On October 21, Kootenay Co-op Radio held its (online) Annual General Meeting to review a most unusual year – and celebrate a set of balanced books! The AGM was led by outgoing board chair Jeff Flood. Jeff was named to KCR’s Hall of Fame in recognition of his leadership through the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. Jeff also supported a renewal and restructuring of KCR’s mortgage to address a financial crunch in the fall of 2019.
During the AGM, Darren Davidson was named as KCR’s Volunteer of the Year. In addition to his role as a board member and music programmer, Darren has stepped into a key role on Kootenay Morning, which is serving as an important community resource during the pandemic. Darren also spearheaded some welcome renovations to KCR’s Hall Street home.
Following an online election, KCR’s current board members are now: Kim Bater (vice chair); Darren Davidson; Laurel Giasson; Michelle Oakley (chair); Marco Pringle (Treasurer); Jake Sherman; and Emily Whitehead.
Michelle Oakley – Chair
My love for music is deep-rooted and has been quintessential in my life… whether listening to local or national public radio in the car or old records at home, or supporting local artists at live events (when we had them!). I’ve been a proud supporting member and advocate of public radio stations for decades. When I arrived in Nelson in 2019, I quickly made my way to our local radio station and I committed to becoming an active KCR Board Member and hosting a weekly music program, Indiecisions! I am honoured to share space at KCR with the thoughtful, committed, and all around fun volunteers and staff who serve KCR. I enjoy being part of a community coop that produces quality news programming, eclectic music and spoken word shows, but more importantly serves as an inclusive cultural and educational platform for all in our community. My goal as current Board Chair is to make this KCR platform more visible, more diverse, and more prepared for what the future brings!
Kim Bater – Vice-Chair
I am Kim Bater, and I have lived in Nelson since 2015. I love to x-country ski, paddleboard and hike and generally enjoy the beauty of the Kootenays. Music is a big part of my life – I listen to lots of folk, roots, and other kinds of music as well as playing the dulcimer and fiddle. I bring my love for simple beauty in music to Kootenay Morning with the selections I play. I really enjoy the intimacy of radio interviews and especially when I can focus on the social, cultural and food sectors that are so rich in Nelson and area. I am on the Board of KCR and I love working with people to make KCR, Nelson, and the world a little better for the TLC we add.
Marco Pringle – Treasurer
I fell in love with community radio growing up in Ottawa listening to the amazing CKCU and CHUO. when I moved to Calgary as a young adult, I couldn’t find the kind of shows I loved listening to, so I took matters into my own hands. Over nearly 2 decades at CJSW, I became a volunteer, programmer and sometimes member of the executive. The radio community soon became my social center, through which I made lifelong friends and discovered a world of music. When my wife, daughter and I moved to Nelson a few years ago, my first stop (before we even had a place to live!) of course was Kootenay Coop Radio. Since walking through the door, I’ve become a programmer and joined the board and hope to broaden the station’s appeal while strengthening its ties with the community. When not knee deep in internet code, you can find me enjoying the natural splendor of the Kootenays or tinkering in my home shop.
Jake Sherman – Secretary
Jake Sherman, 28, is an award-winning photographer, reporter and freelance writer living in Nelson, B.C. He studied alternative media, counterculture, the underground press and contemporary Jewish identity in Eastern Europe at the University of Victoria, where he received a full ride scholarship to attend graduate school. Jake formerly wrote the news at the Nelson Star and Revelstoke Review and has bylines in the Globe and Mail, the Narwhal, the Georgia Straight, the Ski Journal, Ski Canada, Canadian Rockies and the Revelstoke Mountaineer, among others. During his time in Nelson he has worked for Baldface Lodge and Shambhala Music Festival.
Darren Davidson – Director
I joined Kootenay Co-op Radio in 1999, the station’s first year. Bob Hall and I started an ‘80s music show called Years For Fears: An ’80s Retrospective. After 20 years showing up every Friday afternoon with three beers and a few Public Enemy and Blondie CDs, I now co-host the Kootenay Morning current affairs program with a great team, and sit on the KCR board. As a life-long journalist and ad salesperson who’s supported hometown, provincial and national media outlets of all sorts, I very much value volunteering for KCR. Community-based radio and well-informed independent journalism have tremendous potential — especially in an era when the public, local and otherwise, has become rightfully untrusting and disinterested in corporately owned news, entertainment and their agendas of shared cahoots.
Laurel Giasson – Director
Hi my name is Laurel Giasson. I have been in Nelson and the surrounding area since 1976.
I definitely could say I grew up in the west Kootenays. Ever since I can remember I have been involved with the arts. I love this community and feel a deep connection to the west Kooteney‘s and the environment and nature and the people that inhabit it. My husband Matthew and I in hopes to be able to raise a family here in the Kooteney’s bought an old defunct building back in 2003 in hopes of creating a community hub and small restaurant. That Is where you will find me most days at the Frog peak cafe cooking food interacting with the community and celebrating the arts that makes this area known as something special. A pairing with the Kootenay Coop Radio at this point in my life is just what I was looking for.
Emily Whitehead – Director
My name is Emily Whitehead. I was born and raised in BC and moved here from Vancouver. I started with KCR in September of 2019 as a programmer of a quirky music show, Two Chix One Night. I have developed a humbling passion for the local radio community. KCR has always gone above and beyond for every member involved. In October 2020 I joined the board of directors with hopes to further serve this community and the gem that is Kootenay Coop Radio.
