Greetings!
This is our first newsletter since the KPOJ crash, so it’s my first chance to say anything about it. I used to plug into KPOJ in the morning and let it run through the day; it was the only station my work, car and home radios were set to for the last eight years. I always appreciated the steady stream of information I got from it, but never really thought about how much a part of my life it had become. Now that it’s gone there’s a gaping hole… I’m missing the friend I used to count on. Yes, I can (and do) stream Thom, Ed, Randi, Norman and Mike, but it’s not the same…. AND I WANT MY LEFTY LOCAL MORNING RADIO SHOW BACK!
Aside from the loss to my ongoing education as a citizen, there’s a much more nuts-and-bolts loss for our business. KPOJ was a huge source of new clients for us, and it’s one we’ll have to off-set somehow. So many people have asked how they can help us weather the death of KPOJ, and we’ve told them that the answer is the same for us as for all of the small, local businesses who supported the station: come use our services, and if you can’t, please tell your friends! As strong as KPOJ was for us as an advertising medium, personal referrals from clients to their friends and family has always been our number one source of new clients. Nothing’s as meaningful as advice from someone you trust! Please, tell someone you know about our company or any of these other past advertisers on KPOJ.
There’s another issue that has us concerned… the brief closure of the Sellwood Bridge in early January as the old bridge is moved aside to become the temporary bridge while the new bridge is being built. This short closure will only be for a week but we’re also concerned that people, over the long term, will perceive the ongoing bridge construction as an inconvenience and that may take a toll on our client base. Bridge construction shouldn’t be a significant interference, but if you need to use it then the Ross Island Bridge only adds a few minutes to get you to this side of the river. The construction shouldn’t impede access to our shop at all, especially if you use Umatilla instead of Tacoma when it’s congested. We’ll try to advise scheduled clients about the best routes to use as things progress, but if you find yourself inconvenienced by the bridge construction in any way please tell us… we’ll do something to show how much we appreciate your support during the construction disarray. We plan to keep everyone posted on this and any Sellwood Bridge activity through our Sellwood Bridge Update column.
So what happens next for us without KPOJ? It’s hard to tell, but we were here before KPOJ and we’ll be here after. People overwhelmingly told us that they would miss the radio spots, so we plan to keep putting them together and posting them on our Facebook page. There are rumblings about a new station, and Carl is going to start a podcast of his show in January. We don’t know what the future holds, but we believe Progressive Radio is a strong and viable medium that will not be gone for long. No matter who picks up the banner for Lefty Radio, you can be sure that Tom Dwyer Automotive Services will be here to support it when it comes back.
Take Care and Make a Great Day!
