As we bid farewell to 2022 and celebrate the start of a new year, we are grateful for so much at Portland Radio Project.

At the heart of our triumphs and successes over the course of 2022 are all of you…our listeners, volunteers, champions and faithful music community.

From our stalwart supporters – Ric Johnson (Premier Motorsports) and Bill McCracken & Pam Husband (BRM Accounting) – to our new community partners – Constance Wealth, Music Millennium and Beneficial State Bank (just to name a few) – PRP stands because of you.

From our amazing team of volunteers – the DJ’s that bring life to our programming, our Music Team that does a deep dive into the indie and emerging music scene (local & worldwide) and our Engineering/Tech wizards that keep the magic happening – PRP stands because of you.

From every musician that reaches out to PRP to submit music or request a Drop-In Session to each person that tunes in & jumps on our Talk Board to tell us they are enjoying our music – PRP stands because of you.

You are the pillars providing essential support – and acknowledging that with just a simple thank you falls short of how indebted PRP is to each and every one of you.

2022 has been a year of transition – our station Co-Founder and Executive Director Rebecca Webb retired.  Rebecca has been the mover and shaker of PRP – giving blood, sweat & tears 24/7 since the inception of our community media resource in 2013.   PRP is what it is because of her tireless dedication and perseverance.    Rebecca, you are forever our Mothership!

In the wake of Rebecca’s retirement, we hired our first paid staff in 2022.  Long time PRP volunteer and fixer-of-all-things Daniel Lin became our Operations Manager.  We fortunately, and rather serendipitously, found an ally in sales strategist and music lover John Stringer who was hired as our Revenue Development Manager.  And after many years of volunteering in a myriad of capacities within PRP, I was honored to assume the role of Executive Director.

We spent a good portion of 2022 re-examining our technology infrastructure – do we have what we need for now or what we will want for the future?  And as such, we undertook a new live assist and automated radio playout system along with a substantial website revamp.

While we continued to broaden our mission driven platforms – Evolving Drop-In Sessions and Community Voices – we embarked on a partnership with local venue Artichoke Music for our female & non-binary focused series Listen Up! and opened our airwaves to Benson High School’s broadcasting curriculum with KBPS on PRP.

2022 was not without its sorrows.  We lost our station Co-Founder and Music Director Inessa Anderson; a voice like nonother and an ear above par.   She touched so many lives not only within the PRP family, but throughout the entire Portland music community.

What is in store for Portland Radio Project in 2023?

For starters, we’ve changed our call letters to KPRP LP.  We were patient, and although it took a little stalking, we are official “KPRP LP Portland Radio Project”.    Our vibe is still “smart, friendly, local” but the circle is now complete and we are fully branded as PRP.

We’re focusing on new exciting programming – more live shows, podcasts and expanded listening experiences.

We will continue to strive for sustainability through fundraising drives and charitable foundations that share our mission to elevate local artists and work for equity in the media landscape.

We’ll be extending our reach ever deeper into the PDX independent music industry  – solidifying relationships with our local venues, retailers, trade associations and advocacy groups.

And as always, embracing our local musicians.  They are central to how we support our arts and culture community.

I’m so proud of what’s to come…and so thankful for all of you.

Cheers to 2023,

Veronica

Veronica Bisesti
Latest posts by Veronica Bisesti (see all)