31% of listeners now listen to Community Radio
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) unveiled its latest listener numbers on the 2nd of September showing 31% of all radio listeners tune into community radio.
Ballarat Carols by Candlelight and Ballarat’s own community radio station our 99.9 Voice FM are once again teaming up to bring the magic of the Christmas tradition into Ballarat homes on Christmas Day.
Ballarat Carols by Candlelight played to a crowd in excess of 10,000 at Mars Stadium last Sunday.
27 November 2021
2020/ 2021 CHAIRMAN‘S REPORT
The 2019/ 2020 Annual General Meeting was as we reported unable to be held due to Covid restrictions. A report and financial for that period we sent to members.
Over the past two years your 99.9 Voice FM has been faced with the challenge of adapting and changing the way we work and survive as a community radio station.
Your Board has had to make some difficult decisions over the past 18 months, including the closure of the station’s studios intermittently from March 2020 and moving to an automated format. This meant that our committed and talented volunteers had to take a step away from the station to comply with federal, state and local restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
99.9 Voice FM's 2020 Year in Review
23 December 2020
I’m sure you will all agree that 2020 has been a year that no one could have predicted. Your Voice FM has been faced with the challenge of adapting and changing the way we work and survive as a community radio station.
Your Board has had to make some difficult decisions over the past 12 months, including the closure of the station’s studios from March and moving to an automated format. This meant that our committed and talented volunteers had to take a step away from the station to comply with federal, state and local restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We take this opportunity to thank all of our committed and loyal volunteers for their support, compassion and understanding over these challenging months.
We also thank our landlord, Ballarat Group Training, for its support, as we do Wes McKnight, Widgery and Wilson, the Community Broadcasting Foundation, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (which assisted us in gaining free access to programming), our donors as well as also an important thank you to our volunteers that have donated to our cause.
Throughout the year your Board has kept everyone updated as to the challenges we have faced over the past 12 months. And there are challenges ahead if we don’t make changes to our programming and our operations. More on this in January.
We also continued to face technical issues, which were resolved by Ben Daniel, and our IT system was restored thanks to Ben and two young Voice volunteers and IT gurus, Scott and Hadi. We also congratulate Nick Pollack for his management of our presentation and on air content during a period of equipment failures and for creating an excellent music mix that has been a feature during automation and will continue to be used from time to time.
A ‘Fresh Voice’ is 2021
And now as we move forward, we have a plan to create a ‘fresh’ 99.9 Voice FM in 2021.
Changing the way we operate and boosting our programming with new innovative and relevant programs is essential for the station to grow our listeners and hence attract sponsorship, which will creating financial stability for your Voice FM. At an absolute minimum, we need to raise $2500 per month to operate, ideally we are planning for $4000 per month so as to create a fund for capital requirements and equipment replacements.
Your Board knows it now must focus on the strategic direction of the organisation, more particularly on a five-year realistic plan – a ‘feet-on-the-ground’ approach that focuses on business development, new relevant programming, sponsorship and fundraising. We also need to create an operations group that will oversee the day-to-day operations of the station. Please consider being part of this team.
In 2021 we will see the introduction of a popular state and national sports program. There will also be programs focused on lifestyle, health and wellbeing to name a few.
New Opportunities
We know there is a wealth of expertise within our volunteer team – we just need you to come forward so as to assist with our operations. Can you provide four hours a week to assist across our operations?
We are seeking motivated and engaged individuals to support Voice FM into its next stage of recovery, growth and opportunity.
We are looking for volunteers to assist in the following positions:
Are you interested in being a ‘voice’ for the station – reading promos, sponsor announcements and greetings?
Change will be a feature for Voice in 2021. Those changes will only be made in the very best interests of our station and growing our listeners
If you are interested in any of these areas of our operations, please email the Board at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Reopening of our studios
2021 will see the reopening of our studios in a COVID-safe manner. We will keep you informed. Please remember that social distancing and the wearing of masks are essential.
Special thanks
Cait Larcombe has resigned from her position on the Board and will discontinue her program from January 2021 as she is relocating to Melbourne for further study at Melbourne University. Cait has been an essential member of our station and we extend our thanks to her for her service to Voice and wish her well with her future endeavours.
We welcome James Remington to the Board, James is a lawyer, an accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations and a director at Nevetts Lawyers.
I also wish to thank our talented Board members for providing their expertise and considered direction for the organisation, particularly during these most difficult of times.
Last but certainly not least, we are again delighted to report that Ballarat’s Carols by Candlelight will provide us with five hours of Christmas music on Christmas Day morning.
From 8 am to 10 am a special two-hour Christmas program will be broadcast, especially created to replace this year’s live CBC. Then there will be a repeat of the 2019 Carols hosted by Glenn Ridge and Power FM’s Julia Zass.
2020 has been one of the most challenging years for our community and Voice FM, and we do still face challenges, so your continuing support is appreciated.
We plan to have a briefing for all volunteers late in January about the year ahead.
On behalf of the Board, we wish you all a very happy Christmas and a safe holiday period and look forward to a new year of opportunity for Voice FM in 2021.
For and on behalf of your Board
Ron Egeberg
Chairman
Please be patient with us while we undertake our move to the new studios at Barkly Square. This is a big undertaking and means some disruption to regular operations at Voice FM.
