Hi.
We would like to take this opportunity to point out that we are now broadcasting on 87.7 FM. Stafford FM was crafted to embrace the community in everything we do, and we welcome any feedback. The radio station is a 'not for profit' organisation and we're reliant on the good will, gestures and enthusiasm of our volunteers. Yes it's fair to say that we don't get alot of things right, but we are all working towards one common goal, to get a full time FM community license. This will only be achieved through the hard work and endeavor of our fantastic team of volunteers. We are not aiming to be another commercial radio station, in fact, we have a tremendous amount of respect for our local commercial radio station, Signal One, and there is also certainly room for BBC Radio Stoke aswell. Each service should compliment each other and are designed differently to cater for all tastes and needs. The ethos of Stafford FM is to provide an informative platform for the community to be involved in. Whilst we are someway from landing that full time FM license, we will continue to embrace the thoughts and opinions of the community in which we aim to serve. We would also like to point out that Stafford FM is an avid supporter of Stafford Forum, in fact, up until recently we had an 'agreement' in place that allows this great forum for discussion 'exclusive' exposure on the radio station in the form of an advert. The Stafford FM presenters continually support the forum and you will often here one of the team referring to Stafford Forum whilst on air. The nature of the project means that we have no specific target demographic and although we try our best to cater for everyone, we cannot please all of the people all of time. You will see that I am not hiding behind a mask ( although some would like me to ! ), nor am I personally attacking anyone or any other organisation, to the contrary, I am proud of what Stafford FM has achieved in such a short space of time. Personally, I have sacrificed an awful lot to help make Stafford FM what it is today, I do not get paid, nor do I intend to gain any financial wealth from the project. I do not currently work, other than to plough my time into making Stafford FM a success. I have volunteered my services for well over 18 months and although I struggle to make ends meat, I take great satisfaction in what we ALL have done with the radio station since it's inception. I can quite categorically say that all of our 40 something volunteers have also sacrificed something to get where we need to be today. Unfortunately, having been in the radio industry for over 20 years, I know only too well how people can sometimes be over opinionated about what they hear on the radio, whether that be a presenter, or the music a radio station plays. However, I would like you all to spare a thought for our volunteers within Stafford FM. Whilst you may not like everything we do, and for this I apologize, an awful lot of hard work, determination, good will and even tears have been shed through the selfless way our team has created and driven this radio station forward.
On behalf of our volunteers ( myself included in this ), we would like to thank you and please do embrace your local community radio station, a truly unique concept of radio which will continue to gain in strength.
Thanks.
Stu Haycock
Director.