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Tag Archives | service

Called to serve

By on April 28, 2013 in Photos, The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2013 (All), The Nome Static, May 2013

Margaret in St. Joseph Catholic Church

With your support, the KNOM Radio Mission has been a presence in Western Alaska’s communities for more than four decades – and not always just through the airwaves. We’re so thrilled when our outstanding, full-time volunteers serve our region even beyond KNOM’s studio walls; news reporter Margaret DeMaioribus is one such volunteer.

Margaret, who hails from eastern Pennsylvania, has been a frequent presence in many service contexts within the Nome community: in particular, within St. Joseph Catholic Church. At St. Joseph’s, Margaret is a cantor at weekly Sunday Mass and also teaches religious education classes. In Nome, filling both of these positions can be difficult; willing and able musicians and volunteer teachers are both in short supply.

In addition to her work at St. Joseph’s (from which KNOM broadcasts weekly Sunday Mass to its rural Alaska listeners), Margaret also regularly volunteers at Nome’s local homeless shelter, serving dinners to the needy.

Thank you for making possible the service of all of our wonderful volunteers. Through your generosity, KNOM volunteers continue to endeavor to improve life in rural Alaska – even when the microphone is off.

 

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Tennis

By on April 27, 2013 in Inspirational Spots, The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2013 (All), The Nome Static, May 2013

An inspirational spot from the May 2013 issue of our newsletter, The Nome Static:

Life is like a game of tennis: the player who serves well seldom loses.

 

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Christmas lights

By on December 16, 2012 in Photos, Stories
John and Les

In late 1999, former KNOMer John Albers (dressed in brown) works at the base of the station’s FM transmitter tower alongside volunteer engineer Les Brown (blue jacket). Les is holding the Christmas star that, shortly after this photo was taken, was hoisted back to the top of our FM tower; a star has decorated the tower every year since 1971, shining brightly over downtown Nome.

As we move through the dark days of winter and sub-zero weather, KNOM brings light to the lives of remote listeners throughout 100,000 square miles of Western Alaska.

It is a special time of year for the KNOM volunteers. They are far from their families, yet they treasure the gifts of service that they share with each other, the KNOM listeners, and you!

As in years past, the Christmas star is illuminated, and its tiny, bright lights reach into the darkness, sparkling and twinkling with anticipation for the celebration of Christ’s birth. We continue to witness marvelous signs of the great love and support we have for each other. The familiar aroma of a Christmas wreath in our broadcast studio reminds us that, through the cold and darkness, the hope of a new beginning will bring a great light.

From all of us at KNOM, Merry Christmas!

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Pro-community, and pro bono

By on November 21, 2012 in Photos, The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2012 (All), The Nome Static, Christmas 2012

Lance Johnson in Studio A

In this season of giving, we’d be remiss not to thank the many people who give so much of their time and energy to our radio programming.

KNOM is privileged to feature the voices of a number of community deejays, each of whom hosts his or her own show of 1-2 hours, typically in the evenings. Each show features a different blend of music: from blues to classic rock to Alaska Native music.

Our community DJs – like Lance Johnson, pictured at top – host their shows completely for free; many of them have been volunteering at KNOM even longer than some of our staff. Each week, they come to KNOM out of a love of radio, a dedication to our mission, and a commitment to our community.

While these deejays are unpaid, we thank you for making their spirited volunteer service possible. Because of your support, their voices – and the voices of so many others in our region – can be heard. It’s a service crucially needed: for many of our listeners, KNOM is their only source of music, old or new. (To learn more about our staff, visit this page.)

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The people who keep us on the air

By on September 10, 2012 in Photos, Stories
KNOM AM transmitter

KNOM’s AM transmitter site in winter.

Last week, we welcomed the last of this year’s five volunteers to Nome. Lucus Keppel is from Michigan and has committed one year to the KNOM Radio Mission. He joins Margaret, Eva, Dayneé, and Josh. They look forward to a wonderful year of service to listeners in remote bush communities.

As always, we thank everyone who helps us overcome each obstacle and meet every challenge. Sometimes, our challenges are of a technical nature.

Recently, KNOM’s AM transmitter shut down, and the sensor monitoring the temperature inside our transmitter building read 128 degrees! The fans had turned off and had failed to restart. After cooling the building, engineering volunteer Rolland Trowbridge located the reset switch in a control panel and restarted the AM transmitter, returning the KNOM signal to the air.

In the rare moments our AM signal goes offline, we often receive phone calls from listeners asking us “where did you go?” We’re gratified to have such devoted listeners – and dedicated volunteers, staff, and community members who make sure such outages are not just rare, but also brief.

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Back in the building! – Fr. Ross, John, and Tom

By on August 26, 2012 in Photos, Stories

Father Ross – pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome and president of the KNOM Radio Mission board of directors – is back in Nome from a short sabbatical. Fr. Ross was a KNOM volunteer in the late 80s and has been a part of the radio mission in one way or another ever since. He was ordained a priest in Nome on July 15, 2001. We are so thankful for his service, guidance and love for KNOM’s critical radio ministry.

Tom Bunger and John Kelsey

Tom Bunger and John Kelsey in KNOM’s engineering room.

Last week, the technical dynamic duo of John Kelsey and Tom Bunger (pictured above) visited KNOM to help with a myriad of engineering issues. They coordinated with engineering volunteer Rolland Trowbridge to fix, restore, renew, and update radio equipment throughout the KNOM studio building. The improvements will extend the life of some of our equipment and increase the productivity of our computer systems. We thank all who keep KNOM on the air!

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September 2008: Amy departs

By on August 25, 2012 in History, Photos
Amy Flaherty Gorn

Amy (Flaherty) Gorn, who served at KNOM Radio for over six years: first as a volunteer, and then as a permanent staff member in the position of public affairs director.

September 1, 2008

After more than six years of service to the mission, Amy Flaherty departs for more urban parts of Alaska. She has produced hundreds of programs and news interviews. Her replacement is Laureli Kinneen, who grew up in the town of Unalakleet, 146 miles southeast of Nome. Her husband Fen was raised in Nome and, like Laureli, grew up a KNOM listener.

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Heavy weather, a week of cancelled flights, and new volunteers

By on August 19, 2012 in Photos, Stories
Coast Guard plane flyover

For a town of just 3,000 people, Nome receives lots of air traffic: including this Coast Guard plane a few days before Christmas 2011. For travelers to southern Alaska or to the Lower 48, air travel is the only way out.

As you may know, the Western Alaska communities that we serve are not connected to the state’s road system. Our ability to travel and to transport goods is thoroughly dependent upon commercial and cargo airlines and, especially, upon the weather. Lately, low visibility and other poor conditions have forced the cancellation of a number of Nome-bound flights.

When our planes don’t fly, cargo (mainly food) and weary passengers end up waiting days to arrive at their destination. Fruit and vegetables bound for rural Alaska may sit for days in warehouses and on runways; the food often spoils, and many frozen foods thaw.

Last week, KNOM’s newest volunteers, Daynee Rosales and Eva DeLappe, were due to arrive at our mission to begin their respective years of service. However, both were diverted to Anchorage when fog and other poor conditions prevented their flights from landing in Nome. After layovers of 12-24 hours in Alaska’s largest city, both Daynee and Eva finally arrived at the Nome airport to hugs and happy smiles from the KNOM staff.

Daynee and Eva have just begun their two-week training programs. We are so thankful for their service.

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Summer challenges: weather broadcasts and telephone lines

By on August 12, 2012 in Photos, Stories

CloudsRural Alaska’s brief summer brings more than its share of unique challenges, many of which we can anticipate. Every year, nonetheless, unexpected emergencies find a way of catching us by surprise.

This summer, our friends at the National Weather Service are working with KNOM to overcome their latest difficulties. Normally, weather reports air on both a special National Weather Service radio channel and on KNOM. Recently, however, the Weather Service’s radio channel has fallen into disrepair.

Until a repairman can be flown to Nome, KNOM’s role as a primary source of critical weather information will be even greater.

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Looking Back on Four Decades of Volunteers

By on July 1, 2012 in Stories

In our four decades of service, there have been more than 300 generous volunteers who have served at KNOM. Their names are written on cassette and reel-to-reel tape labels, on script and information file folders, on old log sheets, and on so many of the historical records here at KNOM.

Without these volunteers, KNOM would never have stayed on the air to serve families spread out across remote Alaska.

As we approach the 41st anniversary of KNOM’s birth, please join us in prayer and gratitude for the wonderful young volunteers who took on adversity, extreme weather, and a myriad of challenges to make KNOM the dominant source of information, inspiration and fun in Western Alaska.

We thank everyone who has helped to make the KNOM mission a quality volunteer experience for great young men and women.

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