A well-known local country music entertainer and broadcaster has been inducted into the Australian Country Music Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame
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Floreena Forbes’s commitment to the airwaves was recognised at a ceremony last weekend in Tamworth.
“That has to be the highlight of my life, when I got that notification I had been accepted into the Hall of Fame. Never in all my long days did I think it was going to happen,” she said.
Ms Forbes joined 52 others inducted into the Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame, including John Minson, Barbara Morison, John Nutting and Neville Pellitt.
Ms Forbes loved country music from a young age.
“Country music was in during my era. At the time it was very popular,” she said.
“I loved it because country music tells a story. Whether it’s happy or sad, people sing these songs about instances in their lives and they always tell a story.”
In 1977 Ms Forbes began performing on stage, first with the Tumbleweed Country Band and later as as solo artist.
Recently, the Bendigo-based artist was as busy as ever performing, organising concerts and raising funds for a wide range of charities including those dedicated to cancer research, the Salvation Army, the RSPCA.
Australian Country Music Hall of Fame president Eric Scott said it was Ms Forbes work promoting fellow artists that had won her a place on the organisation’s walls.
He said Ms Forbes had spent years promoting country music online and on the radio.
She began broadcasting in 1996 first with Triple C FM and then from 2008 with Phoenix FM, helping the fledgling station raise funds and begin broadcasting.
Ms Forbes also set aside space on her website to promote fellow performers, share interviews and circulate industry news.
Mr Scott said the country music industry valued the DJs who played their music.
“Their importance can’t be understated, especially in their support for older country music styles. Those styles don’t get a lot of air play on commercial stations or the ABC any more,” he said.
“We in the country music industry put a lot of store in the enthusiasts in FM radio who play our music.”
Ms Forbes encouraged more people to get involved in community radio.
“They can contact me if they would like to be involved in radio. I used to train announcers,” Ms Forbes said.
“There have been some I have trained who have gone onto commercial radio stations. And the skills people learn are ones they can always fall back on if they need to.”