From all the years
of hard work…
Christ "Chipper" Folk
Brian Nelson
The smiling faces…
And the close friends…
We’re blessed with 44 years
of wonderful memories.
Liz Westgate, Sue Gorman, & Amanda Allen
This website has been intended to convey the WAVM experience. However, apart from listing what WAVM and its students have accomplished, the personal aspect is very difficult to get across. Keep in mind that WAVM has been a second home to many, and with so much time spent among peers, the students are often like family. Of course at times, as with any family, there were rivalries and squabbles, but there was also a lot of unity.
By the way, this camaraderie transcends generations. When former-members and present WAVM students now meet, they share common ground. Their mutual experiences are topics, about which they can speak proudly because all of these generations have made WAVM what it is today. In summation, WAVM has developed over the years from a small radio station into one of the most prominent high school groups in the town and area. Along the way, the station traveled new avenues and continually grew. However, the mission has always remained the same: to be a school within a school that teaches real world experiences while serving the local community.
TRIVIA ANSWER
“W” is the designation for any station East of the Mississippi River, but what do the letters “AVM” stand for?
“A” stands for Assabet
“V” stands for Valley
“M” stands for Maynard
Presently, WAVM’s staff hovers around 100 or so members, representing students of the Maynard High School and the Fowler Middle School (Junior High School). Throughout the year, these students operate all aspects of the broadcasting facility, which now includes radio, television, and the internet. WAVM continues to be one of the only student-run radio and television stations in the country.
Radio Broadcasting on 91.7 FM begins at 6:30 a.m. with Reveille Shows (known as Maynard in the Morning), which concludes when the students head to class 7:30 a.m. Scheduled broadcasting resumes at 2 p.m. with hourly shows until sign-off at 9 p.m. During the weekends, WAVM still covers select Saturday events and regularly broadcasts Sunday morning church services. There are also radio shows at the students’ requests during Summer vacation.
Cable Channel 8/28 airs pre-recorded and live television shows and other content throughout the September to May school year and primarily between the hours of 6 and 9 p.m. At all other times, Public Service Announcements on the Community Bulletin Board are shown. Regrettably, TV 8/28 can only be seen within close proximity to Maynard with the exception of the Beacon Santa Telethon weekend when broadcasting is extended to other public access television stations around the area. However, starting in 2017, WAVM has acquired the resources to stream events like the telethon and basketball games on Youtube for the first time ever.
After 44 years, who knew or expected WAVM to have lasted this long? Who thought the station would be going stronger than ever? And for that reason, we cherish WAVM even more.
Fortunately, there will always be community events to cover and the public to entertain. Each year brings a new group of students to learn the previous generation’s lessons and, by doing so, hopefully, to take a step further. As long as there are these students, WAVM will have a purpose and a future.
In essence, WAVM is still just beginning…
