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VPR Studios Construction Update Blog
Follow the progress on construction of the new broadcast center for Valley Public Radio. Our new facility is designed to engage the community and provide a strong foundation for the station for decades to come.

FM89 Celebrates "Topping Off" Of New Facility, Naming Of Studio

KVPR | By Joe Moore
Published November 6, 2015 at 11:52 AM PST
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Bee & Bernard Barmann pose with FM89's Mariam Stepanian
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Valley Public Radio's President and GM Mariam Stepanian signs the beam
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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FM89 supporters sign the beam before it is lifted into place
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Debbie Manning and Jean and Pat Fennacy with FM89's Patty Ramirez
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Guests tour the new Barmann & Chaney Performance Studio
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Guests tour the new Barmann & Chaney Performance Studio
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Workers lift the final beam into place
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Workers lift the final beam with a forklift
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio
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Workers lift the final beam with a forklift
Joe Moore / Valley Public Radio

A group of station supporters celebrated in Clovis on Thursday as workers lifted the last major piece of the exterior structure into place on Valley Public Radio's new home. The "topping off" ceremony is the latest milestone in construction of the new facility. Before the last beam was installed by workers with Fresno-based Zumwalt Construction, attendees were invited to sign the steel girder. 

Following the ceremony, Valley Public Radio announced that the building's new performance studio has been named the "Barmann & Chaney Performance Studio" in honor of longtime major donors and capital campaign supporters Bee & Bernard Barmann, and Lois Chaney, both of Bakersfield. 

After the announcement, people toured the facility and heard the first ever performance to take place inside the studio featuring jazz pianist and FM89 on-air host David Aus. 
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Joe Moore
Joe Moore is the President and General Manager of KVPR / Valley Public Radio. He has led the station through major programming changes, the launch of KVPR Classical and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership the station was named California Non-Profit of the Year by Senator Melissa Hurtado (2019), and won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (2022).
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