You picked 'em, now here they are: The 2009 CMJ College Radio Award Nominees! This year we asked you to give us 10 words on why your nominees rocked, and below we've highlighted some of our favorites. Voting for the winners will take place during CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival at the CMJ booth and during College Day. Anyone with a CMJ badge can vote. And now (drumroll please!), here are the nominees. Radio Station Awards: Station Of The Year CFUV (Victoria) "One of the few stations that's involved in both Canadian and American conference activities, supports their scene." KSSU (Sacramento) "KSSU is the little engine that could of college radio." "Life so much better with KSSU.com and the people in it. " Radio UTD (Richardson) "The station has grown so much in the past three years, and it continues to get better and better!" WPGU (Champaign) "A commercial college radio station that has managed to implement a format change that tripled ratings!" WSOU (South Orange) "The only metal/hard rock station still serving the NY/NYC/NJ area." Music Director Of The Year Abbi Allan (KFAI) "A resounding, longtime favorite." Josh Cannata (WPGU) "On top of new music every week, keeps us ahead of the curve." "More in-studio shows than I thought was possible from a station." Fred Knittel (WKDU) "Good guy, good MD and has a bright future." "He is intensely dedicated to his job and always puts out good records." Susie Kuo (KSSU) "Very few MDs put the time, effort and heart into what they do like this lady. " Justin Lanoue (CFUV) "He's a total geek who does nothing but compare new bands to old, guilty pleasures to audio subliminals,rarities to mainstream, unknowns to over-exposed... His diligence has resulted in an incredibly high-quality music library." Specialty Music Director Of The Year Greg Clow (WPGU) "Great taste in what's new and, more importantly, what's good and new." Robert Drucker (RLC) "His volume and passion should be an award category in itself." Brian Joseph (CJLO) "He built up the hip-hop base at CJLO, and has given us a name in the local hip-hop community. " Susie Kuo (KSSU) "Maintaining a strong specialty presence at KSSU has a priority since she first started at KSSU as Hip-Hop director!" Michelle Krupkin (KXLU) "Always good for supporting the right of center acts." "A fantastic person." Biggest Community Resource KBUT (Crested Butte) "A tremendous community player." KDHX (St. Louis) "Always presenting shows and getting the word out in the greater St. Louis area about new and independent music." "The most selfless station in the country." KSSU (Sacramento) "KSSU provides a unique opportunity for students, alumni and community volunteers to learn more about radio broadcasting in a fun, pressure-free environment." Radio UTD (Richardson) "They are the hardest working station making the best of the community and giving back to the student body." WPGU (Champaign) "Operation Santa rais[ed] over $5000 for Crisis Nursery and numerous outreaches by individuals and the station alike." Best Use Of Limited Resources KSSU (Sacramento) "We recycle everything from plastic bottles to scrap paper. Cardboard boxes are broken down and reused as Halloween costumes." Radio UTD (Richardson) "We have no resources. Our music listening device looks like it was used as a weapon during the Cold War." RLC (Piscataway) "No tower? No problem. Now they have a tower." "They do all the above on a shoestring budget" WIDR (Kalamazoo) "Very little to no help at all from the university, limited essentially to user donations and drug dealing." WPGU (Champaign) "Part of a larger non-profit company. We receive no money from the University Of Illinois, but rely only on a student sales staff for new equipment funds." Best Group Effort CJLO (Montreal) "People would kill to work with a group so dedicated and so encouraging as our Exec body,." "They only travel in packs of 20." KSSU (Sacramento) "In the phrase 'Team KSSU,' there is no letter “I.”" Radio UTD (Richardson) "Radio UTD is like a family... older members really strive to help newer ones be successful on air and socially." WPGU (Champaign) "WPGU is a team made up of many different departments—music staff, DJs, engineers, street team— and it would not be able to run with one of those missing." WSBU (St. Bonaventure) "Mother Mary Katherine's favorite radio tag team." "WSBU's finest." Best Online-Only Station VIC Radio (Ithaca) "After all these years, going strong." BreaThru Radio (New York) "Excellent programming, very proactive." Montco Radio (Blue Bell) "They run the station like it's a weight 6!" Radio UTD (Richardson) "Even though Radio UTD doesn't have a frequency, the quality remains high." WOXY.com (Austin) "They were one of the first and still the very best." "There are others?" Coolest Kaitlin Butler (Radio UTD) "She's just so fun!" Omar Husain (CJLO) "Coolest person in the world, not just radio." "Maybe it's his modeling history, but dude knows cool." Reece Lazarus (WICB) "He owns many pieces." Chad Reich (KBUT) "Because he makes it easy being from a butt." Tim Skalland (KSSU) "Nobody wears more stripes or is more obsessed with Sufjan Stevens. And his Nintendo DS skills are untouchable." Best Website KEXP (Seattle) "Incredibly user friendly and live sessions page." "Everything is easy to find and they have the whole interwebs thing locked down." KSSU (Sacramento) "The destination for band interviews, DJ personalities and the home of KSSU Magazine—a blog written entirely by KSSU volunteers." Radio UTD (Richardson) "Check out that spinning record player image at the bottom of the site and tell me it isn't awesome." WOXY.com (Austin) "Easy to stream, see what's playing, discover music and buy right all in one place." WPGU (Champaign) "As a conglomerate of WPGU and the buzz magazine, it pulls all kinds of peoples with all kinds of interests." Most Doing Something No One Else Is Doing KEXP (Seattle) "I have been following these guys for awhile now and they are just so ahead of the curve!!! I kinda want to move so I can work there…" KSSU (Sacramento) "Our volunteer staff swells to 80 people and we still manage to smile, have fun and find things for interns to do. " Radio UTD (Richardson) "We throw two music lectures a semester—they get good turn outs—and two huuuge dance parties!" WNYU (New York) "Continuing with our awesome block FM formatting and this year broadening our .ORG programming and for just in general playing crazy awesome/underground artists that no one else plays." WPGU (Champaign) "Most interesting DJ shows: beats and rhymes, shrinkwrap, flashback cafe... COME ON!" Best Taste In Music Fred Knittel (WKDU) "He also is A&R for Drexel's student-run label." Reece Lazarus (WICB) "Reece may have the best musical taste in all of Ithaca." Blair Neal (WRPI) "They all know it's true." Joni Sadler (CHUO) "Seriously, she knows what's good." "Dude, have you met her?" Tim Skalland (KSSU) "Why read a blog when Tim Skalland is part of your DJ staff?" Best Student-Run Station KSSU (Sacramento) "KSSU is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary next year. We couldn’t have made it this far without our incredibly dedicated volunteer staff." Radio UTD (Richardson) "All student officers maintain a really high level of professionalism and they consistently pass this on to the DJs." WPGU (Champaign) "Entirely student-programmed. Most positions are unpaid, but students treat the station like a full-time job." WSOU (South Orange) "Perfect blend of professionalism and fun—and it shows on-air." WIDR (Kalamazoo) "All students and still powerful and amazing." Most Supportive Of The Local Scene CFUV (Victoria) "Sponsors dozens of local artists shows every year and local artists routinely chart No. 1 position in our Earshot charts and keep in mind this is a small city. Beat that!! KSSU (Sacramento) "KSSU has a Local Music Director covering all genres, host[ing] in-studios and contribut[ing] frequently to KSSU magazine." WPGU (Champaign) "Local interviews and the Annual Local Music Awards show appreciation for the C-U music scene." WSOU (South Orange) "Street Patrol, our specialty show for unsigned local bands." "New Brunswick basement shows, Street Patrol, Dingbatz..." WTSR (Ewing) "Always willing to help NY bands." Industry Awards: Promoter Of The Year Hannah Carlen (SPECTRE) "Keeps promises, makes things happen, the best." Robb Haagsman (AAM) "The lankiest man in college radio." "Two As and two Bs, that's not a bad report card." Karen Moran-Thomas (The Syndicate) "She's quickly made a name for herself through honesty and personality." Caroline Partamian (Terrorbird) "She is a) awesome to talk to, b) talks really fast but with no filler and c) knows the music she promotes." Shil K. Patel (Team Clermont) "He's always lovely to talk to, remembers details about you, and he STILL promotes great music in an effective/non-annoying way." Specialty Promoter Of The Year Elliot Blair (SPECTRE) "He knows the HH front to back, West Coast, East Coast, Midwest... he's got your back and the jargon to represent from midnight to high noon." Jessica Kizer (Terrorbird) "Kizer sends me emails once a week, keeps things real, and knows what's what. Plus she's rad. " Mike Moretti (AAM) "A new international man mystery." Pat Shillenn (The Syndicate) "Pat talks to the commercial specialty folks and does it with class." "Knows his stuff, great taste in sneakers." Jessica Weber (SPECTRE) "Her name's simultaneously synonymous for both 'best' and 'special.'" Promo Company Of The Year AAM "They have the best records and the best employees of all the promo companies. " "Always home of the hits." Pirate! "Some of the few people in the 'industry' I think people can trust 100 percent, and that goes a long way and says alot of their character." Team Clermont "They are way more legit than pretty much everyone else." "They really stepped up their game this year." Terrorbird "They send the fewest stinkers." "They're not afraid of crazy shit, but still pull it off." The Syndicate "Because they spend way too much time doing what they do." "Great music/artist selection and quality." Best Use Of The Web AAM "It's all spiffy web 2.0." Pirate! "Their station map is where it's at. And it's easy to download records." The Syndicate "thesyn.com/blog… deafleftear.com… metalinsider.com… need I say more?" Team Clermont "I'm pretty down with their site." Terrorbird "The best digital delivery system in the biz, so organized, easy to use, always consistent." Holy Shit! Their Records Are Awesome! AAM "Not awesome, perfect! They push my favorite jamz." "Two words: Sunday Service." Chouette "Amazing reissues and imports." "Have you seen the stuff Amanda Colbenson sends out? It's insane!" The Syndicate "Something for everyone." "I know how much I listen to them as a fan." Team Clermont "Their records ARE awesome, and they like to do daily stretches at 3:15 p.m." "Wilco… dude… Wilco!" Terrorbird "Well, their records are awesome, often so much so that sometimes I find myself saying, 'Holy shit.'" Biggest Cojones Josh Bloom (Fanatic) "It takes a lot of nerve to say the things Josh says and honestly believe it." Hannah Carlen (Spectre) "For yelling at me for not adding one of their records even though she isn't my REP! And no, I didn't add it." Matt Kleinschmidt (The Syndicate) "Because I've seen 'em." Munsey Ricci (Skateboard Marketing) "I mean c'mon have you ever met him?" "He is awesomely grizzly." Bekah Zietz (Suicide Squeeze) "She don't take any guff!" Biggest Ray Of Sunshine Doug Blake (Pirate!) "Crazy, but his good mood is contagious." Steve Hendriksen (Team Clermont) "We've had some of the best conversations ever." Jenn Misko (The Band Mom/LIFT) "Girl always has a smile." Hector Montes (Beggars) "Behind that sour front is a little boy squealing with joy." Karen Moran-Thomas (The Syndicate) "She is like delicious golden butter on a pancake, the best kind of butter to be on a pancake." Most Sincere Erin Ginty (EMI) "She's such a kind and caring addition to radio, and she always remembers what tunes I love" Karen Moran-Thomas (The Syndicate) "Gives the straight pitch." Shil K. Patel (Team Clermont) "Nicest man in existence." Graham Rothenberg (The Syndicate) "I thought it read 'gullible.'" Jerry Steller (Vitriol) "Promotes things he loves, not everything that happens to arrive with a check attached to it." Label Promoter Of The Year Mona Dehghan (Domino) "She actually believes in the bands or their potential, and that genuineness is rare in this industry." Dustin Elliott (Atlantic) "When there are soccer games to watch, he watches the shit outta them." "Cute smile." Sasha Morgan (Sub Pop) "Cuz she is one hella awesome lady, works good music, always has a great attitude and has great taste in tunes!" Jay Lewis (Yep Roc) "Great guy who has awesome records." Bekah Zietz (Suicide Squeeze) "Lady knows how to make it rain." Best Mentor Doug Blake (Pirate!) "When I was a super newbie, he helped me very much." "Always lends an ear, always gives advice." Hannah Carlen (SPECTRE) "She coaxed me into this nightmare from a tender age." Justin Gressley (AAM) "Straight talk, worth listening to." Shil K. Patel (Team Clermont) "He taught me everything I know!"
