I strongly believe that as a broadcaster you have a responsibility to giveback to the community and address the issues that are relevant to the communities you serve. MEGA (KAJM) is a very popular radio station within the English speaking Latino Community in Phoenix.With that said, more than five years ago I met Rich Bauer of the United Phoenix Firefighters Association. He explained to me that there were more child drownings per capita in the Maryvale area of Phoenix than any other place in the country. He went on to say that the reason was that the homes were older and they had pools in there yards with no protective pool fences. This was due to the fact that back in the day, when the pools were installed, there were not any zoning requirements for pool fences the way there is today. He also said that many of the residents in the area simply could not afford to install a fence too.
The United Phoenix Firefighters decided that they were going to raise money and install fences for those in need through their Adopt-a-Pool Fence Program . Rich asked me if we would come on as a media sponsor to get the word out to our listeners and let them know that the fire fighters would install a pool fence for free to those in need.
This was a no brainer for us. The Maryvale area and the west side of Phoenix have historically been very strong areas for MEGA listening. Therefore, we gladly got involved and supported the program with an extensive on-air Public Service Campaign promoting the program. The first year there were fifteen pool fences installed.
Fast forward five years to the present, the firefighters are installing almost one pool fence a day. Today, they installed their 300th pool fence. I was proud to represent the radio station along with Nina Cruz our Promotion Director (whos mother is a firefighter) today and attend the press conference at the home of the 300th pool fence recipient. Others attending were Phoenix City Councilman Claude Maddox, Rich Bauer, Chief Bob Khan, Merl Waschler of the United Way and Pete Gorraiz, President of the United Phoenix Firefighters Association.
What a great feeling to visit with the young family that received the pool fence and see how appreciative they were. It was very clear that they could not have afforded to install the fence on their own.
Oh, by the way... child drownings are down dramatically since the inception of the Adopt-a-Pool Fence promotion.
This is what it is all about..... Serving the community!
Added from AZCentral.com: Family gets program's 300th pool fence
