Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce launches podcast

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The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce didn’t just return to hosting events in 2021. The chamber also launched a new podcast, the Birch Bay BuzzPod.

Each episode is released on the first of the month and includes information about upcoming events in Birch Bay and interviews with community members. The BuzzPod launched its first episode in June and currently has released four episodes – one for each month plus a bonus episode in July.

Event coordinator Sacha Sanguinetti hosts the podcast and handles everything behind the scenes from recording to editing, with executive director Danielle Gaughen helping find podcast sponsorships. Sanguinetti was hired at the chamber of commerce in March, and he previously worked in radio in Kansas.

His 23 years of experience as a show host and station manager made the podcast a natural fit, and he suggested the idea of a community podcast when he interviewed for his current position.

“I’ve spent a lot of years behind the mic,” Sanguinetti said. “When I came to the Birch Bay chamber, it was something I brought to the table and something we decided we wanted to give a shot.”

The BuzzPod’s goal is to keep people informed and connected with the community, Sanguinetti said. Sanguinetti has learned more about Birch Bay community members with each episode and hopes listeners will as well. The BuzzPod’s August episode, which features an interview with Lee and Rosemary Connors from The Bridge Community Hope Center, was a prime example.

“I was extremely interested and entertained in talking with the Bridge and all the things they do,” Sanguinetti said. “My hope is the people who listen in to the podcast have that same interest.”

While future content may include events happening in neighboring communities like Blaine or Lynden, Sanguinetti hopes to keep the podcast focused on Birch Bay. Sanguinetti’s experience working in small markets has taught him that a talk show has to cater to its community to appeal to listeners and make the podcast worth their time.

“With audio, you need to keep it fresh and you need to keep doing different things,” Sanguinetti said. “There’s so many things to grab the public’s attention. I’m asking for 30 minutes of somebody’s time to listen to our podcast. That’s a pretty big time investment in 2021.”

Although the podcast listenership has been fairly consistent so far, Sanguinetti is hoping to branch out and try new things with the podcast in the future, he said. The biggest challenge, though, is continuing to create content the community will enjoy.

Sanguinetti welcomes ideas for future episodes of the BuzzPod and can be contacted at sacha@birchbaychamber.com.

The Birch Bay BuzzPod is available through the chamber of commerce website at birchbaychamber.com as well as through podcast host sites like Spotify, Google Podcasts and Podbean. The BuzzPod is not currently available through Apple Podcasts but will stream there in the future, Sanguinetti said.

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