10 Questions with ... Lewis Leonard

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Went to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, majoring in Electrical Engineering in 1963. At UAF I was a DJ/engineer at the campus public FM station one semester. In 1967 I went to the University of Colorado (CU) for Aerospace Engineering and Alpine Ski Team. In 1968 I transferred to the University of Houston (TX) to study Theatrical Lighting Design. DJ/producer at KPFT Houston 1970-71. Co-founded KSKA/Anchorage in the 1970s. Founded KEUL/Girdwood late 1990s. President and CEE; the 'E' stands for everything. Worked in road construction for 30 years.

1. How did you become interested in radio?

In junior high school, I was into sound reproduction. One of my friends in high school was a DJ and audio engineering fanatic; we were constantly steam-punking audio equipment to produce the grandest sounds and visiting Anchorage radio stations.

After attending school at U of Houston, my housemates talked me into applying to be a DJ at one of the three Alternative music FM stations. At Pacifica Foundation's KPFT, I was on-air late nights, then afternoons five days a week for a year, beginning just after the station went back on the air after the second bombing of the transmitter. I left Houston vowing to start a radio station in Anchorage.

2. Tell us a bit about how KEUL came out of the Girdwood Community Club.

The Community Club was formed in the late 1940s, just before Girdwood was linked to Anchorage by construction of the Seward Highway. Before that, travel was by Alaska Railroad or small plane. The club was instrumental in bringing electricity, telephone and a microwave relay television broadcast system to the valley communities along Turnagain arm. In the late 1990s I formed an activist group advocating for building (the only) local FM station. After a brief stint as pirates, we got our FCC license and were on the air Labor Day 1998. This is our 20th anniversary.

3. Tell us about Glacier City and how the market is evolving.

Glacier City is the old-school name for Girdwood. Located 45 miles southeast of Anchorage, we serve the state of Alaska's only year-round mountain resort and the Seward Highway, one of two roads out of Anchorage. Our resident population is 2,300, which doubles on weekends. Alaska has its own peculiar oil-based, boom-and-bust economy. Currently the state does not have a comprehensive fiscal plan; military, healthcare and fishing industry are stabilizing forces. Our unemployment is the highest, with job growth second lowest in the U.S.; job count continues to fall. It is said that our current recession will not rebound quickly and will not grow fast in the modern knowledge economy. The Girdwood 'market' is fairly fixed. Our business supporters are primarily in the food and beverage industry.

4. How would you describe the music on the station?

We are primarily a music station with MDs in many genres. We pretty much only play CDs of master quality (WAV, FLAC), not converted from MP3. We're fiercely independent, eclectic, a tad eccentric, and play deep tracks with a non-repetitive playlist. We take pride in crafting the greatest high-fidelity sound throughout our analog studio and FM broadcast chain.

5. Is there a continuity to the mix or is it more of a block programming approach?

There are three modes of audio operation at Glacier City Radio. Live DJs who play whatever they're interested in, mostly in the evenings and on weekends; programs of various genres and lengths produced by other community stations; and an automation system with about 80,000 tracks programmed with a selectively triple randomized algorithm written by our MD.

6. Do you run any syndicated shows or is it all locally programmed?

Mostly local but some imported programs

7. How is the station funded?

We're a non-profit all-volunteer station with funding from three sources -- our listeners, local business underwriting and grants.

8. What is your biggest challenge at the station?

Our biggest challenge has always been operating with a budget of $20,000 to $25,000, finding that major equipment purchase angel and spending wisely. Current minor challenge is ingesting music. My personal challenge is finding and training my successor. Past challenges have been keeping the mountain-top transmitter on the air during snow and ice storms, resolved with a new RF fold-back transmitter, obtaining our own building in a public place instead of operating out of a home, and every year convincing a major granter that we are, indeed, a recreational resource.

9. What would surprise people most about the radio station?

What would surprise people the most about the station is that we operate a Class A FM station with poverty-level funding.

10. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day ...

... without taking a nap.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time away from work?

I've been a photography fanatic since junior high school in the 1950s where I learned darkroom chemistry skills. From decades of adventure travel, skiing and mountaineering, I've amassed a collection of color slides and film negatives, constantly transferring the best to digital. Recent digital cameras have made capturing the northern lights relatively easy. It's exciting to be under an undulating sky of colors for hours in the middle of a cold night. Learning Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for stills and Premiere Pro for northern lights movies.

What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?

As much as you would like to be all things to all people, perfect your time management skills and don't be afraid to 'just say no'; somebody else will do it and you won't produce failures. I was schooled on this by a graduating senior in my junior year of high school. He was turning over the reins of Yearbook Editor to me. I was his photographer and couldn't always manage my time properly. I couldn't make deadlines because I took on a zealously large workload.