Twenty jobs, including those of presenters, technical staff and management, have been saved and Gold FM will remain open.
“But it was touch and go, and Friday, 3 March, will go down as one of the worst days in the history of the radio station,” says Brian Emmenis, station manager.
Emmenis says very few people realise how close it came to Sentech switching off Gold FM on Friday.
“They notified us at 08:00 that the switch-off was imminent, and we all went into survival mode to finally secure the funding needed to pay Sentech to keep the transmitter on.
“I am very grateful to every person on the team who worked tirelessly to keep us open. We are now geared to serve the Goldfields in the best way possible,” says Emmenis.
Prominent Goldfields businessman Ari Abatzoglou is now at the head of a team of three directors and ten board members. He says Gold FM remains a community radio station, but will be run and managed like a business.
At an emergency board meeting held in Welkom on Tuesday (07/03), the old board confirmed their resignations, and the new team was introduced. An emotional Caria Stumke, one of the radio presenters, thanked Abatzoglou for saving their jobs.
This drastic change in direction followed the old board having announced the closure and liquidation of the station.
Abatzoglou immediately jumped in and made recommendations to save the day.
“Gold FM is not closing. You ain’t seen nothing yet. We will take this radio station to the next level and make sure listeners want to tune into 103.40 FM,” he says.
Abatzoglou says Sentech was serious in their intention to close the station because of non-payment of transmission fees by the previous board.
“They have already closed 56 community radio stations including The Rock, which was situated in Welkom. We were next, but now the new team has a vested interest in Gold FM, and we will not allow the staion to suffer.”
Abatzoglou is well-known for his commitment to charity and local organisations.
