Miki Leaves 101.3FM

There are huge shoes to fill now that the vice-president of Noosa Community Radio, Miki Venn-Brown, has left, after dedicating nine years of tireless voluntary effort.

There were few things that Miki did not do around Noosa Community Radio.

Some of her achievements in nine years include putting together 101.3FM's first ever CD of Sunshine Coast artists, spearheading the campaign to be 2007 Station of the Year, training young and old to become radio presenters, and running the station's website.

On top of all this, she always found time to run her weekly radio program, The Groove, which played only local music and often promoted local bands with live performances.

Miki has now found a new groove as the station manager of 6DBY in Derby in Western Australia.

Derby is home to 5,000 residents, as well as another community radio station, 6DBY 97.9FM, where Miki will be making herself at home as the station manager.

Her journey at Noosa Community Radio began nine years ago, when she became a presenter to overcome shyness.

"I was thinking that I really need to learn how to communicate. I was really shy," Miki says. So she decided she could either join Toastmasters, or try community radio.

Luckily, she chose community radio. "I went along and got trained up in a few weeks," she says.

Miki says that she was encouraged to get a Certificate III and a Certificate IV in broadcasting by the late Jo Masters, who was then in charge of training.

Jo asked Miki to carry on the training before she sadly passed away. "So that probably motivated me more to keep it all going," Miki says.

"And I've done it for four years, and hopefully I'm going to pass it on to someone else to keep it going because we have such a great reputation now.

"I just found this love of training people," Miki says. Over four years she did in-house training, as well as four accredited Certificate III courses. This included the "Ten2Air" class, which trained ten local youths and won a highly commended for training at last year's Community Broadcasting Association of Australia awards.

Miki will be using her training skills in Derby to try and increase the community's involvement in their community station.

She says that 6DBY has just three volunteers, along with five paid presenters, so she will be aiming to recruit some more.

"But apparently the nature of the beast over there is that it's hard to get volunteers who stick around. But maybe that will be one of my focuses, to get some more input from more local people," Miki says.

Miki says she is joining Noosa Community Radio's other alumni who have graduated to paid jobs in the radio industry, which include ABC Coast FM's Annie Gaffney and Mix FM's Stephen Clarke. But, she adds, "I must be a bit of a slow learner, because it's taken me nine years."

She says one of her favourite memories was almost missing the announcement that 101.3FM was the 2007 station of the year.

"I was so nervous, because I knew we'd been nominated, and I knew that we'd have to say something. So all during the dinner, I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink, I kept ducking out to the toilet, and I knew it was coming up, so I couldn't sit still. I went out again, and I got talking to this guy, and I couldn't get away. So I said, 'I'd better get back, we're up for an award'. And as I walked in the door, I looked up and it had 'Noosa Community Radio – Radio Station of the Year'.

"And I thought it was just going through the nominations, and I saw Sherry on her way to the stage. And I ran up to the stage from the back of the room. And then I couldn't speak, because I was out of breath. She was talking, although I of course wanted to say something. But I couldn't. She thought I was burping from champagne, which I hadn't drunk!"

Miki says many things at 101.3FM have been an "absolute joy".

"I really believe in community radio, because of what it's done for me," she says.

"Seize the day, because you can do anything you want here. If you have a dream, then there's nothing stopping you from getting it happening."

Miki, we miss you, we thank you and we wish you all the very best!

Article by journalism student, Carlos Robinson, Youth Rep, Noosa Community Radio

Back to top