I have always found working in a radio news room to be one of the most exciting, demanding, and challenging experiences I’ve had in the workplace. It is made so because of the people in the business. All very talented, dedicated, and because of the nature of the business, we always work together as a team. The experience has cemented my professonal work ethic including attention to detail, accuracy, and meeting deadlines, something I carry through to every job.

My radio news career started after graduating from Roosevelt University, working at a small radio station in Elmhurst: WKDC — 1530 AM, owned by a Roosevelt marketing professor. The format was all show tunes— really. I love musicals, but I’ve heard the soundtrack of Oklahoma! just one too many times!

Next was a stint in Joliet at WJOL-AM, then on to Aurora at WMRO-AM and then a big break to join the news staff at a new and at the time innovative approach to broadcasting at Satellite Music Network. SMN broadcast live programming 24-hours a day via satellite to more than 600 stations nationwide and in the Caribbean from its studios at a strip mall in beautiful downtown Mokena.

From there it was on to Chicago’s WBBM, WLS, and WGN sharing the microphone with some of the Number 3

market’s top radio talent.

I returned to WGN a few years ago, shortly before the beautiful Chicago Tribune building was sold. I worked with

Dean Richards, whom I last worked with at WMRO, and got to meet some interesting people like Rich Koz,

better known as Svengoolie.