PORT TOWNSEND — After six months in operation, KPTZ-FM, a community radio station, ended its first pledge drive exceeding its fundraising goal.
“The idea of the pledge drive was to see if we could get the support of the community, and we got it,” said Larry Stein, program director.
The station, which can be heard at 91.9 FM, hoped to raise $20,000 to fund operations, estimating that it costs about $2,000 a month to stay on the air.
As of Tuesday afternoon, $23,572 had been pledged, along with 16 cents that a child passed to a disc jockey through the “weather window.”
The pledge drive continued to the end of the day and was followed by a celebration at Sirens in the evening.
When all is collected, the station should have enough to operate for another year.
Operations are so inexpensive because everyone who works there is a volunteer.
On Tuesday afternoon, members of Southbound, a Port Townsend acoustic band, took over the station and broadcast a 30-minute live set that was combined with congratulations for meeting the goal and some last-minute pitches.
As the live music continued, people came in off the street, some with contributions.
The volunteer staff was encouraged by the response.
“We’ve had a lot of fun with this,” said Colin Foden, KPTZ board president.
“We made a lot of new friends.”
The 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.
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.
For more information, visit www.kptz.org or phone 360-379-6886.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
