WKRQ-FM Cincinnati, Ohio was one of 10 NAB Crystal Radio Award winners for 2009. Here is the summary of their 2008 community service efforts that the station submitted as part of their entry:

To paraphrase the Roman philosopher Cicero, we were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race, a creed that rings true for WKRQ. In 2008, WKRQ raised more than $2.5 million for charities, provided 16,000 minutes of public service airtime valued at $2.4 million and devoted 1,558 man hours to the greater Cincinnati community.

From programming to promotions, the WKRQ staff never shied away from stepping up and meeting a challenge to help someone in need. When a Cincinnati family with two sets of triplets were displaced by a house fire, the “Jeff and Jenn Morning Show” immediately responded by creating donation drop-off sites where money, food, clothes and diapers were collected. When a rare windstorm caused a blackout for 90 percent of the Greater Cincinnati area, WKRQ continuously gave power, ice and water updates for more than a week until the city broke free of the nightmare.

In December, the “Jeff and Jenn Morning Show” immediately helped raise thousands of toys for a desperate pastor in Butler County whose church couldn’t provide Christmas for 700 needy families. As WKRQ exemplified, there is more than just a verbal tie between the words community and communication.

Now is the time to begin collecting materials for your 2010 Crystal Radio Award entry, in preparation for the February 2 deadline. Entry information can be found here.