The Board of Directors of WCQS, the region’s public radio station, has sold its ownership in the office condominium building it occupies at 73 Broadway to Tuckers Town LLC. The announcement was made today by President and CEO Jody Evans.
“It made sound financial sense to sell our ownership and use the proceeds to pay off the station’s long-term debt,” Evans said. The station will remain in its current location and lease space back from Tuckers Town LLC. “For our staff and listeners, nothing changes. We’ll be in the same place, broadcasting the music people love to hear and the news they depend on,” Evans said. “The only difference is that moving forward we will be doing it with no debt.”
Proceeds from the sale will be placed in an existing restricted operating reserve fund overseen by the volunteer board of community leaders. “For the first time in the station’s 30-year history, we have a much-needed financial cushion,” Evans noted. “We have a responsibility to our staff and the community to control what we can and plan for the unpredictable and even the unthinkable.”
One example Evans cited was the loss of Federal funding. “It’s what every station fears – a situation totally out of our control that jeopardizes our ability to stay on the air. This sale provides us with six months of operating funds, enough time to put contingency plans in place. I think of it as our rainy day fund. We hope we never have to use it, but if we need it, it’s there.”
Evans was quick to point out that the sale in no way diminishes the station’s need for ongoing financial support from the community. “Next week we begin our fall on-air fundraiser, and we need people to pledge, now more than ever,” Evans said. “As a community-based public radio station, we can’t operate without generous support from our listeners. More than 80% of our funding comes from right here in Western North Carolina. That support is something that we never take for granted and that we work hard to earn every day we are on the air.”
