KICY to Dedicate 50,000-Watt Transmitter, New Towers

The new Bill and Arlene Hartman Transmitter Site provides KICY the capability to more effectively reach residents of Russia and Northern Europe with the gospel message.

Guests at the dedication, which begins at 3 p.m., will include Gary Walter, executive director of the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism, and Rob Hall, associate director of technical and legal services for the department. Walter and Hall are members of the Arctic Broadcasting Association board of directors, an affiliate corporation that owns and operates KICY.

Through a special permit from the Federal Communications Commission, KICY will operate with 50,000 watts of power, beamed towards Russia each night through three towers. "You couldn't ask for a better frequency (at KICY), especially during the winter and at night," said Dave Oseland, KICY general manager from 1999-2000 and now director of the nationally known Christian radio Primetime America originating from Chicago. "People don't realize what a gem the Covenant church has up there," Oseland said.

Oseland's said during his tenure, KICY would occasionally get reports from Eastern Russia and Northern Europe stating that its 10,000-watt radio signal was reaching them. KICY's capabilities have increased markedly since then, giving general manager Dennis Weidler plenty of power to impact the Christian community in western Alaska and beyond.

The new transmitting site is named in honor of Alaskan radio pioneer Bill Hartman and his late wife, Arlene. Hartman retired from KICY's board of directors last November after 40 years of service. He was a founding director of KICY and installed the first antenna when the station began operations. More recently he completed survey work for the new site, which is located about three miles outside Nome.

"The board wanted to honor Arlene's memory and Bill's contributions to KICY and the development of radio," Hall said in explaining the naming of the new site in the couple's name.

For more information on KICY, the June 9 dedication and a fund-raising drive under way to support its work, contact Weidler by telephone at 907-443-2213 or by email at office@kicy.org. Information is also available by visiting KICY's web site at www.kicy.org.

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