Greetings to all AIR members. I very much appreciate being voted in as AIR Board President. I am hopeful that we can continue to make great strides forward with our tremendous board and the hard work of our Executive Director, Dolores Brandon. These are interesting times for all of us as radio evolves in so many directions. I'm sure all of us are busy trying to figure out how to maximize our work so that it winds up in the as many appropriate places as possible. I am equally sure that we are also trying to maximize our payday for the work we do. These opportunities present great possibilities, along with some challenges concerning the mechanics of placing the work and determining appropriate pay scales. I know in my own work as executive director of Beale Street Caravan that the opportunities of podcasting are great. Yet at the same time I must revisit the language of my artists' clearances to see if they allow me to reuse portions of old catalog in ways other than those stated in the original agreement. As our agreements clearly state, "...For radio broadcast only," I am starting to question exactly what that means and if my legal advisors can assure me that I can use my recorded material of live performances in this new and increasingly important arena.

I would like to congratulate and welcome Karen Lewellen to the board. I am hopeful that both of us can help Dolores continue her great record in securing significant funds for the organization. At BSC I consider this the least fun and most necessary part of my job. I am hopeful that Karen and I can identify additional revenue possibilities and apply our grant-writing skills in a fashion that will help Dolores to secure the organization financially and move it forward.

Finally I would like for many of you to take a moment and ask yourself what you can do for our colleagues affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I would like to share with you a message I received from David Freedman, AIR board member and executive director of WWOZ-FM in New Orleans. David writes:

There is one area down the road that I think AIR could play a real important role -- once we get up and running again, I think we are going to need to move away from all music and have some coverage of issues that affect the cultural continuity of the city. News and public affairs -- as they relate to cultural issues, which from where I sit, really cuts into all kinds of political and economic areas. Frankly, I hate the thought of displacing the music for such, but our number one job right now is to build back our community, not just our community station.

It also occurs to me that national awareness of the issues affecting the cultural continuity of New Orleans may be able to bring some pressure on this situation. There may be an incredibly vital role for AIR producers to use their skills to keep the spotlight on how well the local decision-makers are doing when it comes to safeguarding the cultural infrastructure of New Orleans. I have a feeling that people around the nation will appreciate the importance of some of these issues more than the local power brokers who will be focused on the money.

I hope each of you will give serious thought to this and see if you can come up with any ideas for WWOZ and other members of the New Orleans and Gulf Coast radio community. To me, community building is one of the things radio does best. It is also one of the primary skills of our membership. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year. Thank you again for your continued support.

Sid Selvidge is Executive Director of Beale Street Caravan. E-mail him at sidel@bealestreetcaravan.com, or call (901) 527-4666, fax (901) 527-4302.