Dear Fellow KBOO Members,
I love KBOO and am asking for your vote and election to the KBOO Board of Directors. With over 35 years in community organizing, previous KBOO Board, and decades of non-profit experience: as an employee, engaged member, and valued volunteer; I will be an excellent and resourceful KBOO Board member.
KBOO is at a crossroads now that it is over 40 years old as evidenced by the newly released Strategic Plan, requests to implement a Collective Staff Management process, concerns about board member training, and revenues that are not meeting expenses. In fact just this weekend, KBOO’s board is having a budget retreat to examine its own “debt ceiling” as is our country. Both may require us all to make some serious adjustments. Decisions made at this meeting will challenge the newly elected board; I am ready for that challenge.
I applaud and am excited by the vision in the Strategic Plan of the KBOO as a media center, the strengthening of volunteer and staff training and development, and the focus on radio excellence.
I am concerned with some implementation strategies. How will selling off the translator frequencies in Corvallis and Hood River assist in providing funds for an expansion of KBOO as a media center for the PDX Metro Area? (According to the Strategic Plan these decisions will be made in executive session without member input/approval!) As far as I can tell by member numbers in the translator communities these communities are more than fully funding the translators’ expenses (some members even have KBOO in their wills). In my own community, Corvallis, a 1000 people come together to raise $20,000 more than enough for our translator’s costs (a project in which I was a main organizer).
What other assets do we/KBOO have that might be better utilized to spread KBOO’s light/voice/vision to other communities in Oregon/SW Washington, instead of being sold off—such as Pendleton—(near where a prison is located that houses many of Portland’s incarcerated). Will the owner/members of this new station, KBLU, rebroadcast Prison Pipeline for those inmates and their families? What about other KBOO content, will this new station exhibit KBOO values, etc.?
To be fully vibrant we need a mix of terrestrial and electronic outreach. The internet is not fully assured as capitalist forces are seeking to commandeer it for their own interests.
Hence we need a board that can compassionately and creatively address these financial, outreach, and development issues. I believe that my experience in all aspects of nonprofits (including as a nonprofit employee) will enable me to be strong and understanding leader for KBOO. So I ask all my friends in the Peace and Justice communities (Portland/Regionally), those in TranslatorLand, and all lovers of KBOO to vote for me—and then please click the tip jar—tell them I sent you!
Thanks and love,
The SweetheartoftheValley (@gmail.com/facebook, trysaxy_all—Twitter, piintheskyranch.blogspot.com) 541-829-9788—Pi in the Sky Ranch, on Dimple Hill in Corvallis—7/29/11
Yaney LA MacIver
