On the air: KLEM named 2009 Business of the Year

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Dave Ruden, KLEM's operations director, reads news headlines to afternoon listeners of the Le Mars radio station, which was honored as the community's 2009 Business of the Year. [Click to enlarge]

But just as essential to Le Mars are the sounds. And those sounds are beamed out to homes, cars and businesses for miles around via KLEM's radio waves.

The Le Mars radio station was named 2009 Business of the Year at Saturday's annual Chamber of Commerce dinner.

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Accepting Saturday's 2009 Business of the Year honor, KLEM staff members receive applause for their professionalism and dedication to serving the community. From left: David Westergard, Dave Grosenheider, Sue Brandenburg, Allyn Anderson, Kathy McCarty, Dave Ruden, Joanne Glamm, Denny Callahan. [Click to enlarge]

KLEM, according to Chamber President Dave Shaver, is a thread that not only runs through the community and connects various entities, but it also helps hold the community together.

The radio station supports other businesses and organizations throughout the community, provides a reliable source of news and continuously reminds each listener they are part of the community, Shaver added during his speech presenting the award.

"It says a lot about a business when the employees are as well known as the business itself," he told the crowd of more than 300 people. "Dave, Denny, Joanne and Rudy are all welcomed into our homes and recognized simply by their first names."

It was the same with Larry and others in the past, he added.

"Blending their professionalism with their unending commitment to their listeners, the staff has created a relationship that remains from one generation to the next," Shaver said.

Accepting the award for KLEM, Dave Grosenheider, director of sales for KLEM's owner, Powell Broadcasting, tipped his hat to the radio station's employees.

"It is such an honor for the hard working people at KLEM," he said after the event. "They all work together as a family to help the clients and help each other."

The core crew of KLEM's employees together have about 170 years of experience and service with the station, Dave Ruden, KLEM's operations director said.

Several of the staff have worked with KLEM more than 30 years.

"When we look at old pictures, we say, 'Wow, we were young!'" Ruden said with a laugh. "We really know each other well -- we are like a family."

The staff also knows the community well, a value that's been a strong part of the station's history since it went on the air in the mid-1950s.

Ruden said the late Paul "Ole" Olson, who purchased the station in the early 1960s, did much to instill that value.

"Ole really believed in local involvement and being part of the community," Ruden said. "We can help local businesses through advertising and work with organizations and events like the Plymouth County Fair -- they don't survive without volunteers and support."

According to comments from Powell Broadcasting General Manager Dennis Bullock, the company's foundation has gifted tens of thousands of dollars to non-profit organizations throughout Plymouth County.

Bullock's comments were read at Saturday's dinner by Ruden.

Ruden said the staff has adapted to newer ways of running a radio station with computers and the switch from tape recording to digital.

While technology changes may shift the way KLEM does its business in the future, the core of the radio station's work will remain the same, he said.

"As long as there's local flavor to it," Ruden said, "as long as we continue to give people the information they need, it will be strong."