99.3 County FM is currently under construction, preparing to hit the airwaves in September. The future station, housed in Picton’s County Farm Centre, is pictured here. Photo: Amanda Lorbetski
PICTON – If your freezer is bare, your hair needs a trim and your soul is yearning for some feel-good local radio programming, you’ve come to the right place. The County Farm Centre is soon-to-be Picton’s one-stop shop.
Step foot into the Centre’s main entrance, pass through Tru Country and Garden and follow a long corridor past Donna’s Barber Shop. A tiny bumper sticker with 99.3 County FM’s logo is the only indication that behind this white door lays the makings of a radio station.
You’ve arrived at the future home of Prince Edward County’s first community radio station, County FM. The station is under construction with no sign in the window, no studios in the room. If all goes well, the volunteer-based operation will be hitting the airwaves in September.
The Canadian radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the radio station’s licence in January.
But it all started three years ago with a small group of county residents. They were looking for an outlet to celebrate the area’s heritage, culture and talent. They couldn’t find one and so County FM was born.
Douglas Monk, technical director for County FM and member of the Prince Edward Radio Club, was a part of this group.
“We didn’t want to rule the world. We deliberately set our broadcast parameters not to interfere with other stations in the Belleville area. But we thought that County people should have a voice.”
It was a trip to 100.9 Canoe FM in rural Haliburton that showed the committee the impact of small-town radio on a community.
But he described his favourite part of the start-up process as trying something new, travelling across the County photographing radio towers.
Managing the volunteer-driven station has also been a new experience for Jim (JJ) Johnston, who joined County FM as interim general manager in December 2013.
99.3 County FM interim general manager Jim (JJ) Johnston is preparing to launch Prince Edward County’s first community radio station in September. Photo by Amanda Lorbetski
The County native comes from an on-air and radio management background, having helped start up stations across Canada. He launched his own media-consulting business, JJ International Media Management Solutions, in July 2013.
The station is currently accepting volunteer applications for a variety of positions, including hosts, writers, fundraisers and administration.
“We’ll probably have, like, a wine show and being the wine region that we are. Basically, the programming to reflect the tastes of Prince Edward County.”
County FM is also working on developing an internship program with Loyalist College‘s radio broadcasting and journalism-online, print and broadcast programs, Johnston added.
Treat Hull, a local real-estate agent, chairs the station’s board of directors. The County is a vibrant community with an aging generation of crafters, artisans and winemakers, whose stories need to be told before they pass away, he said.
Johnston gave QNet News a sneak peek of the station in the early stages:
For an extended look at the station, listen to the radio story aired on 91X FM on March 14:
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