The History of WORD SBC 88.3 FM
And ATV658 Adventist Television Bahamas
And the people who made it happen.
 By Barrington H. Brennen, November 8, 2021
Word Format

Danhugh Gordon, Communication Director who designed the station and first manager of the station. 2006 to 2014 Barrington H. Brennen Assistant Communication 2000 - 2008 Communication Director 2015 to 2018 Lavern Sturrup Communication Director 2018 to present Paul Scavella President 2010 to 2018 Leonard Johnson President 2003 to 2010 C. Melvin Lewis Treasurer 2003 to 2021 John Carey Communication Director 2003 to 2006   Kenny Deveaux President 2018 to present Kimberley Bryan Treasurer, 2018 to present Tim Kochis Engineer, Like Talk Radio

Word SBC 88.3 FM started broadcasting officially on Sabbath afternoon, March 31, 2012, at 5:30 p.m. during a special dedication service at the Hillview Seventh-day Adventist Church.  The church was filled with enthusiastic members who were able to watch the cutting of the ribbon and turning on of the signal via a giant screen video link from the studio to the church, located three hundred feet away.

The station started broadcasting by using a 1400 watts transmitter.   The studios are located on the second floor in the South Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventist headquarters, Tonique Williams-Darling Highway, Nassau, The Bahamas

THE STORY
As far back as the mid-40s and 50s, the Adventist Church in The Bahamas sought to have a radio station.  The only Adventist program airing on ZNS Bahamas Radio (National Radio) at the time was the Voice of Prophecy.  It was the longest continuous ruining religious program on that station.

For the ensuing years, many talked about having Adventist own radio and television stations in The Bahamas.  Conference leaders such as Pastor Hugh Roach, was passionate about having a radio station. However, the cost of a station and lack of knowledge, made it very difficult to have a radio station. 

In 2000, over 60 years after the Voice of Prophecy started on ZNS Radio, Barrington Brennen, then assistant Communication Director for The Bahamas Conference, made the first official application to the government of The Bahamas for a radio license.   We then learned that the application fee would be $10,000.  Brennen did a thorough research about setting up a station and sought the help in 2000 from Life Talk Radio (then out of Texas) and Sharon Dugeon, manager of WAUS Radio, on the campus of Andrews University, Berrien Springs Michigan.  We learned that to construct a tower and obtain transmitters would be costly.  Nevertheless the license was never granted.  

In 2006, Pastor Leonard A. Johnson, president of the South Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventist along with Conference  Treasurer, Pastor C. Melvin Lewis; and Dr John Carey, the Communication Director at the time, proposed to the Conference Committee, to invite Pastor Danhugh Gordon of Central Jamaica Conference, to come to The Bahamas to be the Communication Director and to help plan for, and build the radio and television stations that we all were dreaming about.     Pastor Gordon arrived in The Bahamas in December 2006 and got to work making the then current Adventist television more vibrant with local content and began planning for a radio station.  

A major hurdle to have a radio station was deciding where to have the studio.  Pastor Gordon, with is creative thinking, suggested that a the storage and copy room on the second floor in the conference office, was big enough to be divided to create the radio studio and broadcast room.  Hence, his idea was accepted and the plans began. 

Pastor Gordon sought the assistance to two Adventist professionals in the area of radio tower construction.  They were Winston Ash, a former vice president of Bahamas Telecommunication Cooperation, responsible for infrastructure; and Anthony Whylly, an experienced tower rigger who had installed and maintained some of the tallest transmission towers in the country.   They both played an integral part in getting the radio station started.

TELEVISION GROWTH
In 1984 3ABN Television (Founded by Danny Shelton)--a self-supporting Adventist television station (Not owned by the Adventist Church) out of Illinois, USA started around the world via satellite.   As soon as Bahamians found out that 3ABN was  available via satellite, hundreds of Adventists purchased satellite dishes to access the program.  Then in 2000, Pastor Keith Albury, president and Pastor Leonard Johnson, secretary communication director, negotiated with Cable Bahamas to have 3ABN as a part of a cable package.  Pastor Johnson was very instrumental in persuading the director of the cable company to include 3ABN in the package.  People with cable subscription would need purchase a set top box and pay $5 extra to access 3ABN, because it was not on the basic package. This would require an annual fee of $18,000 to Cable Bahamas now being paid by the Atlantic Caribbean Union of Seventh-day Adventist. Several yeas later 3ABN became a part of the basic package not requiring an extra monthly fee.      

The official Adventist world television, Hope TV, started around the world in 2003.  A few years later, Hope TV also became a part of the Cable Bahamas package with the extra $5 monthly subscription.  Since Hope TV was the official Adventist television, the conference eventually requested of the cable company to make a switch by providing Hope TV as a part of the basic television package and 3ABN as the extra subscription package.  The local call letters in The Bahamas for Hope TV channel is ATV658.

Note that to ensure, first 3ABN, and later Hope TV reaches the family is islands, The South Bahamas Conference financially assisted Cable Bahamas to install satellite dishes on several of the island.  The local Adventist Laymen Services also assisted in purchasing some of the equipment for the family islands.

OBTAINING A LICENSE
Pastor Johnson dream was to have local programs inserted into the 3ABN channel each week.  When Pastor Gordon first reached to the Bahamas, he first started a television program called Adventist Spotlight, featuring local preaching recorded at Adventist Churches.  Later on, local news was added.  The video file had to be hand delivered each week to the cable company to insert into 3ABN broadcast (Before Hope TV was launched).  But this will soon change.  Pastor Gordon also designed a video studio on the first floor of the conference office (still operational today). Initially the lobby on the second floor was briefly used for the video studio until Pastor Gordon's brilliant mind capture a excellent spot downstairs.  (Click here to read more about this history of Adventist television in The Bahamas)

However, it is important to note that the conference did not have a direct license to operate a separate TV station to facilitate its local programming.   The window of opportunity for radio and television license opened when the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA)  was organized in 2009 as a result of The Communications Act 2009 by the Bahamas Parliament.  This made is possible to apply right away for a television license for ATV53 now ATV658.  Cable Bahamas set us a receiving satellite dish on the Conference property to downlink Hope TV signal and transmit, via fiber cable, to the cable company, Hope TV programming and local programming.  No longer did they have to hand deliver the files to Cable Bahamas. 

In 2010 to 2018, Pastor Paul Scavella served as president of the conference and was also compassionate about of building and starting the radio station.  It was during his time and his guidance, that the radio and television stations moved towards advancement.  We were able to purchase high-end computers for video and audio editing and other much-needed equipment.

In 2011, after planning and building the infrastructure for a radio station, Pastor Danhugh Gordon applied to URCA for a radio license.  Praise God, with a small fee of $100, the radio license was granted in February 2012.   Pastor Gordon also sought further assistance from Life Talk Radio, and WordSBC 88.3 FM become a affiliate of that station.  Local programs recorded in the studios and programming from Life Talk Radio creates a rich plethora of choices for the listening audience.  The plans are to continue to expand the power of the station to 5000 watt in the future, the maximum allowed by URCA.   The station currently has a 3500 watts transmitter (purchased in 2019 from Broadcast Concepts, Florida, USA) which can satisfactorily serve the entire island of New Providence and nearby Family Islands.  Technical assistance for installation of the transmitter was provided by John Lee Ferguson, an engineer at a local radio station.  He continues to provide assistance for the maintenance of transmission.

In 2018, Pastor Kenney Deveaux became president and Kimberley Bryan became the treasure of the conference.  They actively facilitated the purchasing of the new transmitter and tower and on-going advancement of the station.  Also in 2018 Lavern Sturrup became the Communication Director of the Conference and worked diligently, along with Barrington Brennen and conference leadership, to seek funding and actual purchasing of the tower and transmitter.  We are extremely grateful for the anonymous donor who donated the funds to purchase the tower itself.

In 2016, Barrington Brennen started new fund-raising venture called Word SBC 88.3 FM Pledge-A-Thon.  It was to give the public the opportunity to call in and pledge to support the radio station. It was done annually for one week in May each year. 

There were several other young and not-so-young staff members who also facilitated the development and starting of the station were:  Philip Humes, technician; Akin Barr, technician; Zhavigo McPhee, video editor/camera; and Felicia Datus Lee, radio producer.

Philip Humes	Falicia Lee	Zhavigo McPhee	Akin Barr
	Anthony Whylly Tower Rigger	Winston Ash Tower Specialist

DISASTER AND HOPE
In 2015, Hurricane Matthew damaged the 80-feet-tall radio tower, knocking out transmission.  The tower was a second-hand tower purchased from George Kerr, and Adventist entrepreneur, that provide the opportunity to begin the station.  After the hurricane, technicians quickly worked to solve the problem by using the lower part of the tower to restore transmission.  This seriously limited the reach to the entire Island of the island of New Providence.  Nevertheless, we continued broadcasting.  The station also broadcast on TuneIn around the world has a large following.  

In 2016, Barrington Brennen, then Communication Director, started planning to purchase a new radio tower and 3500 Watts transmitter.  He contacted Rohn Tower Company, Illinois, USA,  and discussed the needs of the station and kind of tower needed. It was decided that the tower would be 150 feet (45.72 meters) tall to withstand 200 mph wind and three radio antennas.  Barrington Brennen also sought to add further organization to the day-to-day running of station by starting the much-needed recording and equipment log books.  In 2019, before his transition/retirement, did the draft for the Adventist Media Procedures and Policy Handbook (to be finalized). 

In 2018, Lavern Sturrup became Communication Director of the Conference and continued the planning and seeking funding.   By early 2019 a compassionate donor contacted Lavern Sturrup, and made it possible to acquire a 150 feet radio tower from Rohn Tower Company out of Illinois, United States of America. 

COST OF TOWER AND EQUIPMENT
Here is the breakdown of the cost of the 150 feet tower from Rohn Tower Company 
(See Document): 

• Tower Structure: $25,990 US 
• Needed parts for erecting of tower: $2010 US.  
• Shipping to Mail Boat from Illinois to Miami Florida: $5,755.00. 
• Total cost to purchase tower: $33,755.00 USA
• Cost to ship to Nassau and Custom Duty: $14,000

The new 3500 Watts transmitter, as mentioned above, was also purchased by the Conference for approximately $8000 US, plus shipping and custom duty.  In 2020/2021, the erecting of the tower and building of a new transmission room at the base of the tower, was completed at the cost approximately $60,000.  

The top of the tower stands approximately 190 feet (57.9 meters) above sea level.

TECHNICAL GROWTH AND TRAINING
The radio station studio, located on the second floor of the Conference office, was designed and contracted by the talented Danhugh Gordon. He labored long hours to build the cabinets, desk, and installed the equipment. His hard work lead to the official opening of the station on Sabbath afternoon, March 31, 2012.

One of the most needed equipment for broadcasting is a sophisticated computer and software. Pastor Gordon dialogued with Life Talk Radio in acquiring the Simian Radio Automation system produced by Broadcast Software International. Currently the station has the latest system--Simian 2.3 Pro.

Between 2017 and 2018, Barrington Brennen sought to further to enhance the broadcasting tools by purchasing two more automated, switching equipment. These small, but much-needed tools, allow WordSBC 88.3 FM to seamlessly switch between Life Talk Radio broadest live and local broadcast. They also allow the insert of a local announcements or promo between the live transmission of Life Talk Radio.

As time progressed, Barrington realized that it there was a great need for training to operate the Simian software. He contacted John Geli of Life Talk Radio who refereed him to Tim Kochis, a radio engineer with Life Talk Radio, to come a train the entire staff. Hence, in February 2017, Tim came to Nassau and trained the entire staff on the use of the Simian software. He also provided the much-need additional music to increase the music bank. In May of 2018 he returned for a few days to do an upgrade of the Simian and do advanced training.  Tim Kochis continues to be a source of encouragement and technical support for the station.

Today, WordSBC 88.3 FM continues to serve Nassau, The Bahamas with a population of over 250,000 and nearby islands of The Bahamas and on TuneIn. It is truly "Bringing God's joy to heart and minds 24 hours a day."

Kensuki Simms Radio Producer 2021 to present	Peresha Ferguson Part-time Media Assistant 2017 to present