WMPG Wrapped 2022
by Caroline Davis (USM Theatre Student and Work Study)
As 2022 comes to a close, we here at WMPG would like to thank our volunteers, business supporters, listeners, and the community of the University of Southern Maine (USM) for their support. It’s been a very successful year for us, and we could not have achieved everything we have without your support.
We’ve been very lucky to have had such a successful year for fundraising here at WMPG. We had hoped to raise $55,000 during our Spring Begathon, and $60,000 during the Fall Begathon. With the help of our very generous donors, we surpassed both of those goals! Thank you to everyone who called our on-air DJs, mailed donations, or stopped by in person to show their support for their local community radio broadcasters.
Renovations and updates to the radio station have been in the works for a few years now, but many of our plans were finally realized in 2022. We got a new console, rearranged the setup of the main studio, and renovated our performance lounge, just to name a few of the updates. We were also lucky enough to have local artists Tom Lowell and Lee J Giles paint some new artwork on the doors of our live lounge and production room. Many thanks to them, to our technical director, Craig, and to everyone else who helped make these renovations possible.
Over the summer, WMPG hosted a series of catered neighborhood block parties with music, raffles, and other assorted entertainment. We were so pleased with the local turnout, and are so grateful for the support of our vendors– Quiero Café, Soul Food Paradise, and Leonardo’s Pizza– and our sponsors– Bangor Savings Bank and What Mama Wants podcast. 
Many thanks to Funtown Splashtown, Maine Wildlife Park, and everyone else who donated towards raffle prizes, and of course to our volunteer DJs – Jon, BC, and Luc for DJing at these events.
Our annual WMPG Record Sale returned after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a scaled-down driveway event! The usual LPs, CDs, and trinkets were received very well, and we were so pleased with the community support. We could not have pulled off the event without the help of our management team, volunteers, and work study students.
In partnership with USM’s Osher School of Music, WMPG did a live remote broadcast of the university’s annual Joyous Sounds for a Festive Season concert at St Luke’s Cathedral in Portland. DJs, Bill Audette and Rockin’ Rick , also interviewed OSOM faculty member Amanda Roswick on The Night Train Show ahead of the USM Jazz Ensemble’s winter concert, and the OSOM’s Alexandra Dietrich, Mary Holt, Dr. William Kinne, and Dr. Malinda Haslett were interviewed on Music and Me.
WMPG partnered with USM’s Recovery Oriented Campus Center (also known as the ROCC) in honor of National Recovery Month this past September for the ROCC Open House. We spoke with Chris Colson about the organization, our very own Development Director, DJ Annella, played some tunes at the open house, and we did a live broadcast of the event for those who couldn’t make it to Gorham.
Our student DJs have kept very busy connecting their fellow USM students with WMPG through campus events. In addition to tabling at the various orientation and student engagement events, WMPG DJs, interns, and work-study students have also hosted performance events at Lower Brooks on the USM Gorham Campus. Between our monthly open mic nights and the spring Battle of the Bands, we’ve been so proud to help highlight the musical students of our student community. Many thanks to SEAL for partnering with us for the Spring Fling Battle of the Bands, to everyone in the WMPG family who helped organize and run these events, and to the USM community for coming out and supporting their fellow students and WMPG.