How SLVoices Came To Be

ADAM

I’ve always been kind of a geek, even at a very early age. My father was a shop teacher in New York and he would occasionally bring home a Junior Electronics Experimenter device for us to play with. It had resistors, capacitors, photoelectric cells, lights and all kinds of other components on it. Hooking everything up was done with wires that snap clipped to one side of the component…simple point to point wiring. You could make an AM radio, a light detector, motion detector and a whole host of other simple electronic circuits. I was hooked. During that time, I also took a liking to radio and music, spending hours listening to different stations that could be picked up, from far away. Later on, I found an old console radio from the 1940’s at a yard sale, it had an AM/shortwave radio and a record player. Well, that opened the world up to me and I spent hours listening to the Boss Jocks on high powered AM radio stations in the evenings. That or trying to hear international radio stations half a world away via shortwave. This was also during a time when FM radio was still coming of age and some stations would either simulcast their AM station or simply track the entire side of an album with little to no talking. I recorded a lot of what I heard back then and may still have a cassette tape or two, somewhere.   

An important mind shift occurred when we got a set of hand held 2-way radios; they were basically very simple, single channel CB radios. Suddenly I could talk, not just listen. It didn’t take long for me to figure out how to open the back of these radios and start tweaking the circuitry inside, adjusting the frequency, power and more. It was fun, but the range of communications was extremely limited. Little did I know that this was just one more stepping stone. By the mid-70’s, I managed to learn the morse code and just enough theory to pass the Novice Amateur Radio test. Armed with a straight key, some really old equipment and a slew of antennas hanging in the back yard, I pounded out morse code and communicated with other hams from around the country. A couple years and 3 attempts later, I passed the General test and could finally talk to them as well. I even helped re-activate the old ham radio set-up at the high school.

At 18, I somehow managed to land a gig as a part time DJ at a local lounge. 18 was street legal back then and I spent several weeknights spinning records while the patrons danced away. It was an exciting time in my young life, but the long hours and really late nights nearly cost me graduating from high school. Nonetheless, I was hooked and knew that some variation of this was probably in my future. This was also the year I was introduced to my first computers, complete with teletype style keyboard interfaces.

A stint in the Army took me mostly away from these things I loved, but not completely. I did a tour in the Sinai peninsula as a Peacekeeper and managed to activate the MARS radio station for a short period of time, helping others to call home from the other side of nowhere. There were also really high end (Collins) shortwave receivers in some of the staff offices. I was the guy who helped teach others how to use them, so they could listen to news from the VOA, BBC and others.  

After the Army came college (Let’s Go Peay!) where I was able to reactivate the college amateur radio station, making a handful of contacts before someone decided they didn’t understand what I was doing and pulled the plug. That was OK though as my studies in the Engineering Department, marriage (with kids), and part time job didn’t allow for much time to play radio, or so I thought. During this time, I purchased my first computer, a Commodore 16, as I couldn’t afford the better C-64. Even at that, I learned a lot about the computer and was able to use it for most of my college papers. Half way through college, everything changed again, when I landed a job as an overnight DJ at a local AM radio station. It sure beat flipping burgers as a job. During my two stints at that station, I held many titles, including news director. I also did a short stint as a DJ at a local FM station in the area.

Upon graduation, I ran into the old adage of “how do you get a job without experience and how do you get experience without a job?” The engineering field just wasn’t panning out and I ended up back at the AM radio station for Round 2. This led me to an even bigger chain of radio stations in Nashville, on both AM and Shortwave. I knew that most governments had their own shortwave radio stations, but had no idea that the FCC had allowed privatized shortwave to exist here in the US. To me, it was like a hobby gone wild. 100,000 Watt stations (4 of them by the time I left) blowing out what was theorized as about 2.5-Million watts of effective radiated power, and I was the Operations Manager. The General Manager and I did a 15-minute, bi-weekly, behind the scenes show (Ask WWCR), and now my voice was being heard around the world. This was also prior to the internet exploding and computers becoming commonplace in the home. Even so, when the time came, a fellow ham and I developed the first websites for the entire radio station group (5 AM and 4 SW stations). I spent nearly 15 years helping the station group grow, doubling their revenue over twice what it was when I started. The programming was mostly block time, with various talk shows leasing from 5 minutes up to several hours a day. One of our crowning achievements was in the late 90’s, were we actually booked 95% of the available time. Basically we were “sold out,” something unheard of in that industry.  

When it came time to move on, we ended up out in south-central Colorado where I took over as General Manager of Berkey Water Systems. I also ran NMBL Media, an advertising agency extension to Berkey. This kept me involved with radio and print media, producing and booking spots and ads, developing relationships, negotiating rates and more. In my nearly 13 years there, I was instrumental in helping the company double themselves, over 4 times! I also became the science and technical guy behind the scenes, answering the tough questions, coordinating filter testing and analyzing the results, writing in depth technical papers and more.

In early 2017, my wife took very ill and quick, radical changes were suddenly forced upon us. We ended up moving from our mountain home at 9,000 feet, near Bonanza, down into the San Luis Valley. The nearly 1,500 foot change in elevation and some other non-traditional approaches to Martha’s health issues, helped her immensely along the long road of recovery. However, it also meant that I had to step away from my current employment, so we could focus on her needs and a completely different future. Given her condition and the aftermath of what happened, I couldn’t go out and seek a normal job away from the home, her care requirements simply didn’t allow for it. Instead, we started to work together from home and formed our own business. We started a company with the intent of offering the cream of the crop in alternative health and wellness related products and services. For a while, we offered long life, in-line water filters as well as specialized filters for well water, rain water and even your whole house. We also learned quickly that “affiliate marketing” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be; rather a whole lot of work for little return.

One oddity we noticed early on after our move, was the lack of information readily available concerning what’s going on in “The Valley,” as it’s called. There are a few websites and other information sources (some better than others), but to us, sufficient coverage on a macro scale, seriously lacked. Local Chambers of Commerce tend to focus on their own town, and that makes sense. Still, events were happening all the time, all over the valley, but word of what, when and where was difficult, if not impossible to find. Thousands of vehicles travel through this area every day, yet too few ever seem to stop. All this in part is how SLVoices came to be.

SLVoices has a primary mission, to get the word out to residents of this area, about what’s going on. We started out in Monte Vista at first, but quickly expanded out to surrounding towns as well. Given our small team, we effectively promote as many events and public meetings as possible, through our website and various social media platforms. From simple voice over work and commercials to covering events around town, SLVoices is your one stop website to learn more about what’s going on. We believe that events both large and small should have more coverage and SLVoices has become Your Voice, letting others know about you and the story behind what you’re doing. Both Martha and I feel very strongly that this is where we have been led and is a part of the latest chapter in our wonderful lives together. We look forward to meeting and talking with people here, telling them about what makes your venture, your story and The Valley in general, so special.

MARTHA

SLVoices is a venture my husband and I have created that is near and dear to my heart. I spent several years in the radio industry as air talent, an advertising personality, and activities related to public relations. After I left radio to pursue my stay at home mom interests my husband moved into broadcasting management and I remained semi-active in a peripheral capacity. Local interest has always been a passion of mine no matter where we have lived. I’ve found that there are worthy causes and fun family events everywhere and beautiful people giving their time and effort to help and lift up others. I also believe in local, small businesses and the value they add to our families and community. I believe keeping our dollars local helps the entire community and to that end we want to help local small businesses, both store front enterprises as well as home based businesses reach as many potential customers as possible. In my heart I truly believe that’s a mission we are all given and each person has a part in that.

Since moving to the San Luis Valley in 2006 and then to Monte Vista in 2018, I’ve met some fabulous people carrying out this mission. Our goal at SLVoices is to be a place that supports those efforts and helps get the word out to everyone in the area so those efforts can be fully supported by the community.

We’ve also noticed that there are so many sights to see, activities to enjoy, and an extensive list of events happening in Monte Vista as well as surrounding towns and we want to be a comprehensive resource where people can find all the wonderful and fun things to do and see in this area. Do you want your business not just advertised but emphasized? We’d love to have you as our guest, to talk about all the exciting things happening in your business and what you are doing to fill a need for the consumers in our area. Does your organization provide a service? Do you sell a product? Do you offer an opportunity? Would you like to be able to hear churches or other organizations without having to be present? This can be a wonderful blessing for those that may find it difficult to get out and about. Again, we’d like you to be a guest on SLVoices, so you can tell your mission and your story and reach out to those that need what you have to offer.

SLVoices doesn’t expect to be able to meet all the needs of our community, no one person, or one business, or one agency can do that, but we will strive to help those that are meeting needs and do have businesses and add value to our communities and nearby communities to include Alamosa, Del Norte, Center, South Fork, and beyond, to help you get your message out and have a cumulative positive influence in Monte Vista and San Luis Valley. SLVoices is Your Voice of the Valley and we have great plans in place to continue to grow and do just that. SLVoices is your place and your forum to get your voice, your event and your story heard. 

SLVoices is a paid service, we are a business after all, but there are discounts and sponsorship opportunities available for non-profits and fund raising events. So, ask about the discounts if you are interested in sponsoring a non-profit or fundraising events. For example, Betty Sue’s Cupcake Bakery might decide not to do their own podcast, but would like to sponsor an interview with the local Fire Department about their latest fundraiser or community event. In return for their sponsorship, Betty Sue receives a 30-60 second advertisement at the beginning and end of the podcast interview. It’s win-win situation for everyone involved.

Our goal is not only to provide comprehensive information about all things local but also also to promote productive communication for all. Please tell us. You can email your questions to us at Adam@SLVoices.com. Understand we will not air profanity, threats, or any sort of blatant attempt at just being plain ugly nor will we allow inappropriate behavior on our Facebook page “SLVoices – Your Voice of the San Luis Valley“. However, genuine questions and concerns emailed to us will be asked. Understand that our Terms of Service states that if you ask a question we may or may not use your name. You may, however, ask for anonymity and in most cases we will honor that.

So tell us, people of Monte Vista and surrounding towns and counties, who do you want to talk to? What do you want to hear about pertaining to local concerns? We will take your input to the proper people and make this fun, interesting, and informative.