January 2024 Newsletter
- CB Foundation
- Jan 1, 2024
- 2 min read
Monthly Welcome to Colonial Beach Meetup
Thursday, January 18
6:00 until 8:00 PM
Colonial Beach United Methodist Church
(1 Washington Ave)
Our guest speaker will be Krista Brown, member of Colonial Beach Town Council and Council Liaison for Public Safety.
Catching Up With WWER
A Bit of History
Did you know that originally WWER was owned and operated by Fredericksburg Christian School (FCS)? FCS applied for the original construction permit in September 2009. In November 2009, the Federal Communications Commission assigned the WWER call sign and, in January 2010, issued the license.
Fast forward about a decade and FCS decided to give up the WWER license. Ted Tait, broadcasting professional and Colonial Beach part-time resident, reached out to FCS and the Foundation. As a result, FCS donated the license and most of its equipment to the Foundation. Colonial Beach community radio station WWER 88.1 debuted at midnight June 1, 2019 as a Foundation initiative with Ted Tait as Station Manager. As a side note, we can safely say that without Ted Tait we would have no community radio here in Colonial Beach. Ted still has a full-time career in radio broadcasting and volunteers a considerable amount of time to WWER.
The Foundation is proud to have helped launched WWER, but a radio station really is not a community foundation project. So, a new nonprofit -- Colonial Beach Community Radio -- was formed in 2021 to operate WWER and the license was transferred.
Finding a Home
Since its relaunch in 2019, WWER has relied on borrowed spaces within other buildings. Recently, however, the owners of Hawthorne Mercantile generously donated a building behind the shop to WWER and pledged to cover half the costs to renovate it. This building, once renovated, will provide a proper programming studio, allowing WWER to improve and grow its current program offerings.
However, first, WWER must pay for the renovations and, as we all know, construction costs have soared. Basic work has begun; now we need to ensure work continues on to completion. Please visit WWER's GoFundMe page and make a contribution. Every contribution, regardless of the amount, will help keep and grow our local radio station.
Volunteers
Every voice you hear on air and everyone working to get those voices on air are volunteers. If you enjoy listening to WWER, believe in the importance of community radio, or harbor a secret desire to be in broadcasting, please consider volunteering. Current team members are eager to train, advise, and mentor new producers and on-air talent. Please contact WWER.