Lin Bender, Former General Manager
I took over as station manager from David Melzer. David called me one day and asked if I would be interested in taking on the role at 3MBS. I also knew Bettty Amsden who had been a key benefactor for 3MBS. Betty encouraged me to take it on and I said that I would only do it if she became more involved.
I had a look at the books and there were certainly some alarming things there. One of my skills is building a sustainable business model for an organisation, and that was what I set out to do at 3MBS.
My vision for 3MBS was for the station to be as the voice of Melbourne music making through live recordings, broadcasts and production of CDs of Melbourne musicians
We introduced the wall at the station which you could sign if you came to the station. You had to be invited to sign the wall. It represented who we are and how relevant we are to music making in Melbourne.
You need to break eggs to make an omelette. One of the very difficult things I had to do was let go of staff many of whom were loved by the volunteers. I came in just after the Global Financial Crisis which was a very difficult time because funds from the sale of Kew had been lost. I was a disrupter, and I wanted more structured use made of our investment funds.
I possibly could have done more to maintain a connection with the volunteers. It was hard because I was so busy dealing with the finances. A lot of that information on the detailed finances you don’t necessarily share with the volunteers. The 3MBS role was one of the toughest gigs I have done, and I have done some tough ones. It was important to do though. Probably some of the decisions we made did not work out, but we certainly did our best to improve the station’s situation at a very difficult time.