Sonshine FM

Free Coffee and Cake

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They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch but there is a free morning tea.

My apologies to those who don’t live close enough to Perth to take advantage of this but my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM will be even tastier during our annual Radiothon next week.

Thanks to Miss Maud and Five Senses, we’re inviting 20 listeners each day to join me and my morning programme guests for morning tea each day from Monday the 24th to Friday the 28th of August.

The morning teas will run from 10:00 a.m. to around 11:30 a.m. and should be a lot of fun. It’d be great to catch up and it’s a wonderful opportunity for me to show off my workplace at the new complex in Como.

We’ve done a similar thing over the last couple of years and had such a wonderful time. The food from Miss Maud is always outstanding and the Five Senses coffee is spectacular. On top of that it’s a lot of fun meeting a variety of listeners and letting people see how radio works.

If you’d like to be part of the fun simply click here to email me at my work email address and tell me which day you can join me. If you’re one of the first 20 replies for each day you’ll enjoy a delicious, free morning tea at our Como studios thanks to Miss Maud, Five Senses Coffee and 98.5 Sonshine FM.

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A slice of history

Feb 3rd, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

4 comments

On the 26th of January 1988, while most Australians were gearing up to celebrate the country’s bicentennial year, a new FM radio station started full time broadcasting in Perth. Australia Day 2009 marked the 21st anniversary of 98.5 Sonshine FM and the official opening of the brand new studios in Como.

An opening ceremony was held at South Perth Church of Christ (adjacent to the new facilities) bringing together community leaders and listeners of the radio station.

Around 500 supporters attended the ceremony, featuring a message from Western Australian Premier, Hon. Colin Barnett, before touring 98.5 Sonshine FM’s new home. Perth media personality Graham Mabury officially opened the complex, reprising the role he undertook 21 years ago when Sonshine FM began on-air.

The new building houses state of the art digital broadcasting equipment as well as the Sonshine FM CareLine, a confidential help line that provides a listening ear to the community.

The video in this post, put together by Sonshine FM’s Ash Wright, gives a short history of the radio station. It runs about 19 minutes and don’t worry about seeing a black screen for the opening seconds of the video … it’s meant to start that way. (Look out for a somewhat younger Rodney Olsen at about the 10:30 mark.)

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Hope for those with Autism

Dec 2nd, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

3 comments

Grab your tissues and watch this video.

A new centre, the first of its kind in Western Australia, designed to help children with autism and developmental delays, was launched in East Fremantle, near Perth, Western Australia on Wednesday of last week.

The centre, known as the Learning, Education and Research Network (L.E.A.R.N.), aims to ensure that children suspected of having autism or developmental delays are diagnosed and receive intensive treatment at the earliest possible time.

L.E.A.R.N. was established by Perth woman Mandy Mason, whose daughter was diagnosed with autism in 2006 at the age of two. That’s Mandy and Juliette in the video.

I had the privilege of interviewing Mandy during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM last week. It was a delight to hear the passion Mandy has for the centre and the help that is being provided for dozens of families.

You can hear my chat with Mandy by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

If you’ve had experience with Autism I’d really appreciate hearing a little bit of your story through the comments section of this post.

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The show continues

Sep 30th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

2 comments

I’m not convinced that I could eat an ice cream that size all at once … but I’d give it a fairly good try.

I’m about to head off for my third day at this year’s Perth Royal Show. It’s day four of the show but I had Sunday off. I’m broadcasting my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM from the show all week.

I may get a little damp on my ride today. There are a few showers about but I’m hoping I won’t arrive too soggy. The ride distance more than triples my regular daily commuting distance so I’m loving the extra cycling.

The broadcast has been fun so far with lots to see and talk about and it’s a welcome change from sitting inside a studio.

We’re broadcasting from a caravan just up the hill from sideshow alley and so we’re getting a lot of passing people traffic. If you’re heading to the show this week make sure you drop in and say hello. This Perth Royal Show map shows you exactly where to find us.

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$2051.60

Mar 11th, 2008

by Rodney Olsen.

6 comments

We were imprisoned for a crime we didn’t commit and the power to set us free was in your hands.

Thank you for making our release possible and helping people with Cystic Fibrosis.

On Friday, together with 98.5 Sonshine FM’s Tim Long, I was locked up behind the microphone, in King’s Square, Fremantle. Our six hour ‘Convict for a Cause’ broadcast raised much needed funding for Cystic Fibrosis WA.

Cystic Fibrosis is the most common life threatening, recessive genetic condition affecting Australian children. It’s affects a number of organs in the body and there is no cure. Fortunately, thanks to Cystic Fibrosis WA, life can be a lot more manageable for sufferers.

During the day we spoke to a number of people who provided listeners with a better understanding of the disease. Amongst those interviewed was Ben Maxey, a brave 12 year old who left his hospital bed to be at the event. Australian Idol contestant and crowd favourite, Chris Murphy, also joined in and busked for his bail. In the photo you can see him busking under the watchful eye of one of the prison guards.

A big thanks to BigDadGib who kicked off the fund raising with his donation as soon as I mentioned it early last week. Thanks Gib.

Convict for a Cause is an annual fund raising event. Thanks to your generosity, we managed to raise $2051.60. Cystic Fibrosis WA is still taking donations so you can still help by clicking here and donating. The tally has already risen since I originally published this post and I’m hoping that we’ll see even more money going towards this great cause.