KVNF's members will elect two new members of the station's board of directors at KVNF's Annual Meeting on Monday, Oct. 26. Three people are running. On this episode of Local Motion, each of them answers the same questions: who they are and how they came to KVNF, what they'd bring to the board, what the station does well, and what it could do better.
How to vote: Members can vote for up to two candidates. Voting for more than two invalidates the ballot. Mail your ballot to KVNF, PO Box 1350, Paonia, CO 81428, or drop it off at the station at 233 Grand Ave. in Paonia. Either way, it must arrive by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Print your name and address in the upper left corner of the envelope, not on the ballot, and write "KVNF Ballot" in the bottom left corner, so election judges can confirm your membership without opening it. You can also vote in person at the Annual Meeting, before it begins at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, at the Cedaredge Community Center. Household memberships may submit two ballots, and all other memberships one. The ballot, the candidates' bios and the proposed bylaw changes are on KVNF's 2026 Annual Meeting ballot page.
The same ballot asks members to approve or reject proposed amendments to KVNF's bylaws. They concern how board candidates are nominated.
Disclosure: KVNF produced this story about its own board election. Barnaclo is a KVNF DJ, and Vita helps host KVNF's My Generation.
The candidates
- Dave Barnaclo lives in Montrose. Barnaclo's bio on KVNF's ballot page lists more than 30 years in mortgage banking in Cincinnati, including a term as 2001 president of the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association. Barnaclo moved to the Western Slope in 2015 and has been a KVNF DJ since 2022. On Local Motion, Barnaclo points to years of board experience and "a fresh perspective… particularly when they come to finance."
- Sara Rinne lives in Montrose, where she was born and raised. She is deputy director of the Western Colorado Alliance, and her bio says she was head of adult services at the Montrose Regional Library District. She has served on local nonprofit boards, most recently as president of the board of Valley Food Partnership. A KVNF member, she has listened to the station her whole life. (KVNF talked with Rinne about the Alliance in August.)
- Ed Vita lives in Creede. A self-described "serial entrepreneur" with a background in technology, Vita recently managed a restaurant, hotel and event center. Vita has helped host KVNF's My Generation for years, and a company Vita recently left donated prizes for the station's spring and fall drives.
Full transcript
This transcript was made by machine from the episode as edited for broadcast and checked against the recordings. Filler words ("um," "uh") are removed; otherwise it is verbatim. Words in [brackets] were unclear in the recording.
DAVE BARNACLO: If I saw a board of directors that I thought was dysfunctional, I probably wouldn't be wanting to do this.
SARA RINNE: KVNF and I are the same age. We both came into the world in 1979.
ED VITA: I'm not just gonna sit there I tend to dig in.
BRODY WILSON: I'm Brody Wilson and this is Local Motion on KVNF. Today, three people are running for two open seats on KVNF's Board of Directors. KVNF's members will choose two new board members on Monday, October 26th. The candidates, in the order they appear on the ballot, are Dave Barnaclo and Sara Rinne, both of Montrose, and Ed Vita of Creede. They're running for some seats that were held by Paul Frazier, who has reached his term limit, and Sara Johnstone, whose term is up. So, how do you vote? If you're a KVNF member, you can vote for up to two candidates. If you vote for more than two, your ballot will not count. You can vote in person at KVNF's annual meeting on Monday, October 26th at 5:30 in the evening at the Cedaredge Community Center. Or you can vote by mail. Send your ballot to KVNF at P.O. Box 1350 in Paonia. That's P.O. Box 1350 in Paonia. Or drop it off at the station at 233 Grand Avenue in Paonia. Either way, it has to get there by 5 p.m. On Friday, October 23rd. Put your name and address in the upper left corner of the envelope, but not on the ballot itself, and write KVNF ballot in the bottom left corner of your envelope. That way, the election judges can confirm that you're a member without opening your envelope. And the same ballot asks members to approve or reject proposed changes to KVNF's bylaws. I asked all three candidates the same basic questions, and you'll hear their answers one after another. If you're not able to stick around for the whole show, you can find every episode of Local Motion under the News tab at KVNF.org or by searching for KVNF Local Motion on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or even YouTube. We hope you enjoy the show. First, we're going to hear about the backgrounds of the candidates and how each of them came to know. Our first question is around what's your background or prior involvement with KVNF? How have you come to know KVNF and what's your involvement been? Dave Barnaclo.
DAVE BARNACLO: My full name is David R. David R. Barnaclo. Well, I came out here to Colorado in 2015 after spending the entirety of my life before that in the southwestern Ohio, northern Kentucky area. Ran a company for about 15, 20 years, mortgage banking company with a number of employees. Was president of local organizations, things of that nature, including the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association, which was, you know, I always felt like if you were going to be in something, invest your time in it. You might as well know what's going on. So I've always been one to kind of join organizations, I guess. In situations that I'm involved in and things that I like and love to do. And the same goes with KVNF, I guess. When I started becoming a DJ about four years ago, I felt like it was a little bit of a calling. Both my parents were people that... always gave back to the community, my mom and dad both, a lot. So for me, it was kind of natural. But I just felt like, you know, I was working there, what the heck, you know, get involved with the board and, you know, know more, learn more. I love public radio. Always have, ever since I was in my teens. Growing up, listened to a jazz station in Cincinnati that I liked. I love that. So, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've always been... listen every morning on the way to work, listen to the morning edition, you know, that kind of thing. Well, I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio, as I said. I have two kids, sons, one in Flagstaff, and another one lives in Cincinnati. I have three grandchildren. 70 years old just turned 70. Cool I moved like I said I moved out here I worked with some banks out here for a while in the mortgage business until I turned 62 and then turned my turned into I went ahead did my early retirement. So we like to fly fish a lot. Like to, like to hike a lot.
BRODY WILSON: Sara Rinne.
SARA RINNE: So I'm Sara Rinne. And yeah, I am a lifelong... or practically lifelong resident of Montrose. I love living on the Western slope. I can't imagine a better place in the world to live and raise my kids. I have two young daughters, although they're growing up really fast. I have a fourth grader and a sixth grader. And yeah, my husband and my kids and I live in Montrose and love... being outside and enjoying all of the wonderful things that Western Colorado has to offer. Like I said, I grew up in Montrose. I moved back in 2008 to work for the library district there and spent many wonderful years with the Montrose Library until I took kind of a left turn last year and came to work for Western Colorado Alliance. And so that's where I've been for just about a year now. So my only involvement with KVNF is as a member, like a member supporter. But I have listened to KVNF my whole life. I just I don't know how I learned this, but KVNF and I are the same age. We both came into the world in 1979. So I thought that that was kind of cool. But yeah, growing up, KVNF was playing in the car on the way to school. I specifically remember listening to KVNF on the weekends. My parents would be drinking coffee or making breakfast, and KVNF would be on. So it was just sort of the soundtrack to my life. And it's a tradition that stayed with me, you know, not always KVNF, but like public radio in the mornings. When I was in college, I really enjoyed our local Fort Collins community radio station. But especially now with the app, like I can listen to KVNF anywhere I am. I don't have to be near a radio. And it's fun to continue that tradition with my own family. You know, we listen to Pot o' Gold on Saturday mornings and it's on, you know, it's just kind of the soundtrack to our lives.
BRODY WILSON: Ed Vita.
ED VITA: My name is Ed Vita. I am kind of a serial entrepreneur, but I also manage a bunch of stuff too. Just recently, I managed a full restaurant, hotel, event center, all that kind of thing. Naturally, I've been a tech guy on my own and for many companies probably since I was close to 11 or 12 or something like that. I've been dabbling in all this kind of stuff. Too long in my history of work and professional things, mostly tech. Hotel, restaurant, like I said, some property management and other entrepreneurial things like that. For the past few years, I'm going to say we're crawling up on six years. I've had some friends in the town that I didn't know I had. I was driving through here one day, and I've been helping out with a radio show there, the My Generation show. Most of the time, we're doing one Wednesday a month, and we... you know, do that. And it's super fun. And, I've also on a, on another side of it, a company I just recently left, we were doing some, we were giving some good prizes, for some of the drives, that we were doing both of spring and fall. So, we were involved that way too. So I'm kind of, I'm slowly migrating there. I live over in Creede. And as soon as I got here, even before I knew that I had some old friends in this town, I kind of fell for the place. And I've been slowly trying to get here more and more. When I come up there, I spend a few days. I've got a little place. Yeah, once some important stuff's done in Creede in a couple, few years, I'll be most likely going up that way.
BRODY WILSON: Creede is a long drive from KVNF studios in Paonia, so I asked Vita whether getting to board meetings is a worry.
ED VITA: No, I've been doing it for the radio show for years. And at a couple times, we were doing two times a month. So yeah, no, that's not an issue. I love coming up there.
BRODY WILSON: Next, on their professional backgrounds and what each of them would bring to the board. Is there anything in particular that you'd like KVNF members, voting members, to know about your background? Maybe what keeps you busy today and what experiences in your life you feel might be relevant for a role on the KVNF Board of Directors? Here's Sara Rinne.
SARA RINNE: So I really connect with KVNF's mission to engage communities by providing access to, you know, a diverse set of music and news. And I, you know, in local voices, and like I mentioned, I spent... you know, 17 years with the Montrose Library engaging community by providing resources. And so I feel a real connection to KVNF's mission in that way. And I feel like I have relevant experience that could be useful to your board. And now with the alliance you know our organization really elevates local voices through grassroots community organizing and so so yeah I just think that this is you know I choose the line of work that I do and I want to volunteer with KVNF because I really believe in building community and and I think that I have you know valuable experience to help KVNF do that. Yeah, so I'm not, my role isn't as a community organizer. You know, I'm an administrator at a nonprofit organization, but our organization and our organizers, we build community like one conversation at a time, right? You know, we listen to what's important to people in their lives, and then we help those people connect with one another, right? In order to solve problems or change systems in their community. And so I think that real centering of people's voices and people's lives and what's important to them is really in line with, you know, how KVNF operates and what's important to KVNF and to KVNF listeners too. It's certainly what I love about KVNF is the real connection to, you know, to real people and community members. And that's important to Western Colorado Alliance too.
BRODY WILSON: Here's Ed Vita.
ED VITA: So I naturally join things like KVNF over in Creede mostly, but I also used to do it in other places I've lived, like Boulder and also where I grew up in Connecticut. I'd get on these things to kind of always get involved, from community gardens to the planning and zoning committees to managing some kind of charitable organization There's so many other things, you know, like a recreation center or things like that. I'm always, you know, trying to add some of my, create some value basically and, you know, see if I can add anything to the organization. So [Creede] Chamber of Commerce too. I've been a member of that ever since I moved there. That's probably... 21 22 years now okay a lot of heavy lifting goes along with that too any of these boards you know it's always not just a desk job and talking it's some heavy lifting some early mornings getting set up for events and things like that so I've always naturally kind of gravitated towards whatever I see and like and think is fun I'd like to get involved at a couple of different levels, honestly.
BRODY WILSON: And I asked Vita, why radio?
ED VITA: You know, it is a new thing. I've never done the radio thing or any type of board membership on a radio before. And I was like, when I saw that there was a couple of open spots, I was like, okay, sure, why not? I'm sure there's going to be, you know, a bunch of questions that I can, you know, put my mind towards. And I'm sure there's some events that I can get involved in and things like that. You know, yes, it might be new. At the same time, I... know a fresh pair of eyes might maybe of some value at the same time I don't you know I'm not just gonna sit there I tend to dig in and you know if I need to research something or if I don't know something I'll do I'll research and you know go down that rabbit hole so that I can answer a question or offer something, not just be a cursory type of participant.
BRODY WILSON: Here's Dave Barnaclo.
DAVE BARNACLO: Well, I think Years of being on different boards and not including my own board, I'm pretty used to the workings of a board of directors and what goes on there. And I feel like I can maybe bring a fresh perspective to some of the issues that we're challenging with, particularly when they come to finance and things of that nature. As far as... you know, like I said, I feel passionate about the medium itself. Just in the four years that I've been a DJ, I've had situations where people call into the show and say things that really make you feel good about humanity. I mean, you know, it's a great medium, it really is, local radio. And one of the reasons I moved out here was the public radio, believe it or not, because we only have one station left in Cincinnati and they sold out about a year or so after I moved out here. But here I am living out here and there's stations virtually in every town.
BRODY WILSON: You're listening to Local Motion on KVNF, Mountain Grown Community Radio for Western Colorado. I'm Brody Wilson, and today we're hearing from the three candidates for KVNF's Board of Directors, Dave Barnaclo, Sara Rinne, and Ed Vita. Members can vote at the annual meeting on Monday, October 26th in Cedaredge, or by mail as long as the ballot reaches the station by 5 p.m. On Friday, October 23rd. Coming up, what each candidate thinks KVNF does well and what they'd change, and any of their final words to you. If you're not able to stick around for the whole show, you can find every episode of Local Motion under the News tab at KVNF.org or by searching for KVNF Local Motion on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or even YouTube. So, what is KVNF doing well? What do you feel like is going well about KVNF these days? What do you like about it? What do you see going in the right direction these days? Here's Ed Vita.
ED VITA: There's so many, one of the things that really got me early on was like, everybody who's there is really a true part of the community. And I felt like that was... neat and I'm doing that myself and it's you know it was kind of cool how those you know fingers of the hand just kind of went out and brought itself all the way you know not just Paonia you know you'd hear about all the other towns too and there'd be somebody participating from there that was the one of the cooler things I think overall the station itself with that great group of people they are all you know, really putting in darn good effort to do that. And I like that. You know, I'm not saying I'd shy away from a position, something like this, if there were some people that weren't, you know, doing the whole thing, but whatever. For me, it just, it's a nice vibe and it feels like you can get in on that and participate. Like I said, radio is new to me, you know, planning and zoning is a certain like sector of people. Right. Right. But this thing, when I came here, I was like, man, that's all, it's from everywhere. And, and I thought that was really cool. I wanted to be, hopefully I could be a part of that. There are so many things I like. I love all the drives that we've done. Those are kind of fun, actually. Even the radio show that I do is fun. I don't really focus on the picking of the music. That's actually one of my other teammates there. I focus on some other type of information that we give to the show. The events that you guys do, they're varied, and I like that. Everybody's got their piece and they add to it. And I thought that was really cool.
BRODY WILSON: Dave Barnaclo.
DAVE BARNACLO: Well first of all first and foremost I think in light of everything that you know happened in the last year and a half the fact that our our board of directors and our leadership team was prepared for that and actually was proactive and not reactive to me that was very complimentary You know, they went into it with an attitude, okay, we'll get through this. And we have, you know, done a good job for the most part with not just, you know, just getting our listeners to pony up a little bit and help us out. But it's the group itself. I think we're, you know, I like to refer to us as a tribe. You know, we all have one passion, but we're all different people. You know we all love music but you know we're all different type of folks and from different type of backgrounds and we all get together and it's like you know we're a happy group but yeah I think that I think the momentum that they've taken into this the issues that are going on within the industry has been a super positive I like the way the shows are formatted for the most part. I feel like, you know, there could be some tweaks here and there, but I mean, for the most part, we do a pretty good job of keeping that momentum going, keeping it fresh. And it makes it easy to want to be on the board. If I saw a board of directors that I thought was dysfunctional, I probably wouldn't be wanting to do this. But it really seems like the group gets along well and keeps things real.
BRODY WILSON: Sara Rinne.
SARA RINNE: The local stories that are featured on KVNF are just my favorite. I feel like, you know, the news and the in-depth coverage of stories and, you know, voices from across our region is it's just my favorite. And as much as I like to think that I'm like really plugged into, you know, West Slope communities, I always learn something new when I'm listening to KVNF. I also love, I just have to plug the Feel Good Friday Morning Music Mix because it's my favorite. So I love the mix of music as well. And of course, having access to like national NPR programming, like Morning Edition, you know, it's just, it's how I start my day every day. So yeah, KVNF is just the total package. But I think that... you know, getting into local stories and hearing from local people is definitely my favorite part of community radio. You know, that's what makes it community radio.
BRODY WILSON: And the flip side. Where do you think KVNF could do better? What areas would you like to see us grow or improve? Here's Dave Barnaclo.
DAVE BARNACLO: Well, I think some of it we've already started to do, and that is, you know, we're entering into the digital age. And, you know, I know I made a comment at that last meeting about how all your DJs are old farts like me, but the young people are the people, that's where your market is. I mean... know you're going after the right market you need to have that 30 to 50 demographic tuned in and and they're completely different than your 65 to 85 demographic which is I fall into so You know, and it has to be right for everybody. And I think the challenges of getting that right are one of the things that, you know, will be, you know, be told out over time. Well, you know, how we how we how we go about meeting those challenges. I like I like I like our interaction with the community and Punk on the Unc was a strong strong move you know just more stuff like that really you know I'd like to see us more involved in know maybe try to get more involved in some of the other some of the music venues around our area in terms of not necessarily ownership but partnerships with some of these you know different things where we we help and get our name out there you know there are a lot of people don't know who we are that's for sure I run into them all the time but and some of that's by choice some people just stay away from the lower part of the radio dial on purpose so and that's fine I mean there's people like that but but you know it's I think those are the type of challenges as far as going forward. With our interaction with the community, I think we can continue to play on what we've done so far is what I guess I'm saying.
BRODY WILSON: And Sara Rinne.
SARA RINNE: I mean, I think that, you know, sort of back to building community, I think that KVNF really has an opportunity to sort of expand its footprint in Western Colorado. I'm sure I mentioned, I know I did, but I'm a lifelong Montrosean. And so I'd love to see like more Montrose voices included in KVNF programming and participation in this wider sort of community radio community. I think that KVNF has a real opportunity to sort of expand its footprint across the region and expand sort of to the wider community beyond Paonia. So hopefully, if elected, I would be honored to bring that perspective to your board. I think all of the above. I had the opportunity to participate with KVNF back when I worked at the library. And we did some really fun partnership and programming in conjunction with KVNF. And I think that there's lots of really amazing things happening in Montrose. And I think that it would be great for your listeners and for for people in Montrose who maybe aren't listeners to feel like they are, you know, reflected in KVNF's programming. So, so yeah, I just, I think that there's a lot of opportunity there.
BRODY WILSON: And Ed Vita.
ED VITA: I don't have any real complaints, but at the same time, there's, I don't have any complaints to be honest. I feel like getting into a position like that, I would see, you know, I'd probably hear this from other people and I'm a type where I'll, if there is an issue of some sort, I can dig in on it, especially if it's something in my expertise or something I've had experience with. Just calling it a problem is one thing, but going back and finding out the data and seeing all the pieces of that problem and then trying to implement something, trying to offer up an idea or something like that. I do this in so many different avenues, so many aspects of my life, naturally. Yeah, if there was something that comes up on the first day or the 100th day, I'd just dig in and let's see what we can do with it.
BRODY WILSON: Finally, I gave each of them the last word. Is there anything else that you'd like people voting for KVNF's new board candidates to know about you? Dave Barnaclo.
DAVE BARNACLO: No, I'll work hard. I'll show up for the meetings and, you know, I'll do my best to help out any way, shape or form I can. That's kind of inbred in me.
BRODY WILSON: Here's Sara Rinne.
SARA RINNE: Just that, I'm a good board member. Like I'm a, you know, I'm a responsible board member. I definitely understand the, you know, the lane, the boards of directors need to stay in, you know, I understand what those responsibilities are. I've served on boards. I think it's a great way to. To be involved in my community and get to exercise, you know, my leadership and the things that I'm good at for the benefit of, you know, the community as a whole. So, yeah. So I hope that I hope that your members. See fit to, you know, choose me. But if not, I'll, you know, of course I will be, of course I will accept the results of a free and fair election. But I'm just really excited about the opportunity. So yeah, I'm looking forward to what happens next.
BRODY WILSON: Ed Vita.
ED VITA: I have lots of energy. I tend to get involved in these things and tend to do it, even though I'm not afraid of, you know, even though, let's say, I might not be in a physical presence there, and that doesn't mean I'm not giving that participation. I know I... can work tech pretty well. So I can be a part of that. I can, a voracious reader too. And that goes with the research thing I was telling you about, you know, if I have a topic and you need to send someone down that rabbit hole and find out something, I'm, I'm a guy to give that to you. No, I appreciate the opportunity. I would love to get some votes. That'd be great. Awesome. If not, I'll, I'll try again one day too.
BRODY WILSON: Those are the three candidates for KVNF's Board of Directors, Dave Barnaclo, Sara Rinne, and Ed Vita. If you're a KVNF member, you can vote for up to two of them. Vote in person at the annual meeting on Monday, October 26th at 5:30 at the Cedaredge Community Center, or... make sure your ballot reaches the station by 5 p.m. On Friday, October 23rd. Your name and address go on the envelope, not on the ballot. Special thanks in this episode, of course, goes to Dave Barnaclo, Sara Rinne, and Ed Vita for putting their names forward. I'm Brody Wilson, and this has been Local Motion on KVNF. If you missed a portion of the show, you can always go back and re-listen by looking for Local Motion under the News tab at KVNF.org or in your podcast feed on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much for listening today. Have a good one.
