Press Releases

SBDC Small Business Award Press Release

March 27, 2017

Contact: Maureen Barkume at (989) 348-6171 or cell (248) 229-8476

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Blarney Stone Broadcasting Wins Best Small Business Award from the Michigan Small Business Development Center

GRAYLING, Michigan – Blarney Stone Broadcasting is one of 12 companies from around the state selected to receive the Michigan Small Business Development Center’s Best Small Business Award.

These companies were chosen from more than 5,500 small businesses that the Michigan SBDC provided with confidential counseling in 2016. The Best Small Business award recipients were identified based on their success in creating jobs, increasing sales, improving their business strategy and their involvement with the Michigan SBDC.

“This year’s awardees have a significant impact on Michigan’s economy and truly represent the success achieved through a strong SBDC consultant and client partnership,” said Keith Brophy, State Director of the Michigan SBDC. “We are excited to take the opportunity to celebrate their success and cheer them on as they continue growing their businesses.”

The recipients will be honored on May 4, in Lansing, at the 13^th annual Michigan Celebrates Small Business Awards Gala.

“We are overjoyed and proud beyond words to be recognized like this by the Michigan SBDC,” Blarney Stone Broadcasting President Sheryl Coyne said. “But more than that, we are immensely appreciative of the support and guidance we’ve received. The Michigan SBDC spent an extraordinary amount of time working with us to build a strong, viable and growing business, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Their expertise and resources perfectly complemented the commitment and hard work of our entire Blarney Stone Broadcasting staff to help us achieve the success we’re sharing with our Central and North Michigan community.”

Blarney Stone Broadcasting was founded in 2012 by Sheryl and her husband, Jerry, residents of Gaylord. The company owns and operates WQON (FM), licensed to Grayling; WGRY (FM), licensed to Roscommon and WMQU (AM), licensed to Grayling. Blarney Stone Broadcasting, Inc. and Northern Broadcast, Inc., have entered into a purchase agreement that will enable Blarney Stone to significantly increase reach and coverage throughout Northern Michigan.

Northern Broadcast has agreed to sell assets including WKLT (FM), licensed to Kalkaska; WKLZ (FM), licensed to Petoskey; WFCX (FM), licensed to Leland; WFDX (FM), licensed to Atlanta; WSRT (FM), licensed to Gaylord; WSRJ (FM), licensed to Honor. The agreement also includes FM translator station W263CD, licensed to Boyne City; FM translator station W252DA, licensed to Petoskey.

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For more information please contact Maureen Barkume, VP Operations at Blarney Stone Broadcasting, 989-348-6171 or cell 248-229-8476 or Maureen@blarneystonebroadcasting.com. For more information on Q100.3 and Y101.1 visit www.q100michigan.com. Stream Q100.3 live atwww.q100michigan.com or download the free mobile app to your iPhone or Android. Search Blarney Stone Broadcasting on Facebook.

About Blarney Stone Broadcasting: Blarney Stone Broadcasting, Inc., co-owned by Sheryl and Jerry Coyne, operates: FM100.3, WQON, The Only Place for Rock & Roll – 60,000 watts (Detroit Lions, University of Michigan Football and Basketball, Grayling Viking Football and Basketball); FM101.1, WGRY, Your Sports Talk Station – 3,400 watts (CBS Sports Talk, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons); AM1230, WMQU, the Catholic Light for Northern Michigan – 750 watts. Blarney Stone Broadcasting assumed ownership of the stations based in Grayling on Oct. 2, 2012. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is currently operating a Local Market Agreement (LMA) with Northern Broadcast, Inc., which includes The Rock Stations WKLT and WKLZ, The Fox, WFDX and WFCX and ESPN Radio WSRT and WSRJ. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is a community orientated media resource in Northern Michigan dedicated to providing local information, entertainment and promotions focused on the needs of the audience and the businesses that serve these audience. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is committed to growing local business in Northern Michigan.

About the Michigan SBDC: The Michigan Small Business Development Center provides counseling, business education, information based planning and technology commercialization services to Michigan’s new business ventures, existing small businesses, growing businesses and innovators. The Michigan SBDC State Lead Center is located at the Grand Valley State University, Seidman College of Business in Grand Rapids, Michigan with eleven regional offices statewide. Entrepreneurs and small business owners may access the services of their nearest Michigan SBDC by calling 616.331.7480 or visiting www.SBDCMichigan.org.

Press Release Sept. 14, 2016

Blarney Stone Broadcasting, Inc.

Sept. 14, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Maureen Barkume (989) 348-6171 or cell (248) 229-8476

Calendar Of Heroes To Help Support Firemen’s Memorial

GRAYLING, Michigan – Blarney Stone Broadcasting and Michigan’s Firemen’s Memorial Festival are partnering to produce the “Real Firefighters of Central/Northern Michigan” 2017 Calendar.

Each month a firefighter from a different community in Northern Michigan will be featured. Nominations will be accepted on-line at q100michigan.com and at various Q100.3 events through Oct. 2. The 12 winners, each from a different community, will be determined based on their number of nominations.

All net profits from the sale of the calendar will go to Michigan’s Firemen’s Memorial Festival. The Michigan’s Firemen’s Memorial Festival is planning to create a fund to support the families of fallen Michigan Fire Fighters.

“We are immensely proud of this new partnership that underscores our deepest gratitude to the heroic first-responders who serve our community,” said Sheryl Coyne, President and CEO of Blarney Stone Broadcasting. “We’re so honored to be working with the organizers of the Firemen’s Memorial Festival, who work so tirelessly year-around to bring this remarkable, signature event that draws thousands of visitors each year to our region.”

Nominations will be accepted from the following areas: Cadillac, Clare, Gaylord, Gladwin, Grayling/Frederic, Harrison, Houghton Lake/Prudenville, Kalkaska, Mio, Roscommon/Higgins Lake/St. Helen, Rose City and West Branch.

Calendars will be sold for $15 in various retail locations throughout Northern Michigan beginning in early November.

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For more information please contact Maureen Barkume, VP Operations at Blarney Stone Broadcasting, 989-348-6171 or cell 248-229-8476 or Maureen@blarneystonebroadcasting.com. For more information on Q100.3 and Y101.1 visit www.q100michigan.com. Stream Q100.3 live at www.q100michigan.com or download the free mobile app to your iPhone or Android.

Search Blarney Stone Broadcasting on Facebook.

Blarney Stone Broadcasting, co-owned by Sheryl and Jerry Coyne, operates: WQON (100.3 FM) Rock & Roll – 60,000 watts (Detroit Lions, University of Michigan Football and Basketball, Grayling Viking Football and Basketball); WGRY (101.1 FM) YOUR Sports Talk Station (Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons) and WMQU AM 1230 (Baraga Radio/The Catholic Light for Northern Michigan). Blarney Stone Broadcasting assumed ownership of the three stations based in Grayling on Oct. 2, 2012. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is a community orientated media resource in Northern Michigan dedicated to providing local information, entertainment and promotions focused on the needs of the audience and the businesses that serve the audience. With more than 28 years of experience in broadcast and marketing, Blarney Stone Broadcasting is committed to growing local business in Northern Michigan.

Press release Aug 17 2016 Ban Lifted

Press Release : New book by local author reveals dramatic new details of the ‘Russian Five’ and the Red Wings’ rise to Stanley Cup glory

Blarney Stone Broadcasting, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2018

CONTACT: Keith Gave - (989) 390-9860; media@therussian5.com

or Maureen Barkume - (989) 348-6171; maureen@blarneystonebroadcasting.com

‘A whirlwind story. . . fantastical, gripping, emotional

and even humorous.’ – Mitch Albom

New book by local author reveals dramatic new details of the ‘Russian Five’ and the Red Wings’ rise to Stanley Cup glory

GRAYLING, Michigan – Five hockey players from the famed Soviet Red Army club who in separate, often dramatic ways ended up in crumbling, 1990s Detroit, did more to bridge Russian and American relations than decades of diplomacy and détente between the White House and the Kremlin. They were “The Russian Five,” and their story unfolds in a captivating new book written by the man who was there with them every step of the way.

In “The Russian Five, A story of espionage, defection, bribery and courage,” (Gold Star Publishing, Ann Arbor, Michigan), Blarney Stone Broadcasting’s Sports Director, Keith Gave, the spy-turned-newsman whose clandestine mission to Helsinki, Finland, reveals for the first time that he was the initial phase of a years-long series of secret meetings from posh hotel rooms to remote European forests to orchestrate the unlawful departures from behind the Iron Curtain.

Book is on sale now on Amazon.com, Indiebound.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart. Target and eBay

Meet the author and have your book signed on Tuesday, March 20, 1-3 p.m.,

at Blarney Stone Broadcasting, 6514 Old Lake Road, Grayling MI 49738

Feature-length documentary film, ‘The Russian Five’ to premiere in Detroit on April 11

“Until now, few knew of the role played by one multi-lingual erstwhile Detroit Free Press reporter who stickhandled through the Soviet KGB to plant the seed that sprung two of the most important spokes in the winged wheel,” says Mike “Doc” Emrick, the five-time Emmy Award-winning, Hall of Fame broadcaster and the voice of hockey on NBC-TV. “This book. . . is the ultimate ‘inside story.’”

Best-selling author Mitch Albom adds that Gave was “an envoy, Russian-speaker and secret-keeper. No one could write this story with the detail, depth and understanding that Gave delivers. . . This book was a long time in the making, but well worth the wait.”

The Russian Five: Sergei Fedorov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Igor Larionov. Their individual stories read like pulse-pounding spy novels. Part thriller, part memoir, part Russian fairytale, the story that unfolds after they were brought together by the masterful coach Scotty Bowman is authentic – and truly unforgettable.

“All of us at Blarney Stone Broadcasting are immensely proud of our Sports Director, Keith Gave, who puts the same effort into his columns on our websites and on-air opinions as he did in this amazing book,” said Sheryl Coyne, BSB president. “We are pleased beyond words to be able to partner with him and his publisher to help spread the word about the Russian Five, who gave us so much to cheer about when we really needed it around Detroit.”

Stay tuned to Blarney Stone Broadcasting stations (Q100.3, Y101.1, and LMA stations, WKLT 97.5 & 98.9, THE FOX MUSIC RADIO 94.3 & 92.5 and ESPN 106.7 & 105.5) to learn more about how to get your free copy of the book – signed by the author.

About the author: Keith Gave spent six years in the United States Army as a Russian linguist working for the National Security Agency during the Cold War. Nothing could have better prepared him for a career as a sports writer covering hockey for the Detroit Free Press. His 15 years with the newspaper were the highlight of a career spanning nearly 40 years in the news industry, with stops that included The Associated Press and the Dallas Morning News. More recently, he spent 15 years as a college journalism instructor. He also contributed as a writer/producer to the soon-to-be-released documentary film, “The Russian Five.” He lives in Roscommon, Michigan, where he continues to write when he’s not sneaking off to cast a fly to the trout on his home waters of the AuSable River.

Follow him at: www.keithgave.com; Twitter @KeithGave

About Blarney Stone Broadcasting: Blarney Stone Broadcasting, Inc., co-owned by Sheryl and Jerry Coyne, operates: FM100.3, WQON, The Only Place for Rock & Roll – 60,000 watts (Detroit Lions, University of Michigan Football and Grayling Viking Football and Basketball); FM101.1, WGRY, Your Sports Talk Station – 3,400 watts (CBS Sports Talk, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Pistons and University of Michigan Basketball); AM1230, WMQU, the Catholic Light for Northern Michigan – 750 watts leased to Baraga Broadcasting. Blarney Stone Broadcasting assumed ownership of the stations based in Grayling on Oct. 2, 2012. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is currently operating a Local Market Agreement (LMA) with Northern Broadcast, Inc., which includes The Rock Stations WKLT and WKLZ, The Fox, WFDX and WFCX and ESPN Radio WSRT and WSRJ. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is a community orientated media resource in Northern Michigan dedicated to providing local information, entertainment and promotions focused on the needs of the audience and the businesses that serve these audience. Blarney Stone Broadcasting is committed to growing local business in Northern Michigan.

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PHOTO 1 CAPTION:

Front cover artwork for the book “The Russian Five” by Keith Gave, local author (Roscommon) and Blarney Stone Broadcasting Sports Director.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION:

When the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1997, three of Detroit's famed Russian Five took the trophy home to Moscow to parade it around Red Square -- and Blarney Stone Broadcasting sports director Keith Gave was there, on assignment for the Detroit Free Press. Above, he's pictured, from left, with Igor Larionov, Slava Fetisov and Slava Kozlov.

For more information, contact Maureen Barkume, VP Marketing and Promotions at Blarney Stone Broadcasting, 989-348-6171 or cell 248-229-8476 or Maureen@blarneystonebroadcasting.com.

For more information on Q100.3 and Y101.1 visit www.q100michigan.com. Stream Q100.3 live at www.q100michigan.com or download the free mobile app to your iPhone or Android. Search Blarney Stone Broadcasting on Facebook.