RADIO Mansfield’s Peter Brown is a man of many talents.
The president of the community radio station has had effectively two careers before settling in the High Country.
“I was a wildlife manager and then decided that running charities might be the thing,” Peter said.
“The first charity I was the CEO of was Lort Smith Animal Hospital, and I've been on the board of the lost dogs’ home for probably close to 18 years.
“It's Australia's largest animal hospital and it was set up in the ‘30s to provide veterinary care for the financially disadvantaged.
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“We developed a program called Pets are Loving Support (PALS) and by the time I left, we were probably visiting about 40 hospitals and aged care facilities with trained dogs.
“That was pretty powerful.”
Peter also used his passion for wildlife in a lot of his charity work, being the inaugural CEO of the People and Parks Foundation.
“We had a program working with the Children's Hospital and their Chronic Illness Peer Support (ChIPS) program,” he said.
“We took them out camping and we did some really fun stuff with them.”
Peter also worked for Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen charity as it opened its doors in Melbourne and as the state manager for Save the Children.
Despite only relocating to Mansfield permanently from Melbourne a few years ago, he’s been active in the community for a long time before.
“I’ve been coming up here since 1986,” Peter said.
“My partner's family live up here and we always decided we would retire up here.
“We don’t regret the decision at all.”
Peter had never thought about working in radio despite a long-standing support for the essential connection the medium provides.
“I've been a big supporter of community radio for probably 40 years,” he said.
“I listen to the ABC for news, but then switch to community radio in Melbourne for music.
“It was just a logical thing that I started listening to [community] radio up here.
“Then a family member introduced me to somebody from the station.”
Peter already had an impressive and eclectic collection of CDs so getting involved became a no-brainer.
“I think community radio is just fantastic,” he said.
“It reflects the community.”
There are plenty of projects on the horizon for the radio station in the future, with reflecting the community continuing to be a core tenant.
“No one wants all music [on the radio] by an old fart like me so I've come up with this concept of Medfield Youth Radio,” Peter said.
“A variety of schools have expressed interest.
“We are looking to train the kids up and do a weekly youth show.
“It will give them an opportunity to talk about what they think is really important.
“It probably is going to be slightly different to what kids in Melbourne want to talk about.”
Peter is constantly amazed at the influence community radio has locally.
“I like to support communities and I think music can trigger a broader discussion,” he said.
“Playing particular songs lets you, as the host, talk about some pretty important issues whether it's domestic violence or men not feeling comfortable in their skin and give listeners resources on where you can go for help.
“I get calls from people saying that's really good to hear, thanks for saying that.”
Peter is always on the lookout for more volunteers and especially a new treasurer to keep the station running smoothly.
“If you like listening to community radio, put your hand up,” he said.
“We've been granted DGR status in the last week or so, so any donations to the station over two dollars are now tax deductible.”
Peter has plenty more in the pipeline and is looking forward to growing the community at Radio Mansfield as the town grows too.
