Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette
Every year our presenters at Phoenix FM take part in the Billericay Fun Walk – it’s a great team-building exercise, as well as a vital fundraiser for the station as we constantly replace all the bits and pieces that have been keeping our service on FM for the last 13 years.
The event is organised by Billericay and Basildon MP John Baron and has raised over £1 million for local good causes since it started in 2002 to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
It was no surprise that, due to coronavirus restrictions, the event was cancelled this year. Fortunately the event still went ahead as a virtual event – which means we were able to dedicate a weekend in September and do our walks on our own, keeping in touch using WhatsApp and Slack!
Our presenters Xanthe Bearman, Mike Porter, Andy Gardener, Gareth Williams, Nadia Harding, Steve Robertson, Alan Johnson and Stewart Pink along with our sales manager Steve Roach and myself all took to various places in Essex and walked a total of 70 kilometres.
We’ve had an expensive year so far having refurbished our studio and replaced our main mixing desk, so we’re hoping the money raised will go towards some more much-needed equipment that will continue to keep our programmes on air all year around.
