Abbotsford – CIVL-FM is humbled once again to be recognized as the number one campus radio station in Canada, after accepting the inaugural recognition last year. The award, established in 2021, to recognize the best of campus and community radio stations, is in partnership between the Canadian Radio Awards from Broadcast Dialogue, the National Community and Campus Radio Association (NCRA), and the Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC).

Recognized in the medium market campus station category for 2021, this year’s awards amalgamated market categories, leaving small market ‘oldies’ community station CINB-FM from Saint John, NB as the outright winner of the Community or Campus station award, with CIVL-FM as a runner up, judged by a jury of past and present industry professionals. CIVL’s written submission can be viewed below.

CIVL’s audio submission collects voice acting from the internet broadcast of this year’s 2021 Fraser Valley Music Awards (FVMAs) winners and special guest hosts from the cast of the puppet show. Musical performances in the awarded submission included Jada Klein and Etienne Siew, an excerpt from keynote speaker Simon James, as well as a brief note from Dr. Bonnie Henry, who joined Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medallion recipient, LJI reporter Surjit Atwal, exclusively on CIVL earlier this year.

MHUTT’s Mitch Huttema, UFV alum and Video and Communications Specialist for UFV Communications, shot and edited content for the #FVMA21 broadcast, included in the awards submission. This year’s winning submission was cut and edited by CIVL’s Program Manager and co-op student, Teryn Midzain, who also serves as UFV Cascade Journalism Society Sports Editor for the second year. After multiple winning submissions for this past summer’s separate NCRA awards, put together by previous co-op student Joti Sidhu, and Stephen Munga’s submission for the 2021 Broadcast Dialogue recognition, stay tuned for what exciting content comes next!

To add to Abbotsford’s contribution to campus radio across the country, last year’s medium-market campus station runner up, CFUV-FM in Victoria’s Station Manager, was CIVL alum, former UFV student, and Yale Secondary graduate, Glen Swarnadhipathi! Swarnadhipathi recently stepped down from the NCRA board of directors after becoming the third CIVL representative to serve at least one two-year term in that capacity since 2010.

Finally, CIVL Radio is saying thank you and goodbye to longtime Music Director Audrey MacDonald, and welcoming longtime volunteer Stephen Munga, after launching Chill Rose Radio in 2016, as permanent staff. Munga has also hosted the syndicated !Earshot 20 national charts program for the past year.

Also working for Vancouver’s The Cultch, since 2018, MacDonald entered the part time role of “MD” in 2014 as a volunteer, after spending time at U of Alberta’s CJSR, upon returning home to Abbotsford and enrolling at UFV. Responsible for managing the curation and intake of the thousands of song solicitations CIVL receives annually, thus crafting the modern variety that now characterizes much of 101.7 FM’s playlist rotation, MacDonald has played a leadership role in shaping CIVL program policy and management.

“Reigning 2021 recipient CIVL arguably had an objectively better 2022. While award announcement came the day Abbotsford’s Highway 1 flooded, limiting recognition and disrupting Fraser Valley lives, CIVL rebounded:

1. Met MP’s addressing flooding impacts;
2. Hosted TWO Fraser Valley Music Awards (audio features youth-hosted #FVMA21 broadcast, featuring APTN’s Simon James)+ #FVMA22, our first in-person awards since 2019, at Abbotsford’s first post-pandemic music festival, Jam in Jubilee, in July, awarding $20,000+ between 100 local artists;
3. Emceed Abbotsford’s Canada Day celebration/booked mainstage acts, entertaining 40,000+ attendees;
4. Volunteer Emma Hones became NCRA’s Volunteer of the Year; 
5. Earned NCRA Best Programming: Pop/Country/Rock awards and honour;
6. Reach Gallery/Museum’s Sumas Lake book, (CIVL sponsored $2,000) received Governor General’s History Award;
7. LJI reporter Surjit Atwal received Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medallion; hosted exclusive Dr. Bonnie Henry, Conservative Leadership Candidates Lewis/Charest/Poilievre interviews;
8. Manager Aaron Levy celebrated a record 15 consecutive seasons broadcasting U-Sports Men/Women’s Basketball;
9. Developing neurodivergence/addictions programming;
10. Funded weekly national Earshot20 charts show;
11. Broke ground on historic 92.3 FM repeater tower construction, to implement by 2023;
12. Re-launched www.civl.ca;
13. Earmarked $25,000 towards IBPOC media bursaries;
14. Initiated semesterly Humber Music Business lectures by NCRA staff.

Respectfully,”