GOOD signs. Large writing. Frequent signs if the turnoff takes more than a half mile. If you're using poster-board, don't let it turn into a "Taco Sign"  (one that absorbs moisture, gets hit by wind and folds over.)...and please, please.. make your letters W-I-D-E.  Drivers can't read sharpie markers from across the street.  Utility workers also remind you...it's not safe for them if you put signs on utility poles. Leftover nails can puncture their safety gear!  Let's keep them safe!

2a) If using a standard plastic "garage sale" sign, spring for some stick-on wide letters from the hardware for the address number and street. This makes getting to you much easier as a driver, and you'll make it back in more purchases when you make it easy for drivers to find you!

3) Removal of Signs when the sale is over. Please save us sale-fans a whole LOT of gasoline.

4) Pricing. Please price your items, and...don't price them like new. If we wanted new, we wouldn't be attending your sale. Most garage sale attendees like the excitement of the "find"...so help us "find" some deals. Don't just put things out and not price them hoping someone will ask. Attendees don't know if you want the item GONE or if you're just testing the waters!  Don't make the buyer ask the price. Sure, tags will fall off, and it's fine to categorize and price entire tables or bins of items, but as a whole, don't make buyers uncomfortable by asking.

5) If you published hours in the local media, stick to them.  This is the "hobby business syndrome" that is found in many small businesses, too of late. (opening for your own convenience, not for the customers'!)  When business is slow, and it's an hour to closing, stay open for that late sale.  There really are  people who drive to your sale based on your advertising.  Be open. Gosh, that seems simple.

Now, what should be the "No Brainers."  the "Duh!'s" if you will....

1) Electronics, DVD's CD's, records, and similar DON'T LIKE THE SUN. If you want to bake your items, put 'em in an oven, not out for sale to ruin them before we can buy them. You're not sitting in the sun for 12 hours straight... and if you want to sell electronics, media, and software, don't put things that melt and malfunction in the sun.  
Ever seen a record left in the sun? Well, the same can happen to CD's, DVD's, game consoles, DVD players, TV's, etc. ELECTRONICS HATE HEAT.   (Duh #1)

2) We, as a general public don't want your outdated food and half used underarm deodorant. Yes, readers, we reached a new low last year. Outdated pudding at an Ionia, MI manufactured housing community garage sale. It was right next to the two non-collectible empty beer cans.  One weekend later, Greenville, MI brought the sight of a half-used stick of deodorant, with a garage sale sticker on it, AND it was melting in the sun.  Ick!  Get a waste basket, and sort your stuff before the sale!  Oh, and...if you're going to sell decorative candles in the summer in Michigan, see No brainer #1 above. We've seen them melt, too. 

3) Have electricity available if you're selling electrical and electronics items.

4) TRY to have all the parts to electronics with the item. Yes, I know you're selling to get rid of it, but LOOK  for the remotes, battery covers, manuals, boxes, anything that helps a buyer know more and want the item.

5) Clean, Clean, Clean.... clean the area in which you hold the sale. Clean any clothing, clean everything put out for sale.  Don't think that's important?  Ever been on Craigslist and viewed something that sounds nice, but the picture shows smudges, dust, dirt, and a "not so clean" background?  It turns you off, right?  Well, so do garage sales with this environment.  Barn sales with bird poop on items are a REAL turnoff.

And finally some ideas.....

1) Want to be modern?  Have a smartphone?  Have you thought about taking credit cards?  I've attended one private sale where the modern card reader was used, plugged into a smartphone, making larger purchases easier!  This is a trend I think will be growing as these card readers become more in circulation to the general public. If you do this, put it in your advertising! 

2) Group "like" items together.....people like to "gravitate" to their favorite part of a sale.  This shows organization and thought....the mark of a well-run sale!

3) If it's a "guy" sale or a "kid" sale or a "Mom's Sale.....make it clear in your advertising. This saves time when reading ads and putting together the weekly "garage sale itinerary.

In closing, no, I don't live for garage sales.  I enjoy them, on the faint chance I may find something for my collection that is unique enough to bring to the museum.  Some odd radio, electrical device, antique, or...whatever.  When I do have the time to attend them, I find it enjoyable when a GREAT sale is held, and disappointing when I waste time tracking down one that is closed early, cancelled, or missing.  I'm sure I'm not alone. 

Garage sales are a great way for people to save money on necessities, and a fun way to find things for whatever it is you collect!  

Here's to a better garage sale season....ahead!

Oh, and NOBODY buys treadmills. There's really only one in the whole area, and it keeps following me from sale to sale!

I'm Truly Amazed!

...At the incredible response to our little AM Stereo radio station in the "Internet world."

Let me rewind.

People who know me and know Ionia, also know that I often write about WION, the radio station that my team resurrected in 2004 and proudly operate today. It was just February 1st of this year when we began internet streaming, on the actual 60th birthday of WION's debut. (1953 if you don't want to do the math.  We even stream a format that many stations are capable-of, but is rather rare, (AM stereo!) Give the stream a listen!  The sound is amazing. Streaming is one of the biggest and most positive things we've done!  (well, there was the bigger AM signal, our 24/7 operation of the station,  and  the addition of the FM signal) 

If you haven't done-so yet, or lately.....go to our station's website. Then, check out the link on the left, lower side of the page in "Contests and Fun"  You'll find a google map of our documented online listeners. These listeners and locations don't get posted until they've been tuned in for either a documented amount of time (no "just passing thru listeners here) or visit our stream repeatedly. The link still exists on the FAQ page, but we thought we'd bring it out front and show-off a little bit!

What really amazes me, is that in a day where almost everything is either instantly available to the listener/consumer, and the selection of entertainment is so wide, that so many people in SO many places are coming back-to and finding our little station for their 'net enjoyment! Stop and think for a moment.....would these people be looking at Ionia, Michigan anyway?  Some yes, but many, no!  Some may be family of people still here. Some may be transplants, but many who have written us simply say they like what we do with radio, since it's so "un-corporate" and unique to the industry these days.

I find myself even listening on the web. Because a convenient little "internet radio" makes it easy to enjoy FM, the internet stations & podcasts, and the content of my sansa fuze mp3 player! 

So, each time I see new towns on our listening map,  I'm always GRATEFUL and then AMAZED, but ultimately PROUD of our station and that it gets chosen by so many in so many far away places.

I'm also proud of our TEAM at the station. Most listeners will never meet the entire support staff, from sales and production to those who bring coffee, clean the station, surprise us with meals, and generally help keep our 'balance' (to use the word "balance"  loosely, given we're all "radio people.") 

Your tuning-in on the web is a huge compliment to us all.......and .......to each of our listening towns across Michigan, the Nation, and the world, we say, "thank you...."

Drop us a line when you can, wherever you listen, and let's make sure YOU'RE on our map!

Oh, and by the way, even though I am not a fan of facebook for the high price users pay in privacy for this "free" service, if you're one of those "gotta have facebook" people, the station has an official "fan" page now,  but...if you found this blog, you know the most recent updates to our information reside on our own website, and at our forum!

From "America's Biggest Little Radio Station"
(named by our good friends at satelliteguys.us.) 

Another Expo is "in the books" in Ionia....

And, by all indications, a very good one and well attended.

WION interviewed 15 Expo exhibitors, and had many more as "Expo Week" sponsors on the air, and our thanks goes out to them for helping spread the word of this "rite of spring."

The Expo is a huge effort, and without the Ionia Public Schools to host, Michigan One Community Credit Union, and the Ionia Area Chamber all working cooperatively, it would not be the huge event it is today. Please contact Maureen Meade of Ionia Schools, Tim Hemmenway at M1CCU or leave a message with the Ionia Chamber to say, "thank you" if you will...they work very hard to make the Expo happen.

Is it a rite of Spring?  It comes on the eve of Daylight Saving Time, (which had me up early checking on the many computers that run WION in our absence to make sure they moved properly) and....the early part of this week has a warmer forecast. Let's hope we have escaped the brunt of winter and can think warmer weather is just around the corner.

Helen Cook of Portland was the winner of our Logitech Internet radio on Saturday, and we congratulate her, as her name was drawn from the hundreds of entries....spun in the big hopper at our WION booth, just as Expo got set to close.

We're taking our microphones to the Lowell Expo next, in two weeks, and we hope you'll come over and learn more about Lowell's businesses, and enjoy our broadcast from there....with Liz Baker of the Lowell Chamber, our host.

Think Spring!

-Carlyle

Behind the Scenes..

This weekend, a huge event comes our way. It's a "rite of Spring" in Ionia, and it draws people from far and near.  It's "Ionia Expo 2013 at Ionia High School. There's no way to count-exactly how many people attend, but it's certainly a steadily busy and fun event.

WION takes it's microphones there on Saturday, and we'll talk with many Expo participants, and bring those interviews to you on the air. We also get to visit with many listeners each year at Expo, and put faces with the voices that we meet regularly on the phone, and the names we read in e-mails.

To pull off a broadcast like this, and quite honestly, to pull off what we do EVERY day takes many talented people.  This Saturday, Bob Flynn visits us from WCSR in HIllsdale to help with the interviews. He drives a couple hours because this expo is FUN for him and Ionia's expo is quite an experience.  Along with Bob, you'll see Phil Cloud "working the room" and lining up our interviews, telling his copyrighted stories and lies.  We'll register people for our $200 internet radio to be given away by drawing at the end of expo, and, we'll even help install our radio ' apps '  on your phones so you can take WION with you anywhere!

We have a "staff page" on our website as you know.....but as of yet, we haven't added the short bios to the pictures or described too much of what people do that work with our team at WION...so, ..here is a bit more of that information!

Other talented people (regularly helping WION make great programming)  include Branden Cooper in our Production room. He's the one who makes sure your weekend shows are ready to roll....that your daily features are here and air properly each day......and, that each day we have our programming lined up properly, along with being the latest voice of Berger Motor Sales, "Recycle your Pet Dot Info" and other regular WION advertisers.  Big Mike is still with us "behind the scenes" and providing voicework in commercials, so you'll be hearing him more as time goes on.  Bill Lynch lends his talents on Friday mornings to the round table with Phil, and is seen out and about in Lake Odessa, Lowell, South Ionia, Hubbardston and other areas bringing us new clients from those areas.  "Leftlane" is ....well.....he's "Leftlane" and joins us on Fridays whenever possible....plows our driveway, and adds his unique "spin" on Friday topics, and the occasional commercial for a local Realtor. 

Before you get to hear a single thing on your phone, PC, or radio, our music and information passes through the hands or electronic equipment of Scott Beeman our local engineer. Scott's responsible for refurbishing the classic analog equpment that I believe brings us the (overused phrase here) "signature sound" of WION on AM 1430 in stereo, and on FM 92-7.  Scott has spent hours at his workbench aligning equipment, and making "everything old: New again!"  Our transmitter room may be the best mix of classic and new equipment you'll ever see, and someday, we'll put a webcam on it so you can watch the lights and meters. (for the very bored in the world.)  Other engineers make sure our signal is strong, legal, and available 2/7.

Also on the regular WION roster is Dan Ferguson...seen each week visiting his advertisers and bringing new information to us, so you always know what's happening with them. He keeps me busy with writing commercials... and for that I'm grateful.  By the way, one frequent question posed to us is, "How does a radio station make money?" and, of course the answer is "those commercials you hear!"   We try to keep them creative enough that you'll enjoy and remember them, and we hope you tell our advertisers that you hear them on our station.  Then, there's Steve, our "voice guy"  who helps to tell you about your town, our station, and events with his promotional announcements and is really the hardest working of us all, since he's heard around the clock on WION, and yes, he's a real person, and lives in Mid-Michigan.   Oh, and let's rewind a moment.....on the topic of our friends at WCSR, we also borrow the voice of Russ Martin, their News Director for the occasional commercial to add voice variety.  Other voices include friends of ours in Indiana at WLKI  (Randy Edwards, Andy St. John) , and others across the United States. 

WION's got a remarkable staff!  Penny, my Wednesday cohost gives hours and hours to us and to the community in volunteerism.  Devin, a college student and longtime WION staffer is never afraid to take on a project here, and works from the grounds at WION  to our attic and does everything from maintenance to running audio wires and helping on remotes.  Bonnie Ferguson always sees that our events at WION and event guests have wonderful food, and Rocky helps with studios decoration, running errands, and attempts to provide general sanity for our staff. She also brings one of our two unofficial mascots to visit now and then, Brewster the very large dog, (who enjoys the couch in Branden's studio-office.)  The other unofficial mascot in my opinion is "Jaz", (Leftlane's puppy.)

You know the old phrase, "our people will contact your people?" Well now you know we DO have "people" here at WION. People who work hard at the station to maintain a great sound  and keep WION a big part of Ionia County. Then there's you....the listener.

Our listening area has  grown immensely in the last month with streaming on the web, and today thanks to streaming we welcomed Waterford, Ireland to WION. We enjoyed quite a few e-mails back and forth, and have some new ears tuned to Ionia. Also on our listener map is Cincinnati, and a new listening town added to the list,  Sugar Land, Texas. Our map of online listeners grows by the day.  Take a look at it and consider how many choices in listening all these distant places have...but they're tuned to a small station in Ionia, MIchigan.

We've said it on the air, and I'll repeat it here. It's not that people from Ireland, Ohio, or Texas are driving to Main Street Iona. We stream WION  so YOU can take us anywhere, and...we hope, in return, that our station, and our town sounds "interesting" enough for those far away to take a moment and learn about Ionia, Michigan.  Our advertisers, our callers, our music, our public service announcements, and our station in general is now a voice, representing Ionia as an on-air ambassador to a large audience.  We feel our listeners are also "our people."  We're honored to be chosen by our listening businesses, local residents, and now far-away listeners. We know that you all have choices, and we're fortunate and very happy you've chosen to tune in to us no matter WHAT the media carrying WION to you may be. Streaming is not cheap, but the response you've given us to it in just one month proves you want to take WION with you in your daily travels, and we love to tag along.


I know we're forgetting some people... But, that's the beauty of blogging. We can edit, add, and revisit.  

To make it simple,  WION is a team of people who enjoy making great radio. On the air. Behind the Scenes. On our streets, in our engineering department,  and all in support of what (my favorite website) satelliteguys has dubbed, "America's Biggest Little Radio Station."  We're proud, and we're grateful to be serving great radio to Ionia County and....worldwide!

See you at Expo this weekend!  Let's talk!


-Carlyle

I told you I wouldn't like a smartphone!

We live in the age where everybody and their brother says, "smartphone" is the answer.  Charles Osgood says, "close your garage door from around the world." My response: Close the damn door before you leave or call the neighbor. (No disrespect, Mr. Osgood, you're paid to say that on our station.)  Another TV ad on MeTV shows a guy locking his door with the phone as he walks out. My response? Turn around and use your HAND to lock it! Smartphones are making you a lazy public.

Facebook on a smartphone:  Uses data, tells you when friends go to the john. Who cares!  FB is free to you because you give up too much personal information anyway.

Twitter: Overused, and becoming what myspace and Facebook have become. Sad.

Calendars? Reminders?  If your memory's like mine and that means it's not too good, use your PC, a pocket calendar, or just don't over schedule yourself.

GPS on smartphone? Nice, and I'll admit...it helps when I'm heading to garage sales with friends, but again, not needed. There's one in the car and a co-pilot with his own smartphone.

Apps?  Well yes, WION radio has one, but I listen on the air and on my laptop.  WGLM, my sister station in our radio group has an app, too..but, again, laptop is good enough. If clients want to hear it, they can use THEIR smartphones.

My phone reaches me for real conversations. It's text-capable and I hate that, because I despise small keyboards. What a waste! I text FROM my PC, and receive them reluctantly on my phone. My DUMBphone.  My durable DUMBphone that can stand more accidents than anything with an exposed glass screen.

I thought it would be fun to try  a smartphone, and I despise contracts, so I bought an excellent USED phone. It's nice, well built, and annoying. My fingers are made for keys, not for dots. My eyes are made for a SCREEN...NOT A SCREEN.  I like pressing a button and FEELING that it did something. Glad I only tried this phone on wifi, not by transferring it to my account and no, I wouldn't have bought a newer one "with contract." I hate contracts, period. They lock you in for a term longer than the human condition allows you to stay the same in this day and age. Your needs change, and the contract doesn't.

We even tried to put my ham-radio involvement on the smartphone. Nope. If I don't like the phone, I'm not going to go out of my way to use that. Sorry, Scott...I know you're trying. (our engineer did that for me.) We'll put it on my laptop, (I think it already is, buried somewhere.)

I'll stick with my normal, everyday, NO DATA phone that lets you call me. It lets my transmitter and WION call me in a computer voice if something is wrong, and I'll go to my computer to check-in. And, if I'm not near that, I have employees and co-owners who ARE able to do it. That's why we don't have more than one person on vacation at a time.

So, you'll never track me with Google. You won't catch me texting while walking.  Hell, I was even in a grocery store yesterday, and a daughter couldn't get her nose out of the smartphone when her Mom asked her to go get some beans. She literally was more taken with video chatting. Me? I wanted to watch her walk into an immovable display and fall over. Not because I'm mean, but because it may teach her to get her nose out of the screen and into real life.

Until the day the smartphone is a transporter that can bring us physical things from the store, and move us around, I'll keep my nose in the real world, and use a real keyboard. Call me old fashioned, but....This blog got typed in minutes. Would have taken HOURS on a smartphone.

I still like technology. Don't get me wrong!  I watch Free to Air Satellite and maintain my own equipment. I have my own domains. I run an AM/FM station that does 'net streaming. I do web-editing. I like my ROKU box and netflix, amazon, and other video streaming services. I enjoy my mp3 player when walking and driving long distances.  I have a google number or three, and....I know what AM stereo is!  I like technology.

But...my phone is a PHONE.

Better stock up.  They're getting harder to find.
Gotta run. My (normal) ringer is going off on my old-fashioned cell phone.

DO IT.....YOURSELF!

Bet you thought this blog was going to be about home improvements. Or...car repair....or something similar.  Nope. It's about promotion. The promotion of events, non profits, and even businesses.

Why the title,  "Do it Yourself?"

My business, the business of radio is supported by advertisers who believe in the power of our station, and get results from their advertising. It's a loyalty that builds over time. And, it's one that should not be handed off to any third party.  After all, who knows your business better than YOU? Certainly not someone you're PAYING to represent you to media outlets. They have to learn all about you before helping, and you're paying them the whole time from your pocket!

So, here are my "thoughts" about promoting of the things that are important to you.

1) If you're in a group that is holding a non-profit event:  DON'T FORM A COMMITTEE for advertising.  Committee is another word for "point to someone else to do the work and get nothing done!"  For most events of small to medium size in our area, you need ONE WELL QUALIFIED PERSON to contact:  The newspaper, the Shopper's guide, Our radio station, and Ionia Host Dot Com!  There's 90 percent of the area's media!  A simple "5-W" press release does the job in most cases.  (Who, What, Where, When, Why.)  A committee only serves to give more people the chance to NOT do what the committee is charged with doing (advertising) and to reduce efficiency, usually because "someone" was supposed to do it and "nobody" actually DID.

2) If you're the average Main Street or similar business in our area, place ANY advertising YOURSELF as Owner or Manager. You DON'T need someone else to do it for you (commonly called the " advertising agency"...also known as the lowest form of life on the advertising chain) instead, you need to target your needs, your goals, and tell the trained sales representatives that same information so the media can help you to reach the audience you seek.  Agencies simply take your money to do a job that you, as a business owner or manager are well-qualified to do.

3) With the above in mind, always remember there is NOBODY better equipped to focus on the important messages for your business than you!  Be PROUD of what you have to tell our local audience, and tell your story! (Churches, clubs, organizations, and businesses, too..) On the radio! In Print, and, on social media!  It only takes a small amount of time to tell others about your successes, goals, sales, growth, and about YOU. Don't trust your reputation to anyone else.  You may even find you ENJOY promoting your business.  Your own enthusiasm may grow!

Our radio station deals one-on-one with our clients.  We despise agencies that complicate the business of promoting YOU. Why? Because they can't do for your business what you can do directly with (all) our local media including WION!  Save the money you'd pay an agency and spend more in all the forms of local media. You may be surprised at the results!

At WION, part of the "flavor" of  our station is that a portion  of  the "information you need" is information about our local businesses.  As of last week,  that information is going worldwide to listeners in Texas, Ohio, Nevada, Canada, New York City,  and other locations.   Put your best "promotional" foot forward as we take Ionia County, Michigan to the world via streaming of our station. Granted, people won't fly here for a dinner, banking, or small transactions, but you, as our advertisers help make up the flavor of our town and our county.  Let's work (directly) together to ensure that what the world hears is a busy Ionia County with many events on the air,  and many good, healthy, enthusiastic businesses!  If we do that, listeners will know by what they hear that we're proud of our city and county!

Now, disband the committee, fire the agency, and get down to the work of promoting yourselves!  We look forward to working with you!

We're here to help! ....One on One!

WION TURNS 60 ON FEBRUARY 1ST!

I get time to write these seldom-read blogs only now and then, and for that I'm sorry, because I enjoy writing so much. But, for the few of you who read this, I hope you'll enjoy our visit this time with special interest in the growth, acceptance, and longevity of your local radio station, WION. By the way, we get THREE birthdays this year. One for the station's existence and call letters, one for our FM, and one for our TEAM owning it. So yes, look for lots of celebrations this year to which you'll be invited!

WION radio turns 60 years old on February 1^st, 2013. SIXTY YEARS. Think about that! What changes have we seen in our economy, our world, and our technology in 60 years? Plenty! And, what's been there through all of it? (with the exception of the one year before we bought the station).....WION!

WION signed on at 500 watts in 1953 and was welcomed by the citizens of Ionia. It was welcomed by dignitaries from the State of Michigan, and by broadcasting dignitaries who today would be considered “competition” and would never be allowed to speak-at or congratulate a new media entry in the area. You see, in 1953, WION was welcomed to the Ionia community. The Ionia family. It was embraced as “new” and “exciting.” it was Ionia's radio station. And, it was exciting to have your town own its own broadcast radio station. In 1956-57, the station upped its power to 5 thousand watts and added the second and third towers. A “miracle” of that day and age, for sure.

Since then, the towers of WION have broadcast literally millions of songs. They've brought you news of battles overseas, of presidential inaugurations and, sadly, assassinations, they've made voices of the wind into friends that you welcomed into your homes and businesses, and, they've helped keep Ionia on the map. They've stood through hundreds of storm watches and warnings, and continued to keep you informed and entertained.

When, in 2004, the station was off the air for nearly a year, the license was nearly lost. By Federal law, any station “dark” for a full year loses its license, and sadly, that was coming close. With 2 weeks until the loss of license, our team of people stepped in and started work. We fired up a 20-plus year old transmitter, old control board, and cleaned the studios. We chopped down 3 feet of grass growing in every part of the lot, and we got all the “necessary” pieces of equipment tuned-up enough to prove the station was alive, and save the license! With nearly 40 years of combined experience in radio Jim Aaron and I had bought our very first radio station!

In some ways, the early years of WION are like our first (nearly nine) years here. They've been years of change. In the early days, staff came, staff went. The miracles back then were remote broadcasts for breaking news, concerts, and other events. Radio was still co-existing in the infancy of television, and every “first” broadcast on WION was a mini-miracle.

I'd like to look back at the miracles of our WION, since 2004 and our great team bought it!

Miracle number one: The saving of the license. With short notice, and the help of many engineers and close friends who wanted nothing but for me and my team to succeed, we did it! The old transmitter had been shut down for nearly a year, we bought it sight unseen, not knowing if it would run. It fired up with some coaxing, and got us by from September of 2004, until July of 2005. Not the “best” sound, but it was, indeed, “on the air” enough that we kept WION 's license. With E-T and Ralph Haines on-hand, the old transmitter sputtered and coughed, scaring me half to death with a huge BANG as it arced internally, but it eventually ran and played its first song as I listened in my Jeep with tears of joy in my eyes!

Miracle number two: The replacement of the 1980's, older, somewhat unstable transmitter, which finally happened when the Good Lord sent a lightning bolt through our power lines, and put the final nail in the coffin of the old Collins "Power Rock" tube-box. Our local insurance company was kind to us, and went to bat for our cause when insurance underwriters downplayed the need of our claim, and eventually, thanks to outside independent intervention, a new transmitter was ordered, and installed. Our new 6 kilowatt AM box went online in July of 2005, creating miracle number two, as it gave us better range and sound than WION had produced in many a year....with the potential for even better fidelity!

Miracle number three: By design and by law, our AM signal like most, reduces power at night. There's no way around that, and we also knew that we wanted more daytime coverage of I-96, and in South Ionia County, Portland, Lowell, and other areas not served by the “light bulb” shaped signal of 1956. So, we filed with the FCC to take our AM signal non-directional, and in 2009, again with the help of great engineers from Munn-Reese in Coldwater, we flipped the switch on a non-directional and much stronger daytime signal for everyone.

Miracle number four has to be the addition of our FM signal. At the time we bought WION, there was no FM associated with the station. And, given the way the FCC allocates new FM's today, even if we had the money to put a full-size FM on the air, the greedy bastards of corporate radio are allowed, in federal auction to outbid us on our own FCC application, and silence any hope of WION adding FM to to serve you 24/7! It's the way of the FCC! We know that AM has some limitations, and to some,people, even a “stigma” which we've overcome through public education and good programming, but here's the miracle:

In 2004, it was not legal for AM stations to own a small FM like ours, but, there was one small FM called a “translator” in Ionia, operating at very low power, owned by a nationwide religious group, and we had our eyes on it! By 2008, the FCC was beginning to allow AM stations to operate FM translators like this one. Our engineers approached the people broadcasting on the small 3-watt repeater, and found they had no interest in Ionia, but WE did. We found that if moved that signal to our own towers, we could up the power and cover most, if not all, of Ionia County. On March 10^th of 2010, the switch was flipped on, and FM 92-7, a full stereo version of WION was born! It's only 212 watts, residing on the middle of our 3 towers, but it sounds terrific, and its nothing short of a miracle! Miracle number four. Oh, and thanks to Scott Beeman, our “resident” engineer, we even offer “text” in many vehicles when tuned-in to our FM! Give it a read! …..When you're not in heavy traffic, of course!

Miracle number 5: Some of you have already heard it! It's “AM Stereo.” Older Chrysler, Jeep, and some other vehicles bring in AM stereo automatically. Jeep vehicles with 'RAZ” code on their radios pre-2003 can hear the full potential of AM stereo sound, and believe me, it's incredible. Some modern “HD” radios play AM stereo. You'll know if you have it because it'll jump right out of your speakers. It also helps our regular AM monophonic listeners to enjoy a wider range of sound with less dropouts. We added this in the autumn of 2012. I hope you get a chance to hear this great sound, a seldom-heard miracle, that many stations could opt to utilize, but don't. Oh, yes, it took hours of our engineer Scott aligning the special equipment to make it happen, but the results are FANTASTIC.

The latest in the series of miracles happens on February 1^st. We'll be announcing a new service from WION.....one that many folks will want to use and enjoy. A service that augments what we already do here every day. We hope you'll be with us as we debut Miracle number 6.