Schools
WBFH Has Successful First Day of Biffstock
So far, pledges have brought in nearly $3,000 and the West Bloomfield students of The Biff radio station hope to top last year's total of around $6,000.
The 36th annual Biffstock is under way and after the first of two days broadcasting live, WBFH is proud to be hosting another strong pledge drive.
“I would say it went very well today,” said Pete Bowers, WBFH station manager and electronic media teacher. “There was a lot of enthusiasm in the air as students crowded around our broadcast booth to watch our Biff students do the live broadcast.”
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Students set up the remote broadcast equipment in the cafeteria and went on the air live at 8 a.m. Thursday. The student “air personalities” donned “Biffstock” T-shirts and rotated in one-hour shifts on the air to help raise funds for the Bloomfield Schools’ radio station.
Bowers said the pledge drive brought in support from students, listeners and a few surprise donors. “(Biff students) encouraged those in the cafeteria to donate their lunch change to help support our station and several Lahser students were interviewed by our radio air talent,” he explained.
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“Meanwhile, pledges were being taken at the Andover WBFH studios over the phone and in person. State Rep. Lisa Brown was here and made a donation.”
As of 5:30 p.m., day one of the pledge drive brought in $2,700, with the highest donation coming from the Fred Lavery Co. for $450.
Bowers said the pledge drive is also a learning experience for the students involved and a way to recruit other students into the realm of electronic media.
“The student air personalities are learning how public radio stations – and public TV stations – raise money in a pledge drive to pay for operating expenses. Listener-supported stations have to be creative to get their listeners to pull out their checkbooks in a poor economy,” he said.
“The other side of broadcasting live in the school hallway is for awareness. Several students didn’t know we had a radio station and some were asking me how they could get involved in WBFH.”
Money raised from the 2012 pledge drive will go toward what WBFH refers to as “enhancement expenses.”
“An example would be the cost of transporting students to two statewide broadcasting conferences in November and March. Each charter bus for those field trips costs over $700 each,” Bowers explained.
Last year, Biffstock brought in $5,000-$6,000 and the WBFH students and staff hope to top that this year. The second and final day of the pledge drive begins at 8 a.m. Friday from the main hallway and will continue until 11 p.m.
