Christmas 2015 Thoughts and Thanks...

It's December. Near Christmas. The rushing around for Christmas has hopefully just about wrapped up in anticipation of relaxation, and observing of the HOLIDAY. (from the words, “Holy Day”)

This is the first year in over half a decade that I've made a concentrated effort to be personally more ready for Christmas to arrive. This year, after five annual local radio productions of my favorite Christmas story, Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” with the WION voices and friends, I decided that the production just couldn't be improved-upon. Instead, we'll be airing the “people's choice” WION version on Christmas Eve. It's been fun to make this show happen for five years, but all things have their time. It's not to say that I may not return to it again, but for this year, we change things just a bit.

That program, that script, that adaptation of the classic story is part of MY love of radio. Long before I was “on the radio”as an announcer I was literally “living”radio, listening constantly and tuning the dial,  and with the help of my parents I started my collection of radio receivers, many of which can be seen at our WION studios.

In some of our WION Christmas Carol introductions I've told you how on Christmas Eves of the 1970's my father would be at church helping with the service and I'd be home listening to distant AM signals bringing me the 1939 Campbell Playhouse version with Orson Wells and Lionel Barrymore. It was the script from that production, which inspired and provided the words-for our WION versions over the past half-decade. (Yes, I was a very young radio geek.)

On those Christmas Eves past, About the time the 1939 radio play would end, my father, an Episcopal minister, would drive back home, pick up my Mom and I, then take us back to church for the late night service. Some years the routine was reversed, and I'd attend church early, then listen late at night, finding a distant (AM) signal carrying my favorite Christmas radio special, and listen to it as it faded in and out, knowing every word, yet hanging on every one of them and enjoying it as if I'd never heard it before.

We've traditionally presented our local version of this classic to you on WION as part of our Christmas Eve morning show gathering, and again on Christmas Eve night. This year, I'd like to present the “People's Choice” WION version at 9AM Christmas Eve, and the 1939 version at 5PM so you can hear the classic as well.

Each time I produced the WION version of "A Christmas Carol,"  I can tell you there was some magic in the room.  I remember sitting in our studios late at night wondering if I'd ever finish, and with help from various friends over the years if I'd need a certain background sound, music bed, or voice, it seemed to just “happen.” At the risk of sounding corny, I believe that there were more souls than ours in the studio helping us out, and inspiring us to make the magic happen. You'll just have to trust me on that.

Back to what I began to tell you.....this year is different. The world seems more on edge, and it's tough each day to hear bad news as we get closer and closer to Christmas.  I've always believed in the power of local radio to make a difference, and to lift the spirits of those who need it. I hope that our work with the Blue Star Mothers last month, and our upcoming Christmas programming have, and will continue to do that for you, and in some small way help combat the constant barrage of bad news in ALL the media.

Perhaps it helps to note there's plenty of good right here in Ionia County, and I hope you count WION as part of it.   We'll enjoy bringing you Randy Edwards' 3 hour Christmas special, “Edwards' Archives” along with "Christmas Across the Lands” for our 12^th year. We'll also have our Christmas Eve morning show/on air gathering and we hope you'll tune-in.

As the year wraps up, WION is proud to once again have helped raise money to fight cancer with Relay for Life, to have pledged money to Bertha Brock Park on behalf of our advertisers during fallfest, to have broadcast from the Chamber's Expo in the spring, and to have helped promote some great things like the 2^nd annual “Wizard of Oz” festival in June. It's been a GREAT year in our community, and we're very proud to have helped promote and KEEP the name Ionia on the map.

You hear many voices on WION. Garry Osborn, Randy Edwards, Phil Cloud, Bill Lynch and “Our ol' Buddy Bob”, guests from the community, and friends of WION who lend their voices and talents year-round, but that's not the extent of our great team.

As we get set to celebrate Christmas, I'd like to send a personal thank you to everyone who contributes to our daily visits with you, and I'm afraid I'll leave some out unintentionally, so forgive me in advance.

There are many voices you may never meet who are friends of WION. Many have worked-with Jim Aaron and I on different radio stations in our past. They make time to record commercials and promos for us.  There's “Steve the Voice Guy” who has been the “image” of our station now for 11 years. There's our sales staff of Dan Ferguson and Aimee Barna. Dan's enjoyed 7 years with us, while Aimee joined us this year with great enthusiasm and is helping at WGLM as well. There's our engineers, including Scott who is always willing to jump in and help, Ralph, E-T, Rick, and others who are always just a phone call away to help this small (STEREO) AM continue to sound GREAT and stay on the air. There's Penny, who keeps us in touch with the worthy causes in our area, even though she's working full-time now! She still finds time to help us help others.

Then, there's the behind-the-scenes unsung heroes who stop in with bread, pies, or other great gifts; there's those who iron shirts to help me look better on remotes, Vicki who always keeps our logo "lump-free" and there's our friends who are great at keeping our station's property looking great inside and outside.  This year there's also some “new” people getting their feet wet in making commercials and reading forecasts like our midday weather host who I'm very proud-of.   It's fun to watch and help people “new” to the microphone develop their delivery and talent. There's also Popeye John on Friday nights, having his first Christmas as a regular host on WION.  There's even our friends at "Satelliteguys.us" who give us a forum to exchange ideas, and get the name "WION" indexed very quickly by Google!

The amazing part is, some of these people VOLUNTEER of their time, and none are full time! Every one of WION's team is here because they WANT to be.

So, as we celebrate Christmas this week, I hope that WION is part of your holiday. We'll have GREAT Christmas programming, and we're proud to be an independent station in this day of media consolidation. We're proud to be YOUR station, and that you can take us anywhere, anytime via the web and our apps.

I'm a very blessed man, to do what I love for a living.  Jim Aaron and I had ONE goal when we started this station together as “I-1430”...to make a reasonable living by producing great radio in a small town. It truly is a pleasure, and one I wouldn't trade for the world. (The other) Jim feels the same way, though our company growth has planted him in Greenville at our sister station, WGLM.

From the entire WION family, especially this fortunate radio morning host and station owner, 

Merry Christmas!

(1/3/16) Please enjoy these pictures from our Christmas Eve gathering...click on this link, anyone can see this, even without a Facebook account!

QUICK Update from Jim Carlyle...

Exciting things are happening at WION! 

We've installed new computers in all our studios, with all new software upgrades!  This means more reliable programming for you, and some "new" features coming soon, including special weekend weather forecasts, and more!  We're also very excited at WION to be welcoming new clients!  We've recently had the privilege of adding Affordable LawnCare  (Fall cleanups and Winter Plowing) and "The Bowling Alley" in Ionia to our roster of advertisers! For the first time, we also welcome Mane Stage Salon on Main Street, Ionia as part of our Halloween night advertiser list! The fun folks from "The Bowling Alley" will join us co-hosting the morning show midweek, too!

Radio is growing locally, and...we're also excited to bring you a fun night on Halloween!  From 6 to 9 it's Barry Scott's special "lost 45's for Halloween, then...3 hours of old time radio comes your way! So, Halloween night, take the kids trick or treating with Barry Scott on the car radio, then go home,  light the jack o'lantern, curl up with a radio, earbuds, or your favorite device for WION, and enjoy!  There's a schedule of our scary old time radio shows in the Ionia county Shopper's Guide from 10/24!   And, while we're updating you on the great things going on, keep listening and watching our online forum for info about this year's campaign to collect items for our troops, as we once again work with the "Blue Star Mothers!" it's an exciting time for radio, and we're glad to be your local radio station, WION!  Thanks for listening! 

We appreciate...you!

WION random notes as we observe our 11th Birthday Month in September of 2015...

The WION that you know today turns 11 years old this month.  September of 2004 brought our team to Ionia with the intent of providing great local radio. We still keep that in mind every day for you, our listeners.

We've made 11 years of improvements, not limited-to but including our larger AM signal for west-central Michigan, the addition of FM to our roster, then AM stereo, then streaming...and who knows what may be next! We're proud of 11 years of hard work to make this the BEST local station Ionia has ever had! Much of that comes from having working, local owners who care, and who respond to both the community feedback, and the technical needs of a 24/7 very "public" business.

That's why we still have the BEST AM station in the nation for sound quality in AM stereo (which you enjoy online)...our County-Wide FM 92.7 is clear, and brings you every detail in the music, and..our apps keep you in touch anywhere.  Most small town stations don't do HALF of what we do, and it's thanks to a team of talented friends who work or donate time to this great station!

Our online Android and I-phone app is becoming more and more popular...Oh, and by the way..the WION app won't poke into your address book, your browsing history, or your other apps, either. All they do is connect to the web to bring you GREAT AM STEREO sound. We don't "data mine"...like the big radio stations, and we're not part of "I heart insert name here for the week"... either.  Your information and browsing is YOUR business, not ours, and we'll always treat it that way. Anyway, go to the forum and join!

That having been said, at 11 years old, and now that it's autumn, my favorite time of year, let's turn to some GREAT things...

1) Fallfest is next week, (always the 3rd Saturday in September.) We'll be pulling up our lawn chairs and playing AM STEREO 1430 at Bertha Brock Park near Ionia, back near the Palmer Lodge.   Please bring the family for a day of walking the park and meeting great organizations, businesses, and fun!  In addition to attending, WION has once again sold "Fallfest Invites" on the radio, and thanks to outstanding support, our radio station gives $1000 to the Bertha Brock Park Improvement Fund. We're VERY proud of this.

2) We've got a new Halloween lineup of shows for you on Saturday October 31st....Join in the fun, beginning with Barry Scott's regular "Lost 45's" show...which we're sure will have a chilling theme to it...then it's 3 hours of classic old-time-radio shows to scare you through to midnight!  Grab a great sounding radio, turn it up with the family, have some popcorn or some scary food, and do what families did years ago...before twitter, facebook, instagram, and streaming TV...they listened to the radio....TOGETHER!  You might be surprised at the fun you can have!

3) The Wake up Call (trivia that is not "googleable")  has returned...and we'll talk about it Wednesday mornings on WION...giving listeners a chance to win a burger of the week from the Lamplight Grill...and maybe some other fun prizes!  

4) Our FORUM is free...and it's like having your very own online chat with WION anytime, 24/7.  It's hosted by "satelliteugys.us" and, it's a GREAT way to keep up on our trivia, events, weekend feature programs, and more!  Go sign up after you read this very engaging blog...by clicking on the "forum" button at the top of any of our website pages.  Yes, you'll need to provide an e-mail to join, but many of the ads go away, and we'll know you're a REAL person wanting to join. Don't worry...we don't sell or spam that e-mail, I promise!    
You'll automatically be a member of satelliteugys.us where you can talk about TV Shows, Cooking, Sports, Technology, and so much more!  THEN...if you enjoy it and want to be in the "Pub" a membership there is only $20/year and lets you discuss ANYTHING with pub members only!  This part is completely optional.  

In 11 years of being on the air, we hope you've seen what local radio can do to grow and promote a community.  We'll continue to be active with Relay for Life, with Fallfest, with the DDA, our Chamber, and others.  We pride ourselves on being FIRST in most weather emergencies on the air, and we try very hard to put Ionia on the map in a GOOD way with our AM Stereo stream and apps so people worldwide get an "audio taste" of Ionia, MIchigan.  

11 years has made us many friends here, and it's nice to hear feedback about WION when I'm out and about.  It's fun to know you're tuned-in and responding.  Again, thank you for this. It means we're part of your daily routine, and that's the highest compliment any radio station can receive.

So,  if you've not familiarized yourself with WION, Welcome!  Our regular schedule includes CBS news at the top of each hour, Michigan News on weekday mornings, noon, and afternoon, Michigan sports during our morning show, and great music 24/7.  On the weekend, the music continues, and we add features including  The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas, Edwards Archives, and Barry Scott's Lost 45's on Saturday.  Then Sunday it's Pastor Ken Harger from Shiloh Church, Retro Stars, the 80's show, and encores of some of our Saturday features.  We hope you find that after 11 years, we offer consistency, variety of programming, and are the best in promoting community.

Thank YOU  Ionia, for 11 years on the air as "I-1430!" It's our privilege to be here and to be the radio voice of your town and your county. 

Been Awhile, so for my four (or so) readers, just stopping by.....

(Obviously) it's been awhile since I've updated this blog. I hope that you've been with us frequently on the morning show.

We've welcomed back Danny Boy's Drive-in Theater to our airwaves, and you can enjoy Bart Lower co-hosting on Thursdays with chances for you to with the FAMOUS "Leave your Wallet at Home" package of admissions, popcorn, Danny Dogs, Cotton Candy, and more! We've already made two winners, and you could be next!  

WION Radio is SO proud of our growth on the internet!  We're heard in towns WELL within driving distance of Ionia, so when we're talking about things like the upcoming Wizard of Oz Festival, or the Ionia Classic Car Show, or the Memorial Day Parade, we're actually inviting more people than ever!  What's really neat is that as we grow, we also track not only amount of hours listened, but...songs played, and...for our advertisers, the amount of commercials actually heard!  That's right! WION's online listeners stay with us through our commercials, without interrupting their streams! We're so proud of this!  To ALL our advertisers, and to those not yet "on the air" this should be HUGE information.

Here's how it works:  For ever listener that stays online through one commercial counts as one "listen."  An advertiser on WION heard by two people at the same time online would be....(drum roll, please) TWO listens! Unlike big city stations that black out commercials, we give our online listeners the FULL FLAVOR of what WION really is....and, you may find it amazing to know that in January, online fans accounted for 25,322  total listens to COMMERCIALS!  That means we're the BEST value around, and we're proud of it! Newspaper can't prove who opens particular pages, but WE can prove the ads were delivered to our listeners, along with "The music you know!" 

It's WONDERFUL to have so many of you tuning in these days. I know you are, because back in the late Winter when my car was wrecked and then repaired locally, I had SO many people asking me at dinner downtown or on the street, "How's Manuel?" (the Green Jeep Liberty) then...an awkward pause, and I'd answer, "by the way, I'm fine, too!"  Perfect proof our listeners are in-touch with WION and we appreciate it. Whether you tune in for music, morning guests and co-hosts, News, Charles Osgood, or just because we're local to you, WION values your loyalty.

We have a new feature that we're VERY proud-of three times each day.  It's from the Michigan Agriculture Information Network, and we get three reports each weekday from our old friend Patrick Driscoll who KNOWS Agriculture. What's different about THIS network? They talk about West Michigan! They talk about the economy, your purchase choices, healthy growing of everything in agriculture, and so much more.  Please give these reports a listen at around 6:35 AM, then again in our noon and 5PM information blocks!  I think you'll like these timely and interesting commentaries!

And finally, We haven't worked on the wakeup call in a while, and it has me a bit in a quandary. I'm not sure if we should give the answer away, or pick it back up!  You may comment here if you like or e-mail morning@i1430.com with your thoughts.   A significant amount of mornings of late  due to (temporary) health issues (I don't think there's many souls who haven't had allergies or chest/voice issues since Winter) I'm afraid it's kept me doing more paperwork behind the scenes and playing more music instead of our regular "engaging" conversations with each of you who regularly listen.  I'm incredibly thankful for every morning I wake up and am clear enough to do the show, and I'm sorry for the loss of our regular visits when it's not as easy. I have hopes that the CRUD is gone soon, and that I'm working 100 percent as summer comes our way.  We're a small company, and that's GOOD, but it means "holes" in our schedule are more likely when we have illness in our ranks.

Join us weekday mornings 6 to 9AM, and please spread the word that we truly ARE "America's Biggest Little Radio Station".....WION!  (Available almost anywhere!!)

--Carlyle

Thanksgiving 2014 ...some thoughts.

I don't get to write these blogs very often, much less than I'd like, but it seemed appropriate today....as we all think of the things for which we are THANKFUL. If my three readers enjoy it, the writing is worth the effort.

Yesterday, though I'm far from WION, a call was forwarded  to my cellphone, and it was a call of "Thanks." From a small business in Ionia, who heard us mention them in what we call our "listening business list" of which regular listeners are well aware. What a nice call to have forwarded on the eve of Thanksgiving.

I don't often get away from the studio, and I, am thankful for small breaks now and then, which you, our listeners have allowed me to have a few times this autumn.  
This particular short getaway brings me to the home of some dear friends, "cashing in" a Christmas gift from last year, that gift being the invite to join them for their family/friends' Thanksgiving gathering.  Could there be a better gift? I don't think so.  Even though I'm still working while away, the invite is being very much enjoyed.

Other things for which to be thankful for me this year? For one, how about  WION growing!  It's now 10 years of Ionia County accepting us as your local radio station! Another thing to be thankful for:  This year, we're starting a new effort at Christmas which we call "Treasures for Troops" which is, by no means, new in it's concept, but it is new to us, and with the help of some new and already strong partnerships, we hope to be filling a sponsor's truck a few times over with items that our overseas members of the military would like to receive as "packages from home."   This new project is helping to put our staff and friends into the Christmas Spirit. You can tell in the voices of all our announcers. 

It's very easy for me to add to my "thanks" list. Looking ahead, once again this year WION will be producing "A Christmas Carol" from the original 1939 Campbell Playhouse script, as performed when Lionel Barrymore was Ebeneezer Scrooge, and Orson Welles produced the program. I'm billing this one as performed by the  "Friends of 1430 Players" this year, because each year seems to bring both "new" voices and some old friends (personal and WION-related) to the production.  Last year our show starred our support staff of Engineers, Lawyers, and others. 

This year, the gift of friendships takes center stage. Both the long term ones, like my friends who invited me to visit this Thanksgiving, and the new friends as well.

This Christmas Eve we'll have our new friends from (another) AM 1430 in Durand Wisconsin, Brian and Karla Winnekins of our "adopted" sister station, WRDN starring as Bob and Mr.s Cratchitt. in the radio play I just mentioned, "A Christmas Carol."  I've come to know these new friends as people devoted to small town radio, passionate about their town it's well-being, it's people,  and I'm proud to call them friends. We met twice this year in their town, and you can tell the town respects them. I can't wait to have them in our show.  Some friends of mine, (in fact my hosts in Maryland as i write this)  will play the "young" Scrooge and Belle this year, and our plan is to have longtime WION voice, and good friend to our station, Mr. Harry Boyes return to our microphones this year.  He worked as News Director for WION for many years in the 1960's, and remains supportive of our community efforts.  Harry also played the ghost of Jacob Marley two years ago and allowed us to use his performance again in 2013.  This year he is rehearsing to be our Mr. Scrooge, and we're glad to have him.   So, once again this year, I'm proud to include close friends in the Christmas story which has become my favorite story of all time. The show will debut on the air Christmas Eve morning during our special "Christmas" morning show with friends,  as it has in years past.  I have to say, it's genuine THANKS I give for friends' participation in this show.  A fun gift from WION to you, our listeners.

Then, there's the THANKS to the  "support people" of WION.  Clare Colwell of Mercantile Bank was out  at our studios recently and observed while hearing of our wonderful team of many talented engineers that WION is the "perfect example of good relationships." We try!  Our engineers that maintain our sound, our streaming, and our whole station are remarkable. I'm, again, THANKFUL that many of these relationships have lasted since I was a young announcer in Jackson, MI and are now part of the day to day operations of WION. 

The list goes on and on....of people to be THANKFUL FOR when considering WION's success and growth. The list goes on and on of organizations we've been able to help thanks to our listeners' and advertisers' support.   The list goes on and on of people who show up at our studios at just the "right" time with offers of food for us, coffee, help with events, and just to support us or say on a "bad" day, "you're doing fine!"  THOSE are remarkable people with equally remarkable timing. Then there are the friends with talents to lend in a crisis, who know much better than I how to mend fences (literally) and rebuild antenna tuning units, change generator batteries, and do all the things which come unexpectedly.  I'm THANKFUL for every one of them, every time the station is in need.

I'm THANKFUL for my circle of friends, new and longtime, and how each of them has become part of WION.  They all make radio FUN and they get me, and WION through the tough times, too.  It's even more fun when we all share in the GOOD times.

At the top of my list of things to be thankful for this year are all my "WION People" ...who are the people who make my life worthwhile. My friends....my adopted family.

I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving 2014, and that it is a gateway to a wonderful Christmas season for you and yours. 

Jim Carlyle

We beat all the office pools, and WION celebrates in September!

That's right, WION beat all the "wagering" by (some) locals against our survivial!  We won with our team of radio pros, who bought and revived WION in 2004.  Many folks didn't think small-town radio could survive, let alone THRIVE in this modern digital world! 

Before we get too far in to this post, let me apologize for not writing more blogs of late, my (few) readers know it's been a long time.  Radio's kept me, and the whole WION team busy!  

It'll be ten years on September 1st that Jim Aaron and I threw the "official' switch turning the station back on (legally)....and, actually, truth be known, the license had not been "reinstated" during the morning show, but was "ok'd" in person by an FCC official to the attorney representing the seller within minutes of the end of the morning show.

That show was scary for Jim and I, a new venture together in business, both of us very familiar with the radio industry, with similar stops around Michigan and Indiana learning the ropes from some excellent mentors, program directors, and owners.  Rumor is that we played Charlie Dore's "Pilot of the Airwaves" for the first official song on WION, though during transmitter testing I recall our engineers asking me to put something on so they could tune up the old tube monster. If memory serves, it was Jimmy Buffet, but given the condition of the pile of equipment in OUR early WION, he sounded like Anne Murray at the bottom of a well, singing an AC/DC song while having a bad cold. Yes, the sound of WION was less than we had hoped but we got it on the air.

Over the  next weeks and months, with the help of great engineers including Michael Bradford (whom I credit with pointing me in the direction of Ionia, sometimes with more blame than credit on days where radio seems an odd career choice) Ed Trombley,  and the other radio engineers at the firm of Munn-Reese in Coldwater, MI, along with  Ralph Haines, we gathered enough equipment to kick the sound (and the signal) in the pants, and get a stronger sound out there for our listeners,which was by this time growing in numbers every day!  Still broadcasting in Mono and limited by our equipment and startup budget, we moved forward. 

Along the way, however...there were a few setbacks. A storm in June of 2005 took our old Continental transmitter off-air for a few days (A bad thing for a new company to experience, especially when trying to improve WION's image in the community.)  Insurance at the "upper" levels fought our claim, but, they brought in an independent engineer not associated with WION to look at the issue who said, "yep, it can be fixed, but there's more damage done AFTER the lightning bolt, so your best bet as insurance carriers is to REPLACE the whole box, and have less overall claims."  With that said, a new 45 thousand dollar transmitter was installed, and we paid only for a rather large surge supressor on the power input.  It was a bit of  good fortune  for us. Since then, the new transmitter has not had any bouts with lightning. The independent engineer was correct!  With that new transmitter came better range, better sound, and....eventually AM stereo...but we'll get to that soon.  Literally, that lightning bolt was a gift from God himself.  We even overcame the well going dry, the roof being at the end of its life on the studios (a new lifetime metal roof is in place)  and other various small "emergencies" that happen to any 24/7 business, and always come out of each situation in better shape, thanks to the talents of our WION family and our advertisers! 

The first major thing we had to do was improve and enlarge the AM signal! WION alway pointed it's signal north. We fixed this and moved the daytime AM signal to a "round" pattern with the help of the great engineers we've mentioned in this blog!  That was around 2008-2009. Now you can enjoy the over the air AM from Lansing to Grand Rapids along I-96, and for a good distance of the way going north and south, too! During this upgrade, we also installed a generator that keeps us at FULL POWER and ready to bring you information during any power outage or local emergency when cable, DSL and other communication means are not working!

Then came the NEW FM STEREO 92-7 with it's clear, VERY stereo, excellent sound!  It covers most of our county 24/7, and fills-in where the AM can't (mainly at night, due to the laws that make us lower our power at night) and this signal quickly became a favorite of many business owners, and "local" homes and drivers.

Next on the list came our improved AM "sound" with the addition of AM stereo! Many HD radios and cars with years up through the mid 2000's have AM stereo built-in, but...we also did this to show the world how GREAT AM stereo can sound!  And how did we do this, you ask?  By the next of the miracles for our small station:

STREAMING!  WION launched our streaming service officially on the morning of the station's 60th birthday!  We're now known (and heard) worldwide, and we're known as the leader in quality AM sound!  If you've tuned-in to our stream, you know how great it sounds, and guess what....you're listening to AM STEREO directly from  the AM stereo tuner you see at the top of our website.  Yes, it's AM, and YES, it's STEREO!  You can now take WION anywhere in the world, with our online player, our apps in Google Play and I-tunes, through the Tune-In Radio app, and even on new 'smart TV sets" with the tune-in app! (and boy, do we sound GREAT through home theater systems!!)

Programming has evolved over the past ten years. Many a guest has joined us at the round table.  We've added more songs, features, and some special shows that nobody else carries!  Randy Edwards' show each weekend called "Edwards' Archives" and his daily "Turntable Trainwrecks" are produced just for us!  We were an early affiliate of the Twilight Zone Radio Dramas, and still have them today! Weekends also include the "Lost 45's" with Barry Scott, "Retro Stars, the 90's show" and Pastor Ken Harger's weekly message from the lighthouse. Certainly these, and others represent  a huge variety of programming when mixed with our hourly music and information!  

Looking back on  10 years of great music, informing our county, providing employment and paying local taxes, we also can celebrate many other things, like:
Donations to Big Brothers/Big Sisters each year through broadcasting the Chili Dawg Challenge;  Donations to the Bertha Brock Improvement Fund;  a "Time Capsule" buried at the park;  Many successful food drives; Thousands of Dollars given to the local "Relay for Life" in Ionia; 4 years of re-creating the 1939 radio version of "A Christmas Carol" and selling copies for charity; Remote broadcasts and interviews from the Ionia Freefair; Funds raised for winter heating of the Blanchard House; promotion of the IPS Empty Bowls program,  and most recently, WION teaming with the I-M kids 3rd meal program with WION's 10th anniversary.  I'm sure I've left many a fundraiser out!

Through the generosity of the Ionia Moose Lodge hosting us, and by their donating the pig to roast, we'll continue our tradition of giving back,  by 100 percent of all (suggested) $5 donations for lunch going to help feed youngsters who may not normally get a supper when they head home from school!  Please join us on September 13th from noon to 5 PM for our celebration of TEN GREAT YEARS serving Ionia!  Yes, we beat all the office pools who said, "It couldn't be done!" And, we're very proud.

In closing, thank you to our advertisers.  To those who don't know, radio like WION pays its bills through advertising, and we want to advertise YOUR BUSINESS on our airwaves. We'll show you how creative radio advertising from people who care about YOU will grow your business!  And, guess what....it's AFFORDABLE. May we ask for your business as a WION advertiser, please? We love having our listening business list grow, but we'll continue to grow and contribute BACK to Ionia County the more clients we have!  Hear some GREAT creative ads, and even see our new "self serve" online form for ordering one-time event advertising by clicking HERE and, see our advertising package inviting folks to FALLFEST by clicking HERE! We give $50 to the Bertha Brock Park improvement fund for every package sold! 

Thanks for 10 great years, and here's to continued growth....with the help of GREAT listeners, and GREAT advertisers!  Read here what people say about WION. We're very proud of the compliments!

NO MEDIA DOES MORE FOR IONIA COUNTY! 

Jim Carlyle, Co-Owner and Morning Host
WION Radio

and on behalf of Jim Aaron, Music Director and Co-Owner,

"America's Biggest Little Radio Station"

THE WINTER OF...

Everywhere you go..."the weather" is the topic these days. 

Michigan is FINALLY getting a winter worthy of our position in the upper Midwest, and those of us "of a certain age" remember winters like this, while those younger are amazed, amused, and wondering how many days they'll have to "make up" at the end of the school year.

The radio station has kept me busy...and, because of that, I've dropped the ball on writing here more often.  I hope that in the near future, we can at least update this blog and visit once a week.

Bob Flynn was our guest co-host on the morning show on Friday the 31st of January, and was so much fun that we ran the show an extra hour.  Bob has become known to WION listeners and our county as the host of our many interviews each year at the Ionia Chamber Expo. (This year on March 15th.)  Bob's a great host, and also drives a great distance to be our guest announcer at expo.  His Friday visit was a fun chance for you, our listeners to get reacquainted with him! 

We'll continue throughout winter with our regular visits from co-hosts including Penny Beeman with the IM KIDS FEEDING PROGRAM to provide the 3rd meal for young students who may not otherwise get it! She's my Wednesday morning co-host.  We also welcome our Ionia DDA Director Linda Curtis the first Tuesday of each month.  On the schedule are visits from some of our interesting listening businesses, their owners, and more!  Tuesdays (weather and schedule permitting) we have Bill Lynch as co-host, and our Friday Round Table show continues as well!

I'm curious as I finish writing these morning show random thoughts, (and per a discussion we had on the air...) Is it now true that the new "old" is if you're a person who can remember the famous Michigan "Blizzard of '78?"  I was in upper middle school then, and can remember them sending us home from school halfway through a day, and having (at least) one full week off school!  My how things have changed. Walking home, (no kidding here) we were in nearly knee-deep snow.  I had a paper route then for the Jackson Citizen Patriot, and we didn't even get the bundles delivered to us as carriers for over a week, as the drivers couldn't get from Jackson to Addison!  Yes, I remember it well, but I'm not even 50 years old (yet)...does it really make those of us who remember that storm "the new old?" I hope not!  I also don't believe for a minute that the weather we have been getting since Christmas is anywhere NEAR as bad as 1978 was!  Sure we have some ice and lots of drifting, but today's  public closings come more from a "CYA" aspect then a genuine need to close in my humble opinion!  We're such a 'blame everyone else' society that we don't dare take a chance.  No, I'm not saying schools SHOULD have been open in the past six weeks,  but in my memory, back in "the good ol days" we seemed to attend more (school)  in snowy weather, and cancel less. 

Perhaps we were more prepared back then, since this degree of weather severity has not occurred in many a year. That may explain it.  

In any case, snow doesn't stop the morning show, we hope you're enjoying tuning-in, and...I promise...I'll try to update this blog more often. it's always my pleasure to write, (whether I have one reader or tons...doesn't matter)...and, we always welcome your ears to the show, and your keyboard to respond!

See you on the morning show! (which I'd still like to rename)....

-Carlyle