For its participation in the College Radio Foundation’s annual “Vinylthon,” OWWR - Old Westbury Web Radio earned recognition for playing over 100 hours of music from only vinyl albums.
Both the Golden Slipmat Award and the Diamond Slipmat Award were awarded to students and volunteers at OWWR for playing 24 and 48 hours of music only from vinyl records, respectively during last Spring’s “Vinylthon.”
“Being part of Vinylthon was a really unique experience; never spinning vinyl or being on air, then being thrown into the fire to be able to do both at the same time was such a nerve-wracking but an extremely fulfilling experience,” said Robert Abruzzo ‘28, a Media and Communications major. “I loved doing it. Being the owner of my own hours of spinning vinyl was so cool, as well as checking out all the records and music was a breath of fresh air for my own music taste as well.”
Julissa V. Spooner ‘28, also a Media and Communications major, added, “What made it especially rewarding was seeing students from different backgrounds come together because of our shared passion for radio. Everyone had a role to play, and we were all working toward the same goal of keeping the vinyl broadcast going for 100 hours straight. When we actually broke that 100-hour goal and kept spinning, it felt like all of the time and effort everyone had put in had truly paid off.”
"Vinylthon" is an annual event for radio stations across the United States and the world who want to celebrate the format of vinyl music by playing at least one hour of vinyl-only music on the two days the event is held in April. The event was organized by the College Radio Foundation, a non-profit charity based in New Jersey, that also organizes the annual College Radio Day event which OWWR takes part in each fall.
OWWR - Old Westbury Web Radio is the official radio station of SUNY Old Westbury and on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. OWWR provides student, faculty, alumni, and community volunteer programming that streams online to desktop and wireless devices. OWWR is a variety station that features news, sports, talk, and offers a wide variety of music programming.
Web Banner Caption: Participants in Vinylthon 2026 from OWWR - Old Westbury Web Radio seen showing off their Gold and Diamond Slipmat awards from the College Radio Foundation included (back row, left to right) Muhamed Doucoure, Robert Abruzzo, Station Manager Joseph Manfredi, (front row, left to right) Sandra Cerrone, Julissa V. Spooner, and Patrec Alexander Jones-Brown.