By joining KNOM, our volunteers become part of a history that stretches back to even before our first broadcast.

As part of each year’s volunteer orientation, general manager Ric Schmidt conducts a history session to give our newest hires a primer on this heritage.

This year, by happy coincidence, the session (pictured above) happened on our anniversary: July 14th, 44 years to the day from KNOM’s first broadcast in 1971. The photo at bottom shows an example of the type of history Ric shared: it’s a snapshot of KNOM volunteers in 1984, in which a then-brand-new volunteer Ric Schmidt, pictured standing, was enjoying a going-away party for fellow volunteer M.C. Yanikoski.