What you paid for

For the first time since I started at NCPR in 2001, I was out of town for one of our fund drives, presenting at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters conference in Portland, OR. I worried (needlessly as it turns out) that the world would stop turning if I wasn't working the crank. And what a turn! You came through with astonishing generosity in down economic times, pushing us nearly 10% over our goal of $175,000. And everyone back at home worked a little extra to keep the website fresh and interesting while I was away. What can I say? The only proper response to such an outpouring of support--expressed in its sincerest form, cash--is sweat and excellence, sweetened with gratitude. You have the first, and certainly the last.

And the evidence is coming in that we can be moved toward excellence in serving the community that supports us. NCPR News is once again making news, taking home two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from this year's round. The first is for continuing coverage of the impact of war at home. You find these stories on our Fort Drum community page and on topic pages for Peace and War, On the Home Front, and The National Guard. David Sommerstein took home honors for sports reporting for his story "Native Americans in baseball's past and present." And the NCPR website was recognized as the best among among small-market radio stations in the region (which encompasses New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.)

Your gifts also support excellence at National Public Radio, whose largest source of revenue is fees paid by station affiliates like us. National Public Radio has won three prestigious Peabody Awards for news coverage this year. They are for reporting on the 2008 earthquake in China, a three-part investigation of the unanswered questions surrounding two men convicted of the 1972 murder of a prison guard and held in solitary confinement for 36 years at Angola prison, and for "The Giant Pool of Money," NPR's collaboration with This American Life.

You give what you can; we try to give our best back. The results are--well--pretty special. Thanks again for your generous support.