“Transitions”
Tuesday December 6th, 2023
From the messy desk of Amanda Eichstaedt…
Transitions and Resolutions
Earlier this year Richard Dillman and I discussed the future of the Comm Van. This very cool van was donated to KWMR years ago by Greenpeace. Richard had build up this van when he worked there, using it for communications during the environmentally based “actions” by the Greenpeace teams. He has some amazing stories about his time “with the firm.” I wish he would write a book about his many adventures. It would be a best seller!
The station has used the West Marin Disaster Council/KWMR branded van for some remote broadcasts, and had it at the ready in case of an emergency. The van really needed to be in a garage, and over the years, none was found. It was sitting up on the ridge, collecting pine needles and lichen, still very cool, but not used as frequently. It was time to move it along.
The van was sold to Will Floyd, a fellow radio obsessed transmitter engineer, and the van is on its way to New Mexico where it will be put into use primarily in New Mexico and Texas, supporting the work of radio stations, including Marfa Public Radio. It was sad to see the van drive away, I’m not going to lie. I feel like the van is with the right person for the next chapter of it’s rolling life.
Above: The Comm Van. Below: Richard Dillman orienting Will Floyd to the rig. photos: AE
On Sunday night (12/3), West Marin Senior Services held their annual “Lights of Life” presentation, honoring those who have passed within the last year. It was a well attended Zoom presentation, beautifully crafted with a video and music, along with remembrances. If you missed it, you can view it HERE.
This Saturday Ken and I will drop Waylon off with a dog trainer who will be working with him for 4 weeks on some of his reactive issues and anxiety he experiences around some situations. It was a big decision to do this, but we want him to be more comfortable in his fur and be better behaved around loud vehicles and other leashed dogs. The trainer comes highly recommended and I have spoken with her extensively about our goals. We are gonna miss our little buddy over the holidays. In January I will interview the trainer on “The Lowdown” and we will learn about older dogs learning new tricks! So if you don’t see me out walking the dog during this time, don’t be alarmed.
Waylon, showing off his wild side. photo: AE
This year Sharron Drake is switching it up for the holiday performance at Toby’s Feed Barn. Sharron has joined forces with Allison Faust and they have created Musemaker Labs, and this is a fundraiser for the new production company and KWMR. The storytelling event will be held at Toby’s on Saturday, December 30 and will feature several top notch storytellers. KWMR will be debuting the “KWMBAR” featuring some great refreshments. We hope you can the fun! Tickets HERE.
Are you pondering any New Year Resolutions? I am and am going to go out on a limb and share a few of mine with you. My top list, which includes some failed previous resolutions reads as follows: 1) Reduce single use plastics where necessary (so much plastic in the world) Ick. 2) Get back to playing my guitar (we shall see). 3) Work with Waylon post-training Boot Camp to keep him living his best life. 4) Self care, including exercise and healthy eating!
Okey doke. That is a lot of information. We want to thank all of the donors who have contributed, or will contribute to KWMR for our Annual Year End Appeal. These funds are critical for us to keep doing what we do. What do we do? We support over 80 volunteer programmers that bring you amazing local content including music and talk programs. We are always at the ready to provide emergency updates to our listening community. And we try to have a good time while doing all this. So THANK YOU for your support!
Amanda Eichstaedt
Station Manager/Executive Director