When we listen to the radio, it’s easy to imagine the host chatting into the microphone and doing … something … on a computer to keep it all moving. However, it takes a whole crowd (working from home, of course; crowds are dangerous!) of knowledgeable, creative people (and some pretty fancy technology) to create each second you hear.
Curious about how your donation travels behind-the-scenes and winds up supporting one hour of programming at CKUA? Here’s another story about all the human effort that makes that magic happen. Let’s check out a day in the CKUA life of Mandy Palubicki, Senior Development Officer:
Hello! I’m Mandy and I can’t believe, even after 11 years, that I get to work at CKUA! Here’s what that looks like:
It’s 8am and I am groggy as heck because I stayed up way too late watching Youtube videos in bed again. But my Moka Pot is gurgling on the stove, so I pour up a cup of the good stuff and sit at my desk to review my schedule and prepare for the day. Once my agenda has been laid out, I batch my emails into levels of urgency, answering anything that takes 60 seconds of my attention or less. Meeting traffic deadlines (the date and time when something is scheduled to go on air) is a major priority, as is getting back to clients in a timely manner.
8:30am arrives quickly, and it’s time to awaken a loath-to-rise tween and usher her to online school. She eats breakfast while I prepare for my first meeting of the day, setting up in my bedroom office so she may have the advantages of the “good” computer. I review our goals, update progress, and scout opportunities to present to the team. Now that I’m prepared for my 9:30am meeting, I dig in to those Code Red emails that require attention and start to focus on solving problems.
It’s 9:30am and I get to meet with my team! They are lovely and supportive, and we all agree this is the best meeting of the week. We chat a little about our weekend and well-being before moving on to business: wins, focuses, opportunities, goals, projections. We identify how we can support another and sign off ready to face the week.
I have an 11am traffic deadline; anything going to air tomorrow must be ready for the traffic logs (our on-air schedule) by this time. I focus the next half hour on ensuring that I’ve completed everything correctly for my clients so their messages will be heard by our listeners. This can be a scramble – as our traffic coordinator, Sharon, is fond of saying: The logs wait for no one!
11am arrives, and it’s time for our weekly all-staff meeting. This meeting is a short but sweet all-department check-in, and it’s so nice to see everyone’s face, if only via screen. The Leadership Team gives a brief report on what everyone’s up to and we congratulate the wins.
Oh my gosh, it’s 11:30am already!!!! That’s when kiddo breaks for lunch, so I do too. It’s so nice that we’re home together and have opportunity to eat a leisurely meal or go out for a walk, depending on our mood.
12:30pm and I’m back at my desk. I feel my sharpest in the afternoons, so that is when I schedule my interactions with clients. I love learning about their business objectives, successes, and challenges. In my initial meetings with a new prospect, I try to learn as much as I can about their business and clientele. I then organize these findings for presentation with the Sponsorship Team.
2pm and I’m off to another meeting. This one I lead, so I negotiate with my child for the good computer with the better camera. Kiddo curls up under the desk with the laptop, and I share my client findings with the Sponsorship Team. Here I get creative input from Programming, Marketing, Communications, Events, and Fund Development. This collaboration is so beneficial and allows me to put together a proposal through a wholistic lens, building a true partnership between CKUA and the client.
Invigorated from this meeting, I spend the next hour drafting proposals. This like a game for me: find the sweet spot. It feels like solving puzzles. I scheme and calculate, draft and revise, until I get that “Eureka!” moment. The perfect pitch! My aim is to find authentic connection between the client and our audience, and it feels so good to achieve.
By 4pm I feel completely energized from my day. I’m excited by everything I’ve accomplished and make some notes on what I want to achieve tomorrow. School is out, and I’ve booked the pool in our building for an afternoon swim. Another fine day!
Park Power
