As Executive Director, Peter Payette's job at Interlochen Public Radio is to make sure that IPR remains a vibrant source of music, news and stories for people in northern Michigan and beyond.
In his slide show entitled IPRs Second Century Peter described the history of IPR, as well as where it is headed. An important individual from the early years was Joe Maddy, a conductor and founder of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Back in the 1930's Maddy won an epic battle with the union over a concert involving high school kids and the New York Philharmonic.
Today with Points North a major focus is on enterprising journalism. A recent highlight for IPR was the production of Science Friday at the State Theater.
IPR connects with people in Northern Michigan and through a social media campaign has developed more listeners outside of this area. IPR sees a collaborative future and in that regard has partnered with businesses within our area, including the Garden Theater and Stormcloud Brewing Company.
We are fortunate indeed to have Interlochen in our midst.