AKRON, Ohio – The Summit WAPS public radio station is headed into the new year with a new studio, new equipment and a renewed energy for supporting local musicians and forging community partnerships.

The Summit, which operates on 91.3 FM in Akron and Canton, and 90.7 FM in Youngstown, has been licensed by Akron Public Schools since 1955. For the past 41 years, the station operated out of the Conrad C. Ott Building on Akron’s South Side, general manager Tommy Bruno told cleveland.com during a recent tour of the new studios in Ellet Community Learning Center.

“It took about five years [to plan the move],” Bruno said. The station worked with the school district, which opened the new high school this year and built the 5,000-square-foot studio space specifically for The Summit.

The station, which has seven full-time employees, has about doubled in size and drastically updated its technology.

“Now, all the boards are digital,” said Nancy Sinning, membership director of The Summit. “Before, we had used tape to keep 50-year-old equipment together.”

Added the station’s sales director, Laura Smiley, “We’ve essentially gone from a rotary phone to a smart phone.”

The Summit has been financially independent from the school district for about 13 years, Bruno said. Its $1 million annual budget is funded by memberships, business underwriters and grants. The move to Ellet was paid for by a $750,000 capital campaign.

The station plays a handpicked mix of rock, indie, folk, reggae, blues and other genres of music, with about one in three songs coming from a Northeast Ohio artist. Its local programming includes Rock & Recovery, The 330 and Kidjam, which is a partnership between the station and Akron Children’s Hospital’s Expressive Therapy Department.

Instead of transmitting to the former antenna near the former Rolling Acres Mall on Romig Road, The Summit sends all of its signals via high-speed internet, Bruno said.

The studios, painted the orange and blue theme of the station’s logo, include two broadcast and recording studios and four editing suites. The crown jewel is the new Studio C – an intimate stage where bands visit for live performances and interviews, which are also broadcast on Western Reserve PBS.

As artists play for station members during Studio C performances, they will be facing a floor-to-ceiling mural of important figures from the station’s history – including former Music Director Bill Gruber, for whom the new studio is named – and musicians from Northeast Ohio, including Akron natives DEVO and The Black Keys.

The station has more than 2,000 members, who pledge an average donation of $174, Sinning said. Members are invited to more than 60 Studio C performances each year.

Bruno said 2020 is going to be a “major year” for The Summit as it settles into its new home, and gets to know the 1,200 “neighbors” it has down the hall at Ellet CLC.

Students in Akron’s College and Career Academy for editing, production and web design will be able to get some hands-on experience at the station, Bruno said. The Summit won’t teach any classes, but is looking forward to offering opportunities for students to learn about what goes into radio production.

“We’re all about community, education and music for our listeners, and the community that surrounds all of that,” Sinning said.

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