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Blog: Partnerships

As we all prepare to celebrate the Holiday season, I find that WMUK has much to celebrate in the way of our partnerships this year. In fact the achievements WMUK made in 2015 could not have been accomplished without the cooperation of our local partners in the community.

  Most recently, we partnered with The Resource Center, the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership and with StoryCorps to bring in the OutLoud Initiative to Kalamazoo and capture stories from the LGBT community. This partnership resulted in bringing in Dave Isay, StoryCorps founder and in honoring the stories of 36 participants recorded in OutLoud.

Throughout the year WMUK partnered with a number of music and arts organizations to bring concerts, interviews and information about performances or exhibitions to the entire community. A partial list of these partners includes but is not limited to The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, The Gilmore, Fontana, the Kalamazoo Bach Festival, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, the Battle Creek Symphony, Wellspring, the Kalamazoo State Theatre, Opera Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo Valley Potters and the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.

Many of our partners in 2015 were right here on the Western Michigan University campus. The WMU School of Music, Miller Auditorium, The Richmond Center for the Visual Arts and The University Theatre, WMU Center for the Humanities WMU College of Fine Arts were all partners with WMUK in advancing our rich cultural scene on campus and in the community.

Last Spring in our pledge drive we partnered with Kalamazoo River Valley Trails and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. This is an excellent example of how WMUK partnerships lead to improvements in our community and benefit all who live in Southwest Michigan. Partnerships with Human and Social service organizations are a regular part of our Spring Pledge Drive.

Finally, I want to salute the partnership with our listeners and members. You might have heard some of those listeners in the recently aired testimonial spots. We recorded these comments this summer from those attending the KIA Art Fair, Kalamazoo Pride Day, and the South Haven Art Fair. For almost sixty-five years WMUK has served the community. The success we’ve had is due in no small measure to you, our listeners.

Gordon Bolar was WMUK's General Manager from 2011 to 2016. He joined the station in 2006 as Development Director. After retiring as General Manager, Gordon has continued to review theater for WMUK.