Davon “Devo” Evans was born and raised in the Central District. His father was a primary force behind CAMP (Central Area Motivational Program) from its inception in the 6o’s, and Devo not only has many tales of that era to tell, he is considered a legend on account of his acquaintance with the African American community and his knowledge of the Central District’s rich and varied history.

Devo knows Devil’s Ditch, a long ago dirt hill connecting Spring Street to Lake Washington Blvd where youth took the challenge on bicycles.  The convenient store once owned by Bruce Lee’s father is now a house on the corner of 29th Ave E and E John St. Fire Engine Park on 18th Ave and Columbia used to be the Black Panthers’ Headquarters in Seattle. Odessa Brown’s old house is at 1601 Alder.  Ezell’s used to be Bulldog’s Burgers. Grocery Outlet used to be Roger’s Thriftway. Vu Auto Repair on S. Jackson used to be a fruit stand. Seven Star Women’s Kung Fu used to be a corner store. The new brick building apartments near Pratt Park used to be a Wonderbread Factory. Cappy’s Boxing Gym was, in earlier times, an automotive repair shop.  Devo remembers it all.

Now Devo works for Cappy’s Boxing Gym as the Gym Maintenance Man. He inspects all gym equipment on a regular basis and follows a strict schedule of cleaning and sanitizing all gym surfaces – but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There is an endless list to what Devo does to provide the safest and cleanest gym environment for all Cappy’s clients.

Devo incorporates the concepts of  Living A Boxer’s Lifestyle into his job. With every maintenance task there is a different workout. When he is moving and lifting the mats, Devo focuses on his hamstrings and practices his deadlifts. His shoulders get a good workout when he has to reach up high. When mowing the grass, he pushes through his legs and engages his quads. Working at the gym gives Devo the opportunity of meeting people from diverse backgrounds. The phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” resonated with him time and time again. No matter how a person appears, everyone who enters Cappy’s Boxing Gym proves they are strong and determined.  Devo continues to be a legend in his own time, amassing stories of the CD.

Hollow Earth Radio – LPFM Coordinator Position

Overview

Hollow Earth Radio(HER) is a freeform online radio station based in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood. It provides a popular, accessible forum for underrepresented music, sound and neighborhood perspectives. As a non-profit enterprise run solely by volunteers, HER supports the local music and arts community in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest region. We build on community participation through extensive volunteer training to empower ordinary folks to operate an online radio station and performance center.

Starting in October of 2013, the FCC is opening a new licensing window which will make available several Low Power FM frequencies for community & nonprofit organizations like HER. Although we have sustained our operation for the past seven years completely on volunteer power, we are now offering a paid LPFM Coordinator position to help us transition to this new phase.

Position Description:

This position will be responsible for community building & outreach surrounding our LPFM transition projects, overseeing LPFM committees, creating a “Neighborhood Newsroom,” and working with radio engineers to help facilitate a studio & broadcast equipment upgrade to meet FCC/LPFM standards. The LPFM coordinator will be HER’s community liaison, advocating for community members and organizations to get involved in the station at this exciting time.

Purpose and Objectives:

HER hopes that by having a hyperlocal community radio station, residents in the surrounding neighborhood will feel empowered to get involved and use our public space and infrastructure to share underrepresented sounds, ideas, and perspectives with their neighbors. With a short-range LPFM radio station we will have the opportunity to reach even more people in our community, including a whole new segment that may have no other reliable way to access our broadcasts or our content otherwise.

The purpose of this position is to upgrade our studio, train volunteers, and inspire as much community and neighborhood involvement with HER as possible to prepare for an LPFM radio station. HER’s mission is that new groups and neighborhood volunteers become valuable parts of the Hollow Earth community – learning how to make radio and creating new programming for the neighborhood.

Duties:

Oversee existing community partnerships as well as be responsible for bringing new neighborhood and community groups on board to participate in HER programming.

1. Develop and facilitate two neighborhood workshops. A) Discover what neighbors want to listen to on the radio. B) Discuss opportunities for neighbors making radio programs.

2. Assist in the development of a “Neighborhood Newsroom” program that trains neighbors and community groups to take part in making radio.
Work with technical staff to research, develop, and facilitate an upgrade to our radio studio & broadcasting equipment so that it complies with LPFM & FCC requirements.

3. Work with technical staff to help foster a simple, easy to understand technical setup and training for volunteers.

4. Keep weekly office hours to train volunteers to use the upgraded studio, field recording equipment, and the neighborhood newsroom.

5. Supervise specific volunteers and committees working towards HER’s LPFM goals.

6. Create, promote, and facilitate specific outreach & orientation events that are intended to educate the community about HER’s mission, the LPFM opportunity, and the resources we have.

Skills & Qualifications:

A college background in media or journalism desired or an equivalent of two or more years experience working/volunteering in radio/media/journalism/community organizing are highly desired.

We are looking for candidates with experience in promotional and community outreach campaigns.
Radio and/or audio technical skills a plus but not needed. Willingness to learn these skills from technical staff and share them with volunteers are a must.

Excellent communication skills (in person and online) with experience training people.

Must be self-motivated, able to work independently, and open to receiving support & feedback from the HER board, Director, and LPFM committees via email and weekly or bi-weekly in-person meetings.

Commitment and Compensation:
LPFM Coordinator position is a stipend position. The position is 10 Hours A Week for 42 weeks (beginning on or after Oct 14 2013) with a possibility for continuation. $20/hour

HER’s Commitment to Creating a Safe Space:
HER strives to be a safer space – a supportive, non-threatening environment that encourages open-mindedness, respect, a willingness to learn from others, as well as physical and mental safety. It is a space that is critical of the power structures that affect our everyday lives, and where power dynamics, backgrounds, and the effects of our behavior on others are prioritized. It’s a space that strives to respect and understand survivors’ specific needs. This is no space for violence, for touching people without their consent, for being intolerant of someone’s religious beliefs or lack thereof, for being creepy, sleazy, racist, ageist, sexist, heterosexist, trans-phobic, able-bodiest, classist, sizist, or for using any other behavior or language that may perpetuate oppression.

Women, people of color, LGBT people, people with disabilities, and people with a connection to The Central District community and neighborhood are encouraged to apply.

Cappy’s Boxing Gym trains Boxers of all types.  The Boxers have various options: they can train to get in shape, increase confidence and decrease stress,  learn Boxing Fundamentals , compete or cross train.  And they can train to take on Personal Matches.

Recently, Local Small Business Owner, “Rock” asked Cappy’s Boxing Gym for help in training for a big Personal Match.  Rock assessed the Personal Match as a 9 on a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being an extreme challenge.  Thus began her training for a Title Match.

Rock’s family had taken a financial and emotional hit.  She was close to tears when communicating this, though she said tears were rare for her – usually a sign that she needed the emotional outlet.  Anxiousness was not normally part of her day to day experience.  However, she did say that a twenty year + marriage had taught her a lot on this front.  Her main goal in taking on this Title Match was keeping up her strength and fortitude to help her family get through the hard times.

First thing she did was put the family on a strict budget and schedule her training in at the gym so that didn’t fall by the wayside.  Rock began to appreciate her own sense of independence and the strength she had gained from taking risks.  This helped her to better understand she did have the strength to see her family through the hard times.  She depended on the upbeat and positive focus at Cappy’s Boxing Gym.  Keeping to a regular workout calmed her down and helped her understand that things were not as out of control as she had thought.

Rock came to realize that simply taking her stance, no matter if she were standing in line at the grocery story or was in the gym, boosted her sense of being in control.   Now, three months since she started training for her Personal Match, she feels confident that the crisis is past and she is, once again, where she wants to be emotionally and financially.