Notice from Marvin O'Dell

Dear Western Artists and Fans,

I've just received a kind letter of frustration from the owner of Heartland Public Radio (HPR) telling me that by the end of summer, HPR2, the all-cowboy music channel of HPR, will probably have to come to an end due to lack of financial support. As you probably know, the all-western channel started up last year because there was a wonderful show of support for it from western music lovers and artists. This show of financial support convinced the station management that western music lovers would support the channel if it were established. Some of you are giving monthly to the cause of western music on HPR, and I want to thank you for your sacrifices.

Not wanting to write monthly and hound our listeners for money, I have neglected to let you know that the initial support has been slipping badly over the last few months. I know enough about fund-raising to know that if the need is not kept continually before the public, giving will slack off. But I just HATE to ask for money! It's just not part of my nature. However...I'm writing now to ask if you can make a generous one-time donation for HPR toward keeping the all-western music channel open. If everyone who receives this will send some kind of gift, it will definitely show enough interest to keep the station going. I'm personally going to send what I can, and I hope you will, too.

My feeling about this is simply that we will either keep the station on the air or we won't. (Profound, huh?) I just say that to say that I realize that not many people have extra money just lying around to give away frivolously. Even though I'm seeing gas prices drop a little, they haven't dropped near enough to take the pressure off me, and I'm sure that's true for you, too. And I know that everything else costs money, too. I guess what I'm saying is that we'll have the all-western station because we can afford to keep it on the air or we won't. HPR is TOTALLY sponsored by its listeners - and no one at the station gets paid for anything we do. It is a complete labor of love. And we're glad to continue it if all of us can do something to ensure its longevity.

I have a selfish reason, too, for wanting the channel to stay on the air. My CD gets played there - as yours probably does, too, if you are an artist. :-)

So - that's it. No begging - just stating the facts - we can either do it or we can't, and I understand that. If you can send something, we can receive personal checks and money orders by mail. The address is: Heartland Public Radio, PO Box 461, Branson, MO 65615. Checks should be made out to Heartland Public Radio. You can also use PayPal or a credit card. The following link will allow you to do this online through our secure server: http://www.heartlandpublicradio.org/contribute.shtml. Your gifts are also tax deductible as HPR is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

Remember that your western music goes around the world on Heartland Public Radio due to it being played on the internet. We are currently realizing nearly a quarter of a million unique listeners over any 30-day stretch - which is part of the problem, because the more listeners we get, the more band width we have to purchase :-). But that's a good problem.

Thanks for reading this far, and thank you in advance for any contribution you may be able to make.

For Cowboy and Western Music,

Marvin O'Dell
Around the Campfire
HeartlandPublicRadio.org