Photo courtesy of Mark Scott.
Mark Scott and David Brady broadcast for their radio station, KOOL 96.9, from the Mt Laurel Spring Festival in April.
What’s the frequency, Chelsea?
It’s KOOL 96.9 FM, a new radio station that’s been broadcasting since October and plays the great classics and the best of today from the 1950s to the 2000s. The nonprofit radio station supports Chelsea and the U.S. 280 area with community news and information along with music.
Chelsea Community Radio came about when Mark Scott approached his brother-in-law David Brady about partnering on the venture with him. Scott has previous experience working in radio and wanted his brother-in-law to be his partner.
“Frequencies don’t come available that often in the Chelsea area,” Scott said. “We applied for it and got it. We wanted it to be a community-based station, promoting Chelsea events, as well as Shelby County events.”
Brady handles the business side, and Scott handles the technical side. This is Brady’s first experience in the radio business.
“Starting out, I didn’t know much about radio, but it’s been fun to learn about it,” Brady said. “I also like serving the community and saw it as great opportunity to do that.”
The station, which is broadcast out of Brady’s home office in Highland Lakes, plays from the music library they have amassed over the years. Scott and Brady do the programming, and the software system runs it. They program it and put the playlists together. They have one part-time employee, Doug Ragland.
Their coverage area is a broad one for a low power FM station, extending from Chelsea to The Summit. About 180,000-200,000 people live in the area. They’ve recently launched a website, which provides live streaming, and also an app as well, the owners said.
The owners said they have been out in the community trying to spread the word and have been surprised at how many people they’ve met who already knew about the station. They were a part of Chelsea Day in October and the Mt Laurel Spring Festival in April. They record the remote broadcasts and play them on air with a delay.
They said one of the advantages to a small station is their advertising costs. Some of the small businesses that can’t afford to advertise on large stations can partner with KOOL 96.9. They want to try to attract more local businesses.
“Our price structure is very competitive,” Scott said. “We want to make it affordable for small businesses to be able to advertise and give a wide range of pricing for them.”
The station has special programming on weekend mornings. Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon features Greatest Hits USA, which gives the history of the songs. Sunday mornings are reserved exclusively for Christian music from 6 a.m. to noon. Scott and Brady said they hope to find churches that may be interested in partnering with the station to share words of encouragement.
On Mondays during the school year, Chelsea High School Principal Wayne Trucks gives weekly school updates at 7:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Scott and Brady said they plan to move into an office space in the Chelsea area in the future, which will allow them to expand their programming. They hope to add Chelsea sporting events and a mayor’s minute and offer an opportunity to students to gain radio experience.
“As we grow, we can bring folks in to do interviews and record whatever we want to,” Brady said.
Visit their website at kool969.org.
