News & Notes
October 2022
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A Note from Randi Zimmerman
I've been listening since Monday night luckily didn't lose power and stayed with you all day and night. You never missed a beat delivering an A + listening experience as Ian ravaged our area. Informative and calming, you folks did a great service to me and I'm sure many others. KUDOS
--Sandy in Sarasota
As general manager, I will never be able to share my feelings about WMNF better than our community does. Sandy’s message above exemplifies the many emails, texts, and phone calls we received from our community after Hurricane Ian.
To Sandy and all our WMNF community:
What we did during Hurricane Ian happened because of YOU. What you heard on WMNF last week was an interaction, a dialog, a speak-and-respond between our listener community and the skeleton crew staff who kept the station on the air.
In the studio, we did more than hear you; we felt you. This interactive connection is what separates WMNF from any other radio station in the Tampa Bay area.
Our goal was to be informative without being alarmist. We strove to uplift without sugar coating. We blended widespread communities around Florida to give you the information that you wanted to hear–even when you couldn’t tell us exactly what you needed. It was some of the best radio production I have ever been a part of.
Additionally, the WMNF studios were able to send out our signal uninterrupted because of forethought and dedication to serving our community. It took all of us to make it happen.
As we attend to our Fall 2022 fund drive from October 6-13, I encourage you to participate financially as you can to keep us on the air through all of our collective and personal storms.
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Wake Up with Craig Huegel
WMNF Volunteer Programmer Craig Huegel hosts The Waking Hours show from 3 to 6 a.m. every Tuesday on WMNF. He recently answered a few questions about his philosophy behind the show.
WMNF: You have an interesting concept for your show. For those who haven’t heard it, tell us more about it, and where you got the idea?
CH: My main goal with my show is to expose my listeners to artists and music that is
underrepresented on other WMNF shows; to give a voice to the otherwise voiceless. There is so much good new music being recorded these days that it is impossible for all of it to get played by my fellow programmers. I try to find the best of that new music and put it out on the airwaves. I am not restricted to a particular style or genre, so I can fill in the cracks of a great many other WMNF shows with what I believe to be really good music.
WMNF: You definitely expose listeners to a different world of music than they would hear on commercial stations or even at medium-sized music venues. How do you discover these artists?
CH: I listen to a lot of new music every week from a lot of different genres. Having been deeply involved in this for so many years, I receive at least a dozen new CDs a week from artists and their promoters. And I write to a lot of other folks and ask for copies of new releases that I see are getting some positive reviews in the music world. Because I play from a lot of different genres, I get a great diversity of new music sent to me by artists looking to get heard.
WMNF: On your WMNF.org show page, you say that you play music from the '30s to releases from last week. How do you tie it all together to have it make sense for the audience?
CH: I guess I see myself as a bit of a throwback to an earlier time when it was OK to mix music styles together in a set. I enjoy the freedom I have in my early timeslot to do this. I believe that good music is timeless and I try to appeal to people that feel the same. I don't believe that a listener's age necessarily determines anything about what they will enjoy listening to so when I play a classic song from the Big Band Era and follow it with a doowop and then a 50's rocker, I believe that my listeners appreciate it.
WMNF: What is your secret for having the energy to do a live, overnight show?
CH: I love music and the opportunity to share that with my listeners. I get up each Tuesday at 1:30 am to get to Tampa to do my show and, frankly, I'm tired as I drive in. When I get to the station, however, that changes. Knowing that folks are listening and enjoying what I'm putting out on air makes it all worthwhile and I get energized by that.
WMNF: Is there anything you’d like to add?
CH: Only that I sincerely appreciate the opportunities that this station has given me these past years. WMNF has improved my life in so many ways and I'm proud that the station has entrusted me to give something back.
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WMNF News Update
Florida has a problem with minimum wage violations and it could get worse.
Florida’s minimum wage is set to increase later this month. But some policy analysts warn that Florida needs a stronger mechanism to actually enforce it. Read the full story.
Cleaning up debris after Hurricane Ian
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Meet the Match Update
We passed the $50,000 mark! But we need your help to raise $150,000 by July 5, 2023, to receive matching endowment funds.
A generous matching grant from Community Foundation Tampa Bay is affording WMNF a limited-time opportunity to establish a revenue-generating endowment fund that will help secure the station's financial future, expand our service to the community, and leave a legacy of independent music and news for the generations to come.
For the next several months only, your contribution will be matched, TWICE!
To Meet the Match, the WMNF community must raise $200,000 before the deadline of July 5, 2023. Once we reach that goal, the station will receive a matching gift of $100,000 from Community Foundation Tampa Bay, plus $100,000 set aside for the endowment by the WMNF Board of Directors.
Join the Cause!
Make a generous contribution by clicking this link to say
If you do not wish to give online, we have other ways you can Meet the Match, including:
- estate planning
- wire transfer
- stock, life insurance, real estate, and other non-cash donations, and
- retirement plan distributions.
You can also donate property, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder after distributions to other beneficiaries. Just ask us how!
Or, mail a check made payable to:
WMNF
Attn: Development Department
1210 E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33603
About Community Foundation Tampa Bay
Community Foundation Tampa Bay is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects people and resources to inspire charitable giving and create a meaningful, lasting impact on our community. The organization has been growing philanthropy in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties since 1990. WMNF is honored to be a new participant in the foundation’s Endowment Match Challenge program. To learn more, visit cftampabay.org
If you have any questions about how you can Meet the Match, please contact Station Manager Randi Zimmerman at 813-238-8001.
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The WMNF Newsletter is sponsored by The Bank of Tampa. To learn more about The Bank of Tampa, please contact Donna Walsh, VP, Commercial Relationship Manager, 813. 998.2787 or dwalsh@bankoftampa.com
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WMNF IS A 501 (C) (3) NON-PROFIT CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION. WMNF\u2019S SOLICITATION CODE IS SC-00786. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAYBE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-435-7352. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. 100 % OF EACH DONATION IS RECEIVED BY THE NATHAN B STUBBLEFIELD FOUNDATION (WMNF.) |
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