WUIS Soundview - Fall 2008 (republished)

From Our New Development Director

Two people, living out of a Honda Civic over two months, travel nearly 20,000 miles across the United States chasing something elusive:  a simpler, more deliberate life.  The two people were my then fiancé, Sarah, and me.  We wanted to relocate to a quality, smaller town with a lower cost of living.

We traveled from Arizona to Washington, through the Rockies and Great Plains, around the Great Lakes, to Vermont, down to the Carolinas and back (read our blog of the trip at wuis.org).  We slept in a tent and every once in a while at a friend's home or a motel.  We found many idyllic settings and strongly considered our list of finalists.  Twice during the trip, we stopped in Springfield to stay with my sister's family.  They proudly drove us around town showing us its highlights.  In the end, having family here was an important factor in the decision. 

Springfield compared favorably with other finalists without the family factor.  Springfield had so many things going for it:  arts, an emerging music scene, being the capital, Lake Springfield, Lincoln heritage, and the quickly growing UIS. 

My brother got caught up in our plan and decided to join us in the move.  He drove his belongings over from Long Beach, California and loaded them in the moving truck with ours.  In March, we again loaded up the Civic to make the move from Phoenix.  At stops, it was a sight to see the three adults and two dogs empty out of our little high-mileage car.

As we unpacked boxes, we sought out NPR's credible news and compelling shows and tuned to 91.9 and found WUIS.  Quickly we came to enjoy Rich's friendly authority in the mornings, Karl's midday music, and the professional local reporting we heard from the rest of the staff. 

Looking for work, we hoped to find fulfilling jobs at institutions that serve the local community.  When I saw that WUIS had a position available, I knew I had to go for it.  I've been in radio for 30 years, mostly at WGN-AM in Chicago and at KTAR AM/FM in Phoenix.   Now, I'm proud to be the new Development Director for WUIS at the University of Illinois at Springfield.  My role is to make sure WUIS has the resources to continue serving you with excellent programming.  I'm also seeking the funding to provide you with our quality content for emerging technology platforms such as wuis.org, WUIS-HD, etc.

That's my story.  Now, I look forward to getting to know you.  Please call or email me.

P.S.  We like Springfield so much, we had our wedding here.  Now we're working on getting more family and friends to move Springfield!