By Charlie Bermant
Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — The KPTZ 91.9 FM radio station began its first pledge drive Wednesday morning hoping to raise $20,000 and earned nearly 25 percent of that goal in just more than 24 hours.
“This has gone extremely well and has been a lot of fun so far,” said KPTZ board member Colin Foden on Thursday.
The all-volunteer community radio station made its inaugural broadcast in May from its office in an annex building near Mountain View Commons, 1919 Blaine St. in Port Townsend, after 4½ years of planning and fundraising.
The signal from the 190-foot broadcast tower at the north end of Jacob Miller Road covers the east and central Strait of Juan de Fuca region — from Sequim to Whidbey Island.
The mood Thursday afternoon was upbeat as volunteer Bethany Patten used a red marker to ink in a bar that indicated that almost $6,500 had been raised so far.
The drive, which ends Tuesday, mixes the standard programming with live requests for donations and taped pledge pitches from about 25 people in the community.
The pledge drive was hampered by a phone glitch, with incoming phones ringing only sporadically.
Because of the problem, disc jockeys followed the taped pitch with explanations about the phones, asking people to donate online or by dropping off checks at the station.
The strategy succeeded, with several bringing in checks, including one for $1,000.
About 60 people worked the phones in shifts from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Hours will expand to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and Saturday.
Several local restaurants and markets donated food and snacks for the pledge workers.
Program director Larry Stein said he hopes to surpass the $20,000 goal.
“We don’t subscribe to any kind of rating system, so we have no way to know how many listeners we have,” he said.
“A pledge drive is the only way we have to find out who’s listening, and so far, this has been very encouraging.”
Anyone wishing to donate to KPTZ can phone 360-379-6886; visit www.kptz.org; send a check to P.O. Box 2091, Port Townsend, WA 98368; or drop by the station.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
