Busy Week

It was an incredibly busy week at FuseFM, so I guess I'll just start with the parade. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to participate in Clare's Irish Festival Parade. There were a ton of people out there, the weather was chilly but absolutely beautiful, AND I even saw the coolest Leprechaun costume ever. I also got to spend some time getting to know Carol, Jim, and Gary B a little better too. :)

If you listened at all last week (and I'm sure you did), you know that FuseFM was hosting its annual Fun Drive fundraiser. That was quite an experience. FuseFM chose a pretty agressive goal of $50,000. I spent a couple hours each day on air, my first being with Tower who I hadn't yet met. It was a pretty powerful week. This station is sooo much more than music. We got to hear a lot from listeners about how the music we play has touched and even changed people's lives--including mine. There were stories and moments that brought tears to my eyes--including once on-air. By Thursday though, it was pretty apparent that we weren't going to reach our goal of 50 thousand dollars, so we geared up for a final day of fundraising on Friday.

The last hour was truly incredible. We had hit the halfway point and pretty much decided that our goal for the end of the day was going to be $30, 000. I finished up my shift and stuck around, hoping to answer phones. They starting ringing, and it was crazy. I took quite a few pledges in just a few minutes and they were substantial amounts. I can't accurately describe the atmosphere in the station at that point--it was intense, emotional, spiritual--truly aweinspiring. The last few pledges, along with those who pledged earlier in the week pushed our total in the course of one hour (pretty much) over $30, 000.00. Honestly, that was an experience I will never forget.

Spending so much time at the station last week reinforced my position as an intern and as part of an amazing team--every single person in that building offered help, support, and a wealth of knowledge tirelessly. Having Rick around this week was beneficial also--he is incredibly knowledgeable about the music industry and will most likely forget more than I will ever learn. Josh taught me a little bit about what goes into organizing the music we play as well. I helped catalog our playlist for FuseROCK, an online radio station we are launching pretty soon.

These week was all over the map for me. I loved being a part of it, and also found it incredibly overwhelming trying to balance my internship, work, and family--and I was only there for a few hours a day! :) The adjustment is getting easier though, and it certainly hasn't stopped being fun. I've spent the weekend compiling ideas for show prep, and hopefully this week will see me "practicing" a little bit more as we head towards the goal of launching my very own show...:)