About Us

Contact Information

Physical Address:
Mountain View Campus, look for the portable classroom near 1919 Blaine Street, opposite the golf course.

Mailing Address:
KPTZ / Radio Port Townsend
P.O. Box 2091
Port Townsend, WA 98368

Mission Statement

KPTZ will positively contribute to the quality of life in the communities it serves by providing:

•  A community-driven radio service that is educational, entertaining, informative and relevant,
•  An inclusive forum for members of the community to constructively express their ideas, opinions and concerns,
•  A lasting service of high quality in the areas of broadcasting, management, funding and programming,
•  Exposure to music, art and culture, issues and current events.

A Brief History

2007

Starting a community radio station in Port Townsend had been attempted twice before, nevertheless in the summer of 2007 Sherry Jones, Colin Foden, Collin Brown and Ann Katzenbach came together when Sherry realized there was a brief window of opportunity to apply once again. Radio Port Townsend was incorporated as a non-profit corporation on August 17th., 2007.

2008
After a lengthy application process the FCC granted KPTZ a license to construct in 2008 with 3 years to complete the project. The project was managed by a Board made up of the original four founders.

2009

We received our federal 501 (c) (3) non-profit tax status in June 2009, effective as of the date of incorporation. In July we applied to the Public Telecommunication Facilities Program (PTFP) for a grant representing 75% of a total of $197,000 to equip a studio and transmission site. We raised close to $50,000 from our local community and received the grant in October 2009 with 18 months to complete the project.

2010

After steering the project for almost 3 years, in May Sherry Jones decided to step down from the board and Colin Foden became President. We were joined by Public Radio veteran Larry Stein and engineer Bill Putney on our board of Directors and welcomed the advise and expertise of engineer Lou Schneider. In the spring we signed a five-year agreement for space at the Mountain View campus. The 750 sq. ft. portable classroom was turned into a first class studio space almost entirely by volunteers. In August we finally signed a land lease for locating our tower, antenna, and transmitter. In October we received the modified construction permit necessary to build the station at the new studio and transmitter locations.

2011

Weather conditions caused us to extend the deadline for the PTFP grant, however, the tower was raised in April and on May 11 we were awarded the FCC License to broadcast. Combining the brilliant engineering expertise of Bill Putney and the powerful programming vision of Larry Stein plus scores of hard working volunteers we went on the air 24/7 May 14 2011. We celebrated with a launch party at the NW Maritime center that attracted over 500 of our community friends and neighbors. In July we completed an interface to the county emergency systems and on August 12th we celebrated 3 months of broadcasting and the end of our “sea trial” phase with a continuous 14 hours of locally produced programs.October 12 through 18 was our first on-air membership drive and 320 people became members with close to $24,000 in donations. During the pledge drive we added a new phone system and made available a test of internet streaming.
November 29 Kris Shapiro is appointed Station Manager and has agreed to continue on a volunteer basis. Several other critical support positions are filled by our amazing volunteers. The Board of Directors begin separating from daily operations.

2012

In January we prepared the 2012 Budget, completed training for a number of new DJ’s, developed policies around program content and podcasting, completed the SoundExchange reporting for the 4Q 2011 and tackled many of the administrative challenges of running a community radio station. Late in the month we were delighted to add Lee Erickson to our team as Volunteer Coordinator.

Board of Directors

Colin Foden, President

I grew up in England on mothers milk and BBC radio. I’ve never separated from the radio. I hope that my experience with non-profit leadership, business management and technology will help build a station where we can hear friends and neighbors, listen to commentary on our area and feast on the eclectic sounds of this wonderful corner of Washington.

Collin Brown, Treasurer

Collin a professional life coach who believes that KPTZ gives us a voice to deepen our experience of living in community. Having spent his professional career as an educator, he is excited by the potential for learning radio offers. While he appreciates the creative expression all music offers, he’s partial to global, folk and classical music, and he looks forward to local musicians performing live from our studio at KPTZ.

Ann Katzenbach, Secretary

Ann was Arts Editor at The Leader during the 1990s and has been a radio fan since she was old enough to enjoy “The Shadow.” Community radio holds out the promise of keeping community informed, entertained, and connected. She would like to see today’s arts’ community flourish by providing information and in-depth discussion on fine art, drama, music, and writing. The same wish can be applied to every field of interest from politics to health, from gardening to celestial navigation. She believes the possibilities of Community Radio are endless.

Larry Stein, Director of Programming

Larry has been involved in public radio since the mid ’80s, after years of documentary production in film and TV. Since he picked up a small recorder and microphone, he hasn’t touched a camera. He has covered arts, politics, disasters, and has produced radio drama with BBC directors, and trained many reporters who you hear on community and public radio broadcasts all over the world. He loves the opportunity to help Port Townsend develop a new, distinctive voice.

Bill Putney, Chief Engineer

Born in California and raised in the Los Angeles area. Bill became interested in electronics and broadcasting in Middle School. His interests were always focused on the technical aspects of radio and audio engineering and production. He was instrumental in development of radio stations in High School and College in addition to involvement in theater arts. Early on he worked as an engineer at small and medium size FM stations in the Los Angeles area prior to joining the military during the Viet Nam era. Though his career took him into telecommunications and data networking, his interest in radio broadcasting persisted. Bill has been involved with Radio Port Townsend since November of 2009 when he joined the team to share engineering duties.

Site Credits: Web design donated by Firefly Web Design Photo by: Doug Lee