Thank you to our 2003 Volunteers of the Year!

When the staff decides on the Volunteers of the Year there is always some debate. They constantly struggle with the dilemma of having only four categories to honor so many dedicated and talented people. We rely on our volunteers, and would not be here without them. We have volunteer producers who create shows we all enjoy and depend upon. Volunteers help mail out membership statements, which aid in the process of paying the bills. Every department at SPR has or will utilize volunteers in some capacity. Because we recognize the commitment and dedication of our volunteers, and our reliance upon them, we take the month of June to honor you, the hundreds of SPR volunteers.

Julianne Dickelman, on-air fundraising volunteer of the year, is an articulate and enthusiastic guest during the Pledge Drive. Juli, a “gigantic fan of KPBX,” is a regular fundraising guest on one of Spokane Public Radio’s longest-running programs, Inland Folk, bantering and cajoling listeners along with host Dan Maher.

Juli became associated with Inland Folk as a result of her involvement with the folk community as a contra dance caller. Contra dance is an energetic form of group dancing which has some similarity to square dance in that there is an improvisational aspect dictated by the “caller,” who calls out steps to the dancers. It’s part of her own self-care and enjoyment. “It disconnects my head,” she says.

Juli is a board-certified hospital chaplain at Sacred Heart Hospital. Much of her work is to teach self-care to caregivers in the health care community, a necessary aspect of maintaining equilibrium in those demanding jobs. She describes it as “Holy Selfishness.”

Is there a relationship between her work and her KPBX volunteering? “Yes,” she says, “It’s the wholistic peace. Certainly music is a huge part of healing for us as human beings. It’s all that KPBX does that helps create community in the Inland Northwest, with information, music, and humor. There’s a lot of supportive research now about how important all that is.”

Juli first became involved with community radio at station in Nome, Alaska, and found her love for community radio there. Speaking of Spokane Public Radio, Juli says, “I don’t think folks understand how much you folks do with how little. It’s a treasure!”


Pat Garvin, community volunteer, says she is “retired”, but who would know it? This dedicated volunteer for much of KPBX’s history faithfully tallies pledges during the Spring and Fall Pledge Drives and delivers flyers for SPR events. She also stops in to do various jobs for the membership department.

Pat’s role of member and supporter evolved into KPBX volunteer during a pledge drive in 1991. Pat also helped mail the Program Guides when “we sat around the table with sheets and sheets of labels.” While Pat had a brief career in nursing, she spent the majority of her professional life in the role of mother. Pat is the mother of five (and grandmother of three!). One of Pat’s children was diagnosed with autism at a young age. Much of her time became dedicated to activities related to autism and other issues for children and adults with developmental disabilities. “Because so much of my time, by choice, was spent on issues connected with developmental disabilities, I wanted to balance that with other activities.”

Pat recalls a conference in which the keynote speaker encouraged parents to become involved in their respective communities as one way to address that balance. “Since I so enjoyed listening to KPBX, that seemed a very natural choice for me.”

“Over time, volunteering for SPR has become less an ‘outside activity’ and more an opportunity for me to see friends at the station.” If Pat were to sum it all up, she says, “The relationships I have made at SPR are the reason I continue to volunteer.”

When she’s not volunteering, Pat spends her ‘spare time’ golfing, gardening, playing piano, sewing, quilting, and participating in a poetry club. She is especially proud of her three worm trays, and shares the resulting compost with her neighbors.


Paul Paroff, events volunteer, is known to others as husband, father, PTG President, committee chair, employee, volunteer, etc. To SPR, he is “Banner Man.” A Reliability Engineer by vocation, Paul is the man for just about any job the events staff ask him to do at a KPBX Kids’ Concert. Need a banner hung in a difficult place? Need cords routed around the stairs? Paul will figure out the most appropriate action plan and administer it with a smile.

Paul started listening to KPBX sporadically at first, he says, then intently during the Gulf War in the early ’90s. Like so many SPR volunteers, Paul’s first volunteer experience with KPBX was answering phones for a pledge drive. “Once I got to know the staff and became aware of some of the other programs SPR provides, I found that there were lots of ways to get involved.”

Paul started volunteering after the birth of his son. “I was consumed with my career and my friends. I had a vague awareness that I really enjoyed helping others, but never did much about it until (he) was born. I think I started to look around more at the world and think, ‘what can I do to make life a little better for him now and for the future?’ I think that is why I so enjoy helping out at Kids’ Concerts. It’s an opportunity to provide kids with a wonderful variety of musical experiences at an early age.”

Paul’s commitment to children and his community is reflected in other areas of his life. He co-chairs the annual Kosher dinner at Temple Beth Shalom. He is also the 2003-4 President of his son’s Middle school. He is the Spokane chair of a national group that raises money for social welfare programs for Jews throughout the world. In his ‘spare time’ Paul collects and repairs old clocks. He also enjoys reading, watching movies, and backpacking in the mountains of Montana.


Frank Sennett, volunteer producer, is the voice and writer of the Alternative Source, a new program making waves on the air. Frank is a Spokane resident and Montana native who has a long history with the alternative press. He used to be managing editor of Newcity weekly in Chicago until his wife-to-be found a job at a Spokane publication. He now edits the company’s national website, Newcity.com, which he describes as an alternative press network with affiliates from around the country.

Sennett also had an interest in radio, stemming from his time at the University of Montana earning an MFA in creative writing. He produced and hosted an eclectic humor and music program for three years. “I love radio, it’s my favorite medium. I was trying to figure out how to do something positive with alternative press and radio, so I recorded a demo of The Alternative Source with my old pals at Montana Public Radio.