Hot air waves at WRFM meeting

OUTGOING CHAIRMAN?Keith Martin

Hot airwaves at WRFM meeting


Áine Ryan
aineryan@mayonews.ie

A ROW at last week’s AGM of Westport Community Radio (WRFM) led to a heated verbal exchange and a walk-out by one person. The Mayo News understands the row was over the removal from the agenda of a vote of no confidence in the outgoing board of directors. There was also heated debate over the eligibility of voters, with many of the votes being proxy and postal on the night.
Paddy Guthrie, a former presenter, told The Mayo News last night that he had proposed the vote of no confidence because of a number of concerns about the modus operandi at the station. He confirmed he broadcast his last show on Saturday because, in his view, there was ‘no transparency’ at the station.
“I said goodbye to the listeners of The Time Out Show on Saturday because I believe proper procedures have not been carried out at the station and I feel that some of my colleagues were treated abysmally. I was also very concerned by the number of proxy votes allowed at the AGM,” Paddy Guthrie said.
Another former WRFM  broadcaster Liamy MacNally also told The Mayo News that he had recently resigned his voluntary role, which involved a three-hour show each Saturday.
On the other hand, Mr Diarmuid McIntyre, of Craol (Irish Community Radio Movement) confirmed to The Mayo News that there was ‘a positive outcome to the meeting with the incoming board taking on the concerns expressed by the wider membership’.
“My role at the meeting was a combination of observer and facilitator. It is useful to have an independent person to oversee elections or AGMs. This is pretty normal procedure for community radios,” Mr McIntyre said.
Shareholder, Martin Curry said the postponement of the original AGM had allowed for new members to be registered. He welcomed the ‘independent’  presence of Mr McIntyre.
“Because of the exceptional time it took to go through all the ballot papers there was no time to discuss the issues though,” Mr Curry said.  
Outgoing chairman, Keith Martin, a Labour Party town councillor, said 19 candidates put their names forward for seven positions. He said the successful candidates were Neville Farrell, Ruth Hyland, Aoife Carr, Melissa Cawley, Judy Parker, Stephen O’Brien, Keith Martin and Cllr Tereasa McGuire as a nominee of Westport Town Council.
Cllr Martin said that a fundraising drive and the recruitment of a station manager would be a priority for the new board, who would ratify its officers in the coming weeks.
The meeting, which was held in Hotel Westport on Thursday, April 18 last, was attended by about 80 shareholders, out of a total of 170. The proceedings appear to have been complicated by the fact that the AGM, which had been scheduled for a date in March, was postponed to ensure all proper procedures were in place. This, according to sources, allowed for new members to be registered up to the night of last week’s AGM.

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