I have been very blessed in my life,  I have a wonderful and supportive family.   I married into another fabulous family who always treated me like I had always been a part of their family.  Not everyone can say that that is true for them.

I have a multitude of friends who I would also call family.  From church family to work family—I have had so many wonderful relationships that I would classify as family.

Not too long ago I added another group to my ever growing family.  KCMR—Inspiration 97.9   My friend, Bill Schickel invited me to become a guest on Tuesday mornings during Cynthia Tompkins’ Bright Sounds time slot to talk about my blog.  Cynthia and I have definitely hit it off and we find it difficult to keep our “spotlight” to 5 minutes every week on air but we try.

I get excited when I think about what KCMR is and what they offer not only to folks in our listening area but to those who click the online streaming to listen on their computers.  

This week KCMR will be holding their 2014 Sharathon.  The theme of this year’s Sharathon is “Only you can keep the music alive!”.  The goal is pretty simple.  Raise at last $75,000 to pay for the station’s broadcast operations.  The Sharathon will hold a live 20 hour broadcast on Wednesday, October 15th from 7 am to 5 pm and Thursday, October 16th from 7 am to 5 pm.  During this time various KCMR personalities and special guest will be featuring including Bill Schickel, Kaye Steger, Toni Timmer, Mary Carmody, Bob Miller, Bruce Lane, Kim Svejda, and Dave Kersey.

But wait—there’s more!!!  This will be a chance for listeners to come tour the new facility at 316 N. Federal Avenue, Mason City and have the chance to join in on a silent gift basket auction and bake sale and a lite complimentary Listener–Appreciation Lunch.  The silent gift basket auction and bake sale will be held on Wednesday from 9 am to 4 pm and again on Thursday until 4 pm.  There will be a variety of homemade gift baskets and baked goods donated by volunteers, listeners and local merchants to check out and bid on.  You can bet I will be checking all of these out!

On Thursday the complimentary Listener Appreciation Lunch will be held from 11 am to 1:30 pm .  If you come between noon and 1:30 I will be happy to greet and welcome you to the wonderful KCMR studios.

KCMR offers a variety of programming as a listener supported Christian Radio Station.  Donations may be made by calling 641-424-9300 during the Sharathon hours, by dropping by the studios with a donation or by logging onto the station’s website (KCMR) to make a secure online donation.

Pictures provided by KCMR Inspiration 97.9

If you are interested in making a donation during Sharathon I know the KCMR family would be delighted.  Donations at the following levels will be recognized on the KCMR Radio’s Wall of Fame display in the broadcast studios:

• Diamond Wall—$1000 and above ($83 monthly)
• Platinum Wall--$500-$999 ($42 monthly)
• Golden Wall–$444 ($37 monthly)
• Silver Wall—$252 ($21 monthly)

All Wall of Fame Members will also receive a pair of box seat tickets to KCMR Radio’s 26th Annual Christmas Concert and have the  opportunity to recognize a special occasion on KCMR with a Sponsor of the Day.  The Christmas concert will be Sunday, November 16th at 2 pm at the NIACC Auditorium.

Other giving levels that will be recognized with a thank you gift are:

• Friend of KCMR Club Members –$120 ($10 monthly) Members will receive the “Book of Devotions for Daily Living” by North Iowa pastors and a pair of Christmas Concert tickets.
• Christmas Concert Club Member—$80  Receive a pair of box seat tickets to Christmas Concert
• Keep the Music Alive Club—$60 ($5 monthly) All donations at this level and above will be in a drawing for an iPad Mini.
• Sustaining Member—Listeners who become a new KCMR Sustaining Member during the Sharathon get in a drawing for a $300 American Express Gift card.  To become a Sustaining Member supporters donate at least $10 months by credit or debit cards.  You can do this online at kcmrfm.com.

Join me in congratulating KCMR for another year of great programming and thanks for allowing me to be a small part of their family.