By Paige Hoblak (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: July 4, 2012
The National Campus and Community Radio Conference (NCRC) was held this month in Kingston, Ontario. The conference featured various workshops, influential speakers, and several musical performances. This year’s event was special because it also marked the CFRC’s (Queen’s University’s campus and community radio station) 90th anniversary. Representatives from UFV’s own CIVL Radio attended the action-packed conference to gain some insight on ways to effectively develop their station and become inspired by the progress of similar radio stations.
CIVL was recognized at the national level for the second year in a row in the category of Community Development with an honourable mention for Chuck Anger and his work with the program Abbotsford Streets.
Last year, UFV student Alicia Williams was the recipient of an honourable mention at the awards for Music Programming, based on her FEMCON episode of Mood Swings.
Aaron Levy, manager at CIVL Radio spoke highly of Chuck Anger, recognizing his intense commitment to the station. “From Fraser Health officials to Archdiocese, political candidates, social service workers and the people who make our community what it is, from music to life on the streets, Chuck has without a doubt been CIVL’s volunteer of the year, helping us fulfill our mandates in so many different ways,” said Levy. “[He] has made an incredible impact in his time at CIVL thus far, and looks every day to make that impact grow and see his vision come a bit more to light.”
Levy commended Anger for his dedication at CIVL and provided a summation of his journey thus far. “Chuck first came to CIVL Radio in the fall of 2010; just after FM broadcast testing began for the first time for campus radio in the Fraser Valley. By the following spring, after months of training and practice, Chuck was pre-recording his two hour blues program almost obsessively, stocking up episodes in case he should take ill or require time away from the station; something that rarely occurs when he can help it.”
“Most mornings Chuck is the first one in the station, talking to volunteers, experimenting in the studio and conducting interviews for what, by the fall of 2011, was CIVL’s newest and most influential program: Abbotsford Streets. Chuck was intent on using CIVL Radio interviews to tell important stories, and to provide light to the issues that so many in our community deal with every day: drug addiction, poverty, sexual exploitation, physical abuse, mental health, [and] racism.”
Levy also praised the reception the show has had. “Abbotsford Streets has received a very welcomed response from Abbotsford’s support service workers, and developed a special relationship with an initiative called the Warm Zone which provides a place exclusively for women in town, where they can get food and milk and engage in workshops to help them develop their skills and work towards a fuller and happier life,” he said.
Each show has been educational and diverse, Levy argued. “The unique perspectives provided by a liberal, non-secular male of Native ancestry, a Caucasian pastor who advocates for harm reduction and equal rights for same sex couples, and some of the strongest and most active advocates of the importance of social health and wellness resources in the Valley, has provided for a truly unique and impactful program every week,” he said. “None of this would be possible without the hard work and vision that Chuck has shown since the day he arrived at CIVL.”
What really sets Anger apart, Levy explained, is that he deals with individuals who are rarely given a voice in either our society or in the media. “Chuck initiated CIVL’s first program dealing exclusively with the issues that affect those who feel powerless in our community,” Levy said. “Now hosting two programs, Chuck also embarked on writing and recording a five part documentary series on the social history of the blues.”
Abbotsford Streets is on air every Thursday from 1 to 2 p.m. Check it out for an alternative perspective on Abbotsford issues by tuning in or visiting the CIVL website.
