The YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast team includes, from left to right, Indo Quinones, Cienna Simon, Hillary Belin, and Alize Scott. The Broadscast show will air on WRFA-LP in Jamestown every Friday at 2 p.m. and every Sunday at 11 a.m. Funding for the program is made possible through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act stabilization fund.

First Episode to Premier Friday, Sept. 30 with Special Guest Sukayna Burman

JAMESTOWN, NY – A new, locally-produced radio program and podcast focusing on various social and women’s issues affecting the community is making its debut this fall in Jamestown.

YWCA Jamestown is collaborating with WRFA-LP (107.9 FM) to present the YWCA Jamestown’s “Broadscast” radio show. The program will be broadcast twice a week on 107.9 FM in Jamestown and all episodes will also be available “on demand” online.

YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast will feature members of the local YWCA Jamestown team – Hillary Belin, Indo Quinones, Alize Scott, and Cienna Simon – discussing a variety of issues and topics with various guests from the Jamestown and Chautauqua Region. The program will cover a wide range of topics, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) issues; racial justice and civil rights; empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls; and health and safety of women and girls. The first season of the Broadscast program runs for 30 episodes and was scheduled to start on Friday, Sept. 30.

“YWCA Jamestown has been at the forefront of addressing several important issues facing Jamestown and Chautauqua County. We’ve wanted to educate our listeners about these issues, but due to limited staffing at the radio station, we’ve been unable to give them the focus and attention they deserve,” explained Jason Sample, WRFA station manager. “That’s why we reached out to YWCA Jamestown to see if they could assist us in this effort and we are grateful they were willing to work with us on this exciting new project.”

“This partnership provides the YWCA Jamestown with an additional opportunity to meet our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. Each week we will work to bring subjects and topics that address racial and gender inequality and highlight issues that women in our community care about,” said Amanda Geising, YWCA Jamestown executive director, adding, “We are looking forward to hearing more about the passion of our mission and concern for community issues that the YWCA Broadscast team will bring to the local airwaves.”

Funding for the program comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provided WRFA with additional financial support from its American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization fund in 2021.

WRFA is a non-commercial radio station licensed by Reg Lenna Center for the Arts and has been a CPB-funded station for the past several years. Due to its status as a CPB-funded radio station, it automatically received ARPA funding to help offset any losses in local funding shortfalls during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to also bring forward new programs that benefit the Jamestown community. Other WRFA programs made possible through the CPB ARPA funds include monthly live broadcasts of Public Affairs and Arts and Entertainment programming, weekly Spanish Language news reports, live broadcasts of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks baseball team this past summer, a 2022 State Assembly Candidates Debate on Oct. 13, and an upcoming radio documentary series focusing on 10,000 Maniacs, scheduled for release in early 2023.

“WRFA is very excited to be partnering with YWCA Jamestown for this exciting new collaboration,” said Sample. “The radio station has been looking to collaborate with local organizations to bring quality radio programming to our community and the YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast program is a perfect fit.”

The Broadscast radio program is broadcast every Friday at 2 p.m. on WRFA, with an encore airing taking place every Sunday at 11 a.m. All episodes will also be available for “On Demand” listening at the WRFA website, the YWCA Jamestown website, and also at Soundcloud.com/WRFARadio.

Jesus Garcia will be providing translation of WRFA News Reports for the weekly WRFA News en Espanol, broadcasting Saturdays at 8 a.m. and Sundays at 5:50 p.m. on WRFA.

JAMESTOWN, NY – WRFA Radio will be providing a weekly, Spanish-language newscast to its listening audience starting in September 2022.

The weekly WRFA News “en Español” report will be broadcast Saturdays at 8 a.m. on 107.9 FM in Jamestown – immediately preceding the Latino USA syndicated radio program. An additional broadcast of the news will also air Sundays at 5:50 p.m. – immediately after the weekly Latin Inspiration radio program. And the news report will also be posted online at the WRFA Soundcloud page for On-Demand listening.

To assist with the Spanish-language newscast, WRFA is working with Jamestown resident Jesus Garcia, who will be translating and recording each weekly news cast in Spanish. Garcia is currently a member of the Jamestown Fire Department, but also lends his translation services to various businesses and organizations as his schedule allows. He will be using news stories that were originally written and prepared by WRFA Public Affairs Director Julia Ciesla-Hanley.

“We are very excited to bring this new program to our local airwaves,” explained WRFA Station Manager Jason Sample. “Jamestown and Chautauqua County has a growing Spanish-speaking population but as far as I know, no local broadcasting outlet currently provides local news updates in Spanish to this community. Thankfully we’ve been able to secure funding to address this important need and are happy to bring Jesus on board to work with us on this exciting new project.”

Funding for the weekly Spanish-language newscast comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization grant, which WRFA received as a CPB-member station in 2021. Other programming funded through this grant includes the monthly Community Conversation and monthly Arts on Fire LIVE broadcasts that began in 2021, in addition to the Jamestown Tarp Skunks sports broadcasting internship program, which also started in 2021.

WRFA Public Affairs Director Jason Sample, Public Affairs Director Julia Ciesla-Hanley, Arts & Entertainment Correspondent Anthony Merchant, and Programming Coordinator Gavin Paterniti.

JAMESTOWN, NY – WRFA-LP, Jamestown’s only noncommercial, nonreligious community radio station, was able to raise over $900 as part of the #GiveBigCHQ annual day of giving on Thursday, Jan. 9.

In all, the radio station received $799 from 25 donors. In addition, another $135 in bonus funding was raised through GiveBigCHQ’s “Rise and Shine Hour and and the $25 Match Hour. In all, $934 was raised. Additional bonus funding could also come by way of the GiveBigCHQ Stretch Pool.

“Thank you to all those who chose to give to WRFA-LP during the GiveBigCHQ campaign,” said WRFA-LP station manager Jason Sample. “It was great to see the community come out and support so many worthwhile organizations, including WRFA.”

WRFA’s parent organization, Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, also benefited from GiveBigCHQ, raising $2,270 from the community. In all, nearly $313,000 was raised for over 112 organization. The GiveBigCHQ campaign is organized annual by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation.

For those who were unable to give to WRFA-LP during GiveBigCHQ, there will be other opportunities to help the radio station, including later this month with WRFA holds its 2022 Great American Picnic at Southern Tier Brewing Co. in Lakewood. In addition, WRFA will hold its annual pledge drive in September, when the station celebrates its 18th year on the local airwaves.

WRFA-LP has three full-time and one part time staff positions – all of whom reside in the city of Jamestown – and all donations from the community go toward covering the cost of those positions. In addition, local contributions are used to leverage additional funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“GiveBigCHQ has played a significant role in helping us raise money for the radio station and working to reach this year’s goal of $15,000 in individual contributions from our listening area,” Sample said. “A Community Radio Station can only be successful if it has support from the community it serves, and fundraisers like this help to show that we are appreciated and supported.”

Project will launch in June with a goal of interviewing 100 area residents

JAMESTOWN, NY – Area residents who want to share their memories to help chronicle local history in Chautauqua County will get a chance to do so later this year.

WRFA-LP in is launching an oral history program that will allow Chautauqua County residents to provide their first-hand accounts of people, places, industries and events from our region’s rich past.

The “I Remember” oral history project will begin with a series of interview sessions starting in June, and local residents who want to serve as primary sources on a variety of historical topics are encouraged to participate. The interviews will then run in a series of audio and video programs that will be broadcast on the local airwaves and also streamed online.

“As a former trustee with the Chautauqua County Historical Society, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of documenting first-hand accounts of everyday people who’ve experienced, lived and witnessed our local history,” explained Jason Sample, WRFA general manager, adding, “That’s why this project is so important for our county.”

Funded through a Community Action Grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, as well as from additional funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Grant, the “I Remember” project has a goal of interviewing at least 100 different individuals and providing 25 hours of audio and video programming in its first year. All interviews will also be transcribed and donated to the Chautauqua County Historical Society and the Fenton History Center for their archives.

“We’ve already established a committee of local historians to help us identify topics to focus on for this year,” Sample said. “Starting in June, we’ll schedule a series of interview sessions and invite community members to meet with us and share their memories of a particular topic or topics.”

Partnering with WRFA on the project is Kipp Reynolds from Kranky Plate Productions, who will help to document each interview. Conducting the majority of interviews will be Dan Swackhammer, a long-time resident of Jamestown who has a past history of working on a similar project. In 1986, Swackhammer produced and directed an hour long video documentary in conjunction with the Jamestown Centennial entitled ‘A Century of Life- A Century of Living in which he interviewed residents born in the 1800’s as well as local historians.

FIRST INTERVIEW SESSION IS JUNE 4

The first interview session for the I Remember project is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the James Prendergast Library. Specific topics for the June 4 session include: Brooklyn Square & Urban Renewal; the Kent Mansion, including its time as the Scottish Consistory and also the transition to the Robert H. Jackson Center; Jamestown General Hospital; Jamestown Community College from 1950 to 1990; and the development and early history of the Lucille Ball Comedy Festivals.

Other sessions, which will focus on other topics, will also take place on June 25 at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts; July 16 at a location to be determined in Bemus Point; and August 13 again at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. Other dates and locations for future months will also be announced.

WRFA is asking anyone who wishes to be interviewed for the project during any upcoming session can reach out via email at WRFA@RegLenna.com with “I Remember” in the subject line. You can also call (716) 664-2465 ext. 209. More information can also be found online at WRFALP.com/IRemember.

Once enough interviews have been collected, WRFA will launch the first episode, tentatively scheduled for September 2022.

“This is going to be a very exciting project and we are looking forward to not only hearing the stories and memories of people who’ve lived and experienced our local history, but also sharing it with the greater Chautauqua Community,” Sample said. “I cannot express enough how excited we are to see this project launch and usher it forward!”

Comments, questions, or suggestions about the project can be directed to Sample using the above contact information.

ABOUT: Founded in 2004, WRFA-LP is a noncommercial, listener supported, low power FM radio station licensed to the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts and broadcasting at 107.9 FM in Jamestown, NY.  As a radio station licensed to a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, all financial donations/contributions made to WRFA are 100% tax deductible. Businesses and organizations can also provide corporate underwriting for WRFA by making a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more.

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Jim Foley from the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown about Almost, Maine – a the organizations first full-scale production in two years. Foley serves as the president of the Little Theatre board and also is the director of Almost, Maine, which is a series of vignettes that focus on love. The performance will take place on March 4, 5, 11, and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and March 6 and 13 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $22 and are available through the Little Theater website or Facebook.

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Sony Ton-Aime, Michael I. Rudell Director of Literary Arts at Chautauqua Institution, and Betsy Rowe-Baehr, Jamestown High School English teacher. The two share details about The Holidays in Poetry – a new community project combing poetry and the holiday season. Part of the project involved Mr. Ton-Aime working with Mrs. Rowe-Baehr’s 10th grade English classes.

Several students also stopped by the WRFA studios and were recorded as they recited their original works, including one en espanol. The recording of those 15 students (along with a poem by Mrs. Rowe-Baehr) follow the interview. You can also find them individually in the playlist above, or by visiting The Holiday in Poetry playlist page on Soundcloud.

But they will also be featured at various times at the top of each hour, starting 7am on Dec. 24 and continuing through 8pm on Dec. 25.

Thank you to Sony for developing this project and also to Betsy her students for sharing their work with the Jamestown community via WRFA.

Happy Holidays to the entire Community.

CLASS 1

Betsy Rowe-Baehr (left), students from her 9:30am 10th grade class featured on WRFA, and Sony Ton-Aime , director of literary arts at Chautauqua.

CLASS 2

Betsy Rowe-Baehr (left) and students from her 10:45am 10th grade class featured on WRFA.

CLASS 3

Betsy Rowe-Baehr (left) and students from her 1:05pm 10th grade class featured on WRFA.

While not reaching its stated goal, the WRFA 2021 Fall Pledge Drive is still being viewed as a success. From Sept. 10 through Sept. 17, WRFA listeners and supporters donated $5,385 – about 72% of the $7,500 goal. Combined with other fundraising efforts in 2021, WRFA has raised more than $12,600 throughout the year.

“While we didn’t reach out pledge drive goal, I still view the pledge drive as a success, especially when combined with the previous fundraising efforts for this year, including our Give Big CHQ campaign and the annual Great American Picnic Fundraiser, both of which took place in June,” said WRFA General Manager Jason Sample.

“All told, we’ve received $12,365 so far this year in donations and there’s still three months remaining in the year. That shows that WRFA is viewed as an important asset to the community and I couldn’t be happier with the support we’ve received,” Sample added.

As noted, the WRFA Fall Pledge Drive follows up the Give Big CHQ fundraising effort, which raised $2,320 for WRFA. The annual Great American Picnic fundraiser provided another $3,635 for the radio station. And WRFA has also generated $1,275 in unsolicited donations from the community.

Sample also said that by having strong community support, WRFA can continue to qualify for additional programming support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to serve as the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting.

“Much of our nationally syndicated programming listeners have come to enjoy during weekday mornings and afternoons, and also on the weekends, is paid for by CPB funding. But we also use some of that money to help cover the cost of our public affairs and programming coordinator positions,” Sample explained. “We really get a lot of ‘bang for our buck’ from our CPB funding, but that can only continue if we also receive local financial support from the community we serve.”

In addition to donations from the general public, WRFA’s programming is also supported by underwriting from local businesses and organizations, along with grant funding from various sources. In 2021, WRFA has received local grant support from the Holmberg Foundation for its Jamestown Tarp Skunks broadcasts and the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County for the upcoming Arts on Fire LIVE series. It also received a grant from Humanities NY to assist with its Community Conversation program.

“It is wonderful to see such support from our community and every dollar we’ve received is greatly appreciated,” Sample said.

WRFA also reminds the public that general donations are accepted year-round and a donation of any amount can be made by using the Donate button on the WRFA website or by sending a check to WRFA Radio, 116 E. Third St., Jamestown NY 14701.

ABOUT WRFA
WRFA is a listener-supported, low power radio station licensed to the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.  As a radio station licensed to a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, all financial donations/contributions made to WRFA are 100% tax deductible. Businesses and organizations can also provide corporate underwriting for WRFA by making a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more.

WRFA’s Jason Sample and Julia Ciesla-Hanley discuss the local stories of the day for Tuesday, Sept. 14 – including the Jamestown City Council and the latest on COVID-19 cases in Chautauqua County.

The WRFA Staff with the limited edition WRFA T-Shirts that will be given out during the 2021 Fall Pledge Drive. L to R: Julia Ciesla-Hanley, WRFA Public Affairs Director; Jason Sample, WRFA Station manager; and Gavin Paterniti, WRFA Program Coordinator.

JAMESTOWN, NY – WRFA LP 107.9FM, Jamestown’s only locally owned and operated Community Radio Station, will be holding its first ever Pledge Drive later this month. The WRFA Fall 2021 Pledge Drive will begin Sept. 10 and continue through Sept. 17 with a goal of raising $7,500 from its listening audience.

As an incentive to reach its goal, anyone who pledges $50 or more during the eight-day pledge drive will receive a limited edition “I Support Community Radio” WRFA T-Shirt.

The graphic that will appear on the back of the Limited Edition WRFA T-Shirt, be given away as part of the WRFA 202 Fall Pledge Drive.

“Over the years WRFA has benefited from countless contributions and donations from our community and this Pledge Drive is intended to serve as a gentle reminder that we are a non-commercial radio station that relies on community support to stay on the local airwaves,” explained WRFA General Manager Jason Sample.

Sample also said that by raising money locally, WRFA can continue to qualify for additional programming support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to serve as the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting.

“Much of our nationally syndicated programming listeners have come to enjoy during weekday mornings and afternoons, and also on the weekends, is paid for by CPB funding. But we also use some of that money to help cover the cost of our public affairs and programming coordinator positions,” Sample explained. “We really get a lot of ‘bang for our buck’ from our CPB funding, but that can only continue if we also receive local financial support from the community we serve.”

The Fall pledge drive will not only serve as a fundraiser for the radio station, but also a birthday celebration for WRFA, which first went on the air on September 13, 2004. In addition, WRFA will use the pledge drive to launch two new special programs – A three-part Community Conversation focusing Marginalized and Under-served Groups in Jamestown, and Arts on Fire Live!, featuring five live musical performances. The pledge drive will also serve as a platform to highlight other local programming on WRFA, including the return of the popular and informative Election Candidate Debates and Meet the Candidates Forum.

“We’ll also have other special announcements and surprises during pledge drive. But one thing we wont be doing is constantly interrupting programming to request donations,” Sample said. “It will be less intrusive than your typical public radio station pledge drive because we know our listeners enjoy the wide variety of programming we offer. Instead, we’ll just put out gentle reminders the pledge drive is underway and also offer daily updates on how close we are to our goal.”

Anyone wanting to make a one-time pledge, or schedule monthly donations, can do so by going online to WRFALP.com/donate and clicking the “2021 Pledge Drive” link. Donations can be made at anytime, but to qualify for the Limited Edition WRFA T-Shirt, contributions should be made during the days of the Pledge Drive, Sept. 10 through Sept. 17.

WRFA is a listener supported, low power radio station licensed to the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.  As a radio station licensed to a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, all financial donations/contributions made to WRFA are 100% tax deductible. Businesses and organizations can also provide corporate underwriting for WRFA by making a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more.

The WRFA broadcast team that will be providing coverage of every home game of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks are (from L to R): Norman Rodriguez, Collin Wood, Sarah Disbro, Daniel Mallea, and Jason Sample.

JAMESTOWN, NY – The Jamestown Tarp Skunks and WRFA Radio are pleased to announce a broadcast agreement for the 2021 season. The new agreement involves all Tarp Skunks’ home games being broadcast on the local airwaves at 107.9 FM, as well as streaming worldwide at the station’s website, WRFALP.com.

“We are extremely proud of this partnership with Jamestown Tarp Skunks. This will be a great opportunity for community members to keep up with the ball club and its performance on the field,” explained Jason Sample, WRFA general manager.

“We are so excited and fortunate to have WRFA joining us at Diethrick Park this summer to bring our games to a new audience of people who can’t be with us in person, for one reason or another. We’re just so glad that they will still have a way of following the team and enjoying Jamestown baseball again,” said Jacob Kindberg, Jamestown Tarp Skunks general manager.

WRFA’s broadcasts of the Tarp Skunks will also provide an internship program for qualifying local college students to learn and gain valuable experience with sports broadcasting and sports journalism. Interns will learn and develop skills related to play-by-play and color commentary, player interviews, and how to provide both game previews and recaps for broadcasting. By the end of the 2021 season, the interns will also have the opportunity to participate in the live broadcasts.

“When I was in college studying broadcast journalism, I remember how difficult it was to find an internship program that was specifically geared toward sports broadcasting, especially in Chautauqua County,” Sample said. “Our hope is that through this program, local college students interested in pursuing a career in sports broadcasting and journalism will gain experience and learn skills that will help them on their career path after graduation.”

The WRFA broadcast team will be comprised of Sample and Norman Rodriguez, who have 20 years of sports broadcast experience between them. In the past, Sample has covered both high school baseball and Babe Ruth World Series games, along with high school football in both Chautauqua County and Warren County, PA. Rodriguez has covered high school baseball, football and basketball games with WNY Athletics and also was the public address announcer for the Jamestown Jammers collegiate baseball team from 2016-2018. In addition, he provides play-by-play for the Jamestown Jackals semi-pro basketball team.

The 2021 interns are Sarah Disbro from Falconer, NY and studying at Huntington University, Daniel Mallea from Mayville, NY and studying at Syracuse University, and Collin Wood from Mayville, NY and studying at West Virginia University.

“It’s exciting to see community baseball return to Jamestown after a two-year hiatus and WRFA is happy to be part of that excitement, “Sample said. “The best way to enjoy baseball is to see it live and in person, but we also understand that not everyone who wants to follow the team will have the opportunity to see every home game at the ball park. That’s why we’re happy to provide a forum where fans can tune in and listen to some of those games they can’t get to in person.”

The 2021 season will serve as the inaugural season of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks after the 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. All home games are played at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park at 485 Falconer St. in Jamestown, NY. The first game of the 2021 season is Thursday, June 3 and the first home game is on Thursday, June 10. For a complete schedule, along with ticket information, visit TarpSkunks.com.

“We really can’t wait to bring quality baseball and family fun back to the people of Chautauqua County. We have been hard at work making sure our fans will have the best experience possible and we hope to see everyone out at the home opener on June 10. There will be a celebratory pregame festival outside the stadium with food and live music starting at 5 p.m.,” said Kindberg.

ABOUT JAMESTOWN TARP SKUNKS: The Jamestown Tarp Skunks are part of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a 12-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010 and featuring teams from across New York State. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate.  The team is owned and operated by the Jamestown Community Baseball ownership group.   

ABOUT WRFA: WRFA is a listener supported, non-commercial, low power FM radio station provided as a public service by the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. It is dedicated to providing access to the arts, cultural and educational programming and a forum for the discourse of both national and local public affairs. Funding for WRFA comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, corporate underwriting, and donations from individuals and groups in the community. It broadcasts at 107.9 FM in Jamestown and also streams worldwide at WRFALP.com.