On-Air Fall 2020

As eastern and central North Carolina’s 100% listener supported Catholic radio station, it is very humbling for all our volunteers to get together twice a year and ask listeners for donations during our live on-air pledge drives.

But our listeners again have answered the call and, with their donations, have ensured Catholic 540-AM Divine Mercy Radio will remain on the air to broadcast “The Word of God Through The Power of Radio”.

As grateful as we are to our donors, we are equally humbled by our guests who came on the air to ask for pledges as well as our volunteers who manned the phones to take donations. We would like to take a moment to recognize our guests and volunteers here.

Fr. Bill John Acosta
John Allen
Ellen Beley
Jackie Bonk
Deacon Capps
Dale Dawson
Fr. Peter Devereux
John Dornan
Tami Fitzgerald
Cecelia Flanary
Keith Flanary
Ryan Flood
Patricia Guin
Sharon Hahn
Larry Henson
Mandy Howard

Larry Henson
Mandy Howard
Bruce Huffine
Andrew Jones
Deacon Josh Klickman
Isabelle Klotz
Peter Le
Msgr. Gerald Lewis
Josh Lonnecker
Bob Luddy
Dick Lyles
Brittany Makely
Ryan Mergen
Dr. Patrick O'Connell
Peter K. O’Connell

Eric & Luci Pasarin & family
Arthur Powers
Edward Pentin
Dr. William Pincus
Fr. Noe Ramirez
Betty Rogosich
Rosalini's Pizza
Elizabeth Sisk
Tamah Sminkey
Fr. Archie Tacay
Mary Kate Travers
Deacon Mike Vandiver
Fr. Joshua West
Ellen White
David Williams

Past Pledge Drives

One Year Anniversary, February 6, 2020

Here we are February 2020. And it’s our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of broadcasting on 540-AM!

Last year February 4, I remember receiving the call from our FCC attorney letting me know that – after 6 months of waiting on the FCC – they finally granted Divine Mercy Radio the owner’s license of the WETC station 540-AM. No one had to tell me the news twice! Within the hour, we were on the air!

When I first had the idea of a local Catholic radio station way back in 2007, my goal was to find a station that would cover Raleigh. But as always, God had a much much better plan. No, not just Raleigh, but every town from Danville, VA all the way to Jacksonville NC. Over 3 million potential listeners. And now, Divine Mercy Radio is THE largest Catholic radio station in North Carolina. THIS was Our Glorious Savior’s Plan.

We’ve had such a blessed first year. For one, we’re paying our bills, which is no small feat. Because of generous listeners, we have been bringing His Love, His Mercy, and His Message to thousands of souls for over a year, and with the grace of God, we will continue to do so for many, many years. My thanks to all of our donors! I know I say this often, but… we really couldn’t do this without YOU!

Also this year, Divine Mercy Radio began doing a few remote broadcasts. What exactly is that? Well, let’s say you have an event at your parish that you would like to have broadcast live on our 540-AM station. We go there, set up our equipment, and, with microphone in hand, we talk to the folks – like your pastor, the event coordinators, the vendors and the attendees. And it’s always a great time! Contact us if you have a special event at your parish coming up.

Although I love a million things about this station, one thing none of us likes, is our nighttime coverage. WETC 540-AM is licensed to broadcast at 10,000 watts during the day, but when the sun goes down, so does our licensed power. In fact, it goes down to 500 watts. That’s quite a drop. So…

We’re going to fix that! We asked our engineers to look into how many watts the FCC would allow us to broadcast at night. The answer – 4,400 watts! A huge improvement over 500.

Our engineers drew up the exhibits, and in late January our FCC attorney submitted the application. (FYI - this won’t be an overnight fix.) The FCC will take 3 to 4 months to review and approve the changes, then it will be another 3 – 4 months for engineers to implement the changes.

Did I mention the cost? $25,000. If you have an extra $10 or $50 or $1000 to send us, we will put it to good use. Go to Catholic540.org and click on DONATE. Nothing goes to me, and nothing goes to our volunteers. Every cent of your gift goes to the needs of the station.

Remember Lent begins soon – Ash Wednesday is the 26th of this month. I hope you will all have a beautiful and blessed Lenten season.

Sincerely,
Cecelia Flanary, Director of Divine Mercy Radio

On-Air Fall 2019

On behalf of the volunteers of Catholic 540-AM - Divine Mercy Radio, I want to thank all of you who donated to our recent FALL PLEDGE DRIVE.

This 100% listener supported radio station would not be able to stay on the air without your support, your prayers, and your generosity.

I hope you will enjoy the pictures of our On-Air guest speakers who graciously gave of their time to help us raise fund during the pledge drive.

Top Row (left to right): Ellen Beley, Fr. Peter Grace, Msgr. Doug Reid, Jackie Bonk.
Middle Row (left to right): Msgr David Brockman, Msgr. Jeffrey Ingham, Mandy Howard.
Bottom Row (left to right): Luci Pereira-Pasarin, Fr.Joshua West, Sr. Mary Shea, Kerry Urdzik

And of course, I hope you will continue to listen to Divine Mercy Radio, so that you are learning your faith, loving your faith, and living your holy Catholic faith.

Be sure to tell others about Catholic540 Divine Mercy Radio. Many of our call-in donors have asked us to send one (or two) of our car magnets. If you don’t have one, and would like to help us spread the word, please send your name and address by using our contact form. Or, if you are near Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Raleigh, they usually have a supply in the parish office.

Again many thanks for the generous donations from so many new listeners, and for the wonderful matching funds from our loyal donors.

Sincerely,
Cecelia Flanary, Director of Divine Mercy Radio