Community service work is certainly good for the soul but it can also lead to unexpected and deeply appreciated recognition.
In my volunteer work for non-commercial, listener supported Divine Mercy Radio here in Raleigh, I help the radio station with programming and production work.
Last week, EWTN Global Catholic Radiohonored Divine Mercy Radio with their Crystal Microphone Award for Best Top of the Hour ID from among the network’s amazing 350 Catholic radio affiliates.
This is the project for which we received our recognition:
Tags: commentary, community, radio, radio imaging, raleigh by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent Comments Off on Donation of Time and Talent Can Lead to Unexpected Treasure
When I was working at WVUD-FM in Dayton in the mid-80’s, one of the young account executives came into my production studio to tell me he was going to take a radio sales job at WLZR-FM (which I thought at the time was somewhere near Indianapolis although those calls belong to a station in Milwaukee now).
Geography and my memory notwithstanding, the station’s nickname was Lazer. And the AE gave me a reel-to-reel tape of their station’s imaging, voiced by a guy named Mark Driscoll. The radio industry nicknamed him “Mr. Voice”.
The industry folks at the time were clearly well aware of someone I was not…but someone I knew I would immediately never forget after hearing his radio imaging for that station.
I remember the mixture of voice and sound that came from my production studio speakers right now just as if it was then. It helped usher in a new sound at the time for contemporary hit radio (CHR). I wish I still had that Lazer demo. The excitement and energy of that station came flying through those speakers.
Mark Driscoll’s radio imaging work was among the first of its kind. And the copy writing!! Others were similar but they were not him.
The only thing I knew Mark Driscoll for was his voice work. Never knew or met the man. I was Facebook friends with him…heard some unique stories about him…but that voice…his production…you KNEW Mark’s work from the opening syllable and effects.
He was so talented.
Word came down from social media that Mark died this week at 72 years old. I hope he lived a happy life.
He left an indelible radio production mark on me. Wow.
Here’s some Mark Driscoll imaging work I found on the web and this probably isn’t even his very best stuff….but it’s still fantastic.
I was never going to use my Radio and Television degree in college for anything to do with movies. I liked movies but the production process is too slow for me.
But with my production knowledge and awareness, I respect the work that everyone in the film making process performs.
I bring up movies because this week is a bit of a movie production milestone (a real one, not an advertised one). The 9th and final episode completing the original Star Wars story will premiere on December 20th.
Yes there will be future episodes that will no doubt tie in bits of these past 9 stories and some of the past actors but this 9th movie really is a fork in the cinematic road for this franchise.
Huge history, huge budget, huge pressure. Editor’s note: I really enjoy Star Wars and have seen them all (even the bad ones). I am NOT , however, what you would call a Star Wars fanatic. I know some, not all, of the characters and some of the movie’s back stories but hardly all of them. I am not Star Wars obsessed but I enjoy the movie making spectacle that it brings. In other words, I like the movies but I do not live the movies.
I was watching the final The Rise of Skywalker trailer which was masterfully produced in all aspects. I’m thinking as I watched it that even if you are somehow new to Star Wars (maybe based on your age), should you know nothing about the series, you’d probably see this movie just based on this trailer.
Of course the visuals are vital to this trailer, the graphics smartly guide this short story…but the sound and the trailer sound design really actually grabbed me more than the visuals the first time I saw this trailer. And yes, it IS only a trailer but I think THIS is trailer is exceptionally well done.
Certainly there is the iconic Star Wars theme played in the second half of the trailer (the part of the trailer I like the most)…and the orchestral arrangement for this trailer I thought was especially moving.
But the sound mix with scene sound bites, sound effects and music are so good, this trailer could almost be a stand alone radio spot as is.
Listen here to the audio part of the trailer that I think could be a radio spot FIRST.
SECOND, watch the full trailer here. Then let me know what you think.
But with the traveling I have done recently, listening to so much radio I was reminded how important the sport radio format has become to listeners like me…and you.
LISTEN TO PETER K. O’CONNELL’S SPORTS RADIO IMAGING DEMO:
There are few radio formats where radio imaging is so important. While many cities are fortunate enough to have national AND local sports radio programs in their markets, my travels tell me many more sports radio stations fill up programs only with national programs – with no local, daily sports radio hosts.
So the audio branding that sports radio imaging provides becomes vital to these radio stations because the radio imaging is the ONLY way outside of the radio station web site that listeners know who what they are listening to…the radio imaging IS the brand.
The audio brand needs to sound like knowledgeable but likeable sports-nut driven to bring all the sports news and action to listeners. As an experienced radio imaging voice talent, I am glad to provide that service to sports radio stations. Please listen to the demo and…if you’re hiring, give me a call and let’s talk.
Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio broadcasting live from St. Ann Catholic Church in Clayton, NC in October 2019 (l-r) Pastor of St. Ann’s Fr. Peter Grace; Catholic 540-AM Volunteer Director of Programming & Production Peter K. O’Connell and Divine Mercy Radio Chief Engineer Keith Flanary
We each have talents to share.
Hopefully, when our talents are good enough, people pay us and we make a living. I’ve been fortunate in that vein with my voiceover work since about 1982.
Maybe you believe, as I do, that when you have good fortune in life that many do not (making money, having a job etc.), we should try to give back to our communities in whatever ways we think can have the most positive impact.
I’m not taking just about our financial contributions…although those are great!
This kind of contribution is about that kind of community work where we are doing the work…whatever that means for each of us…based on the charity or organization we each support.
Wherever we exercise our extra efforts, our good works do not go unnoticed.
Founded in 1942, the highly respected Buffalo Niagara Sales and Marketing Executives gathered their active Past Presidents for this 2013 photo.
Maybe similar to your experience, my community work started after college, as a member or sometimes chairman of a volunteer board. My community work has supported professional, civic, educational and Catholic groups who requested my help. Looking back from today to about 1987, there have been a lot of groups.
Quality not quantity is the main thing, though, and my work helped each of those groups in some way; I certainly felt good doing the work. Yet I admit, as I got older and had a family, I cut back on my charity activities…the two main reasons being time and I was just tired, complete with a kind of “been there, done that” attitude. Decades can to that to a person.
In 2016, when I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina (having lived in Buffalo, NY since birth), I realized that I needed to start over in a number of ways, including my community work.
Live on the air during the Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio Pledge Drive in Spring 2019. (l-r) Divine Mercy Radio’s Volunteer Director of Programming & Production and Pledge Drive Host Peter K. O’Connell with co-host John Dornan, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Raleigh
Having done some volunteer voiceover work for a Catholic radio station in Buffalo, I decided to see if Raleigh had a Catholic radio station. I found Divine Mercy Radio. This was 2016 and Divine Mercy Radio was broadcasting on just a pair of low-powered FM’s at the time (WSHP and WFNE). They were broadcasting programming from two national radio networks: EWTN Global Catholic Radioand Ave Maria Radio. But my new Raleigh Catholic radio friends were on a mission to grow and I was up for the ride.
They needed voiceover and radio help…no one at the station had professional radio experience. But they had heart and a can-do, no-quit spirit. I began overseeing the on-air production work for the two stations. In February of this year, when the secured the AM-540 frequency they asked if I would also volunteer to oversee this 10,000 watt radio station’s programming too. WETC-AM became Catholic 540-AM • Divine Mercy Radio and our team was off to the races!
This radio station is 100% listener supported (by its own choice). Our friends at the Diocese of Raleigh have kindly endorsed us since we started but they do not fund us. We are an independent radio apostolate.
Divine Mercy Radio Chief Engineer Keith Flanary, Board Chair Betty Rogosich and Volunteer Director of Programming & Production Peter K. O’Connell during the Spring 2019 On-Air Pledge Drive
With a very dedicated group of my fellow volunteers (nobody is getting paid) the station has achieved a great deal in only 8 months. This includes successful live on-air pledge drives, on-site remotes at parishes and community events (I got to host both the drives and remotes, which is great fun) and many other events. All this with little more than duct tape and chewing gum (well, maybe a little more…but not much more).
Volunteering at the station selfishly allows me to achieve two things: participate in the greatest parts of radio without the corporate drama that can sometimes accompany such a gig (sans drama, radio is still one of the best gigs ever) and also to use my particular talents to grow a really worthy volunteer enterprise.
And as I said, our good works don’t go unnoticed.
The radio station board (I’m just a volunteer, not a board member) asked that I represent Catholic 540-AM at the 20th Annual EWTN Catholic Radio Conference in Alabama. EWTN Radio has over 375 radio network affiliates, many more established and significantly larger than Divine Mercy Radio.
In addition to insightful education and the sharing of best practices among attendees during the national conference, the EWTN Radio Network also recognizes the best work among their radio affiliates for on-air production. There are only three categories, winners take all.
Volunteer Director of Programming & Production Peter K. O’Connell accepts the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Crystal Microphone Award for Best Affiliate Top of the Hour ID for Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio
Catholic 540-AM • Divine Mercy Radio took home the Crystal Microphone for Best Affiliate Top of The Hour ID.
Think about that for just a moment.
375 EWTN U.S. Radio affiliates (many long established with very talented radio pros), only 3 possible awards to win and Divine Mercy Radio in Raleigh/Durham takes home the hardware.
We have been on the air for only EIGHT MONTHS and we snagged a very prestigious national award from the largest religious media network in the world.
We don’t do all this volunteer radio work for for awards or accolades.
But this national recognition IS encouraging, as well as humbling, for all of us.
PLAY THE AWARD WINNING TOP OF THE HOUR ID.
EWTN Foundress Mother Mary Angelica was famous for saying, “Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous.” I don’t know if this award is miraculous but given what has been accomplished by our team just since this past February, it feels a bit ridiculous in the best possible and most complimentary way for EVERYONE involved.
Each and every volunteer at Divine Mercy Radio won this award because without their work in so many areas, there can be no Top of The Hour ID and no award to win…because there would be no radio station.
WE ALL won.
OUR good works didn’t go unnoticed.
Neither will yours.
Tags: commentary, radio by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent Comments Off on good work(s) do NOT go unnoticed
Volunteer radio host and station voice Peter K. O’Connell with Chief Engineer Keith Flanary broadcasting Diocese of Raleigh Bishop Zarama’s blessing of Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio on July 9, 2019
So here’s another cool thing I got to do on the radio.
As I’ve mentioned, I volunteer at a Catholic radio station (WETC-AM) in Raleigh Durham, NC (the whole station is run by volunteers). I do their production and programming stuff – which isn’t too heavy a lift because the station carries mostly network programming and the Chief Engineer programs all the spots into the computer. I just voice and write stuff and produce it as well as producing voice work from other volunteers.
The Executive Director of Divine Mercy Radio, Cecelia Flanary, invited the Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh, the Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama, to come to the station and bless the studios, equipment and volunteers. Pretty cool for a Catholic radio station only on-the-air for 5 months to get a visit from the Bishop. Remember, the Catholic 540-AM radio ministry is a lay apostolate, not owned or operated by the Diocese. This was a great kindness for the Bishop to share time from his crazy-busy schedule.
Naturally when I heard about this, I opened my big mouth and said we should broadcast the event live on the radio.
So we did.
Radio station volunteer Peter K. O’Connell interviews Bishop Luis R. Zarama of the Diocese of Raleigh as the Bishop offers his blessing on the station and volunteers of Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio, WETC Wendell Zebulon, North Carolina on July 9, 2019.
The reception began at 6:00pm with the Bishop scheduled to do his formal blessing at 6:30pm. I estimated we would be on the air for about 45 minutes if we started at 6:00 and my timing worked out about right. From the many folks attending the reception, I pulled out from the party some of the Board of Directors who have been with the station almost since the beginning…or since the beginning, to talk about the history of the station.
These were among the many folks who deserved to take a bow for their tireless efforts (which are on-going) on behalf of this station.
Then at around 6:25, Bishop Zarama arrived and I asked the station organizers to please bring him over to our broadcast spot so we could have an brief on-air chat. He was great…smart, thoughtful and very kind. Many thanks to the Bishop for sharing some time with us. His comments during the blessing were terrific and it ended up being a great broadcast (not because of me) that was part of a very special evening.
Plus there was free food, which is how most people in radio get paid anyway!
Tags: commentary, radio, radio imaging, raleigh by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent Comments Off on interviewing the Bishop of Raleigh on the radio
Community service work is certainly good for the soul but it can also lead to unexpected and deeply appreciated recognition.
When I was working at WVUD-FM in Dayton in the mid-80’s, one of the young account executives came into my production studio to tell me he was going to take a radio sales job at WLZR-FM (which I thought at the time was somewhere near Indianapolis although those calls belong to a station in Milwaukee now).
I was never going to use my Radio and Television degree in college for anything to do with movies. I liked movies but the production process is too slow for me.
WHY DID I PRODUCE 
Each and every volunteer at Divine Mercy Radio won this award
The Executive Director of Divine Mercy Radio, Cecelia Flanary, invited the Bishop of the 
