REACHING FOR THE SUMMIT:

a re-print from “The Record”

RCM is a non-profit organization (incorporated) made up of members from the local community who are willing to share their talents, skills and knowledge. Sometimes these volunteers don’t even know what it is they have to offer until they approach us. They are attracted to us because we produce.

Some of them want to be on TV, on the radio, write articles, make a CD, perform on stage, produce radio and TV shows, be sound and video technicians, build websites, design posters and album covers for events and artists, while others prefer to help manage and direct the company through accounting and business skills they have acquired over the years.

Through the services we provide (sound recording, radio, television, graphic arts, events promotion) this bank of volunteers is available to our supporting partners: the community, local artists, Guy Lussier, the Durward Darling Estate, the Town of Brome Lake, the SEM 1492 recording studio in Waterloo, John Cameron Audio, website design company Wabsnet, Singfield Piano, photographer David Anderson, Télévision Communautaire de Waterloo (TVCW), The Record, The Brome County News, internet service provider Iteract, the Town of Brome Lake’s Chamber of Commerce, R.B. Financial Services – Mansonville, the Brome County Agricultural Society (BCAS), lawyer Charles O’Brien and to all of our 60 plus sponsors including McAuslan Brewing – Montreal, Raleigh Canada – Waterloo, Brome Lake Books, Bernie’s Restaurant – Montgomery Center Vermont, Restaurant des Erables – Foster, Earth Alive – Waterloo, Wright’s Store – Fulford, Klaus Bremer, le Relais-Auberge Knowlton, la Caisse Populaire de Waterloo, Gallerie Knowlton, Chauffage Alfred Bessette – Knowlton, VeloBrome, Station Equestre – West Brome, Centre d’Auto Mag – Waterloo, Au P’tit Poulet – Waterloo, Turkey Hill – Waterloo, Station Knowlton, Pizza Lac Brome, Star Café – Knowlton, Le Café Floral – Knowlton, Place Knowlton, Paddie’s Boutique – Knowlton, Fleur de Maison Foster, England Hill, Tim Nicolas – Foster, Picken’s, Claude Rivard, mademoiselle Rose, Matériaux Construction Adam -Waterloo, Uniprix Waterloo, Pur Animal – West Brome and La Vie Sucrée – Knowlton.

RCM is an organization that uses the talents and strengths of its community for the betterment of the community, giving residents a positive vision of who they are and a feeling of accomplishment. Anybody, or organization, can come to us and request help with getting their message out.

We have a radio station, CIDI 99.1 FM and TV outlet TVCW that provide nonprofits with an opportunity to promote their events free of charge. CIDI also makes advertising affordable for businesses. The majority of our advertisers are first-time advertisers who have never had the chance of being on the radio or TV until now. Talk about confidence building. There is nothing quite like hearing and seeing your business promoted in the media.

RCM also gives local residents a chance to be heard for the first time. It’s about adding to our inner pool of confidence, putting our best foot forward and having fun.

With a volunteer team of professional sound engineers, video technicians, website design people, photographers and writers, RCM makes its community come alive on CD, DVD, radio, TV and in print. Presenting who we are in a professional manner to our community and outsiders, by way of today’s multimedia technologies, is what we are all about.

We believe in developing programs that bring our community forward, building self respect in its members. Confidence is what RCM provides as a service and our mission statement, “Being Who We Are”, reflects this commitment. To feel good about oneself is to exude confidence, and as a community very important when it comes to having economic success and a cultural identity.

Our listeners speak French and English, are 24% English mother tongue, 76% French mother tongue and 33% are bilingual (according to Statscan). Therefore we need to represent their interests in all that we do. Currently we have over 20 shows produced for CIDI, a mix of music, information and talk, featuring both languages. For TV we produce the Stop! Show a mainly French music program that features both languages in song and spoken word, and our live events reflect our bilingualism as well.

The Town of Brome Lake recognizes this and has embraced the “little radio station that could”, recognizing that it will be better off with such a voice rather than without one. And, once we reach the summit of Patch Hill the message will spread even further throughout Brome Missisquoi and parts of Shefford garnering the support of other municipalities.

As a result, the Town of Brome Lake, a major supporting partner for RCM, will be credited with having helped define the culture of a community through its foresight and wisdom.

For more information on how you can participate in RCM’s local Townships community radio station CIDI and its other multimedia projects, please contact us by email or call us at 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098. Maurice Singfield is General Manager of Radio Communautaire Missisquoi and vice president of its board of direcors. email: msingfield@rcmmedia.org