Radio Personalities

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When I started doing my student teaching in Champaign in 2006, I started listening to the radio as I drove to my assignments in the morning. I bounced around from station to station, looking for a morning show that I enjoyed. I eventually settled on Mix 94.5 and discovered the morning show hosted by Kevin Lambert and Sarah Addison. I have listened to their show almost religiously ever since.

Kevin and Sarah kept me company as I drove the 35 miles to Paxton each morning during the Spring 2008 semester before I graduated. After graduating, I continued to listen to their morning show. I often keep my radio tuned to the station and I listen to the other radio personalities but, in all honesty, it has been Kevin and Sarah that have kept me on the station. I have caught up on news headlines, sports scores, celebrity gossip, weird news, stupid things people have done, local weather and traffic conditions, and random topics. I have enjoyed their easy banter, their obvious friendship, and the way they have helped me get going in the morning.

I have also gone to special events sponsored by them, including the Roof Sit for Christmas Wish (when we ran a small business, we donated to support fulfilling Christmas wishes for families in our community), and a fancy food feast where I stalked Kevin throughout the event, tweeting about it throughout the evening and tagging him in posts. (Sadly, he never stopped to say hi to me. In his defense, he was rather busy running an event.)

During the summer of 2011, I began applying for teaching jobs in earnest. I estimate that I applied for over 1,000 jobs in close to 80% of the school districts in Illinois. I had several job interviews, most of them in the early morning. And so Kevin and Sarah kept me company as I went to interviews and tried to keep calm as I was looking for a job. One of the most memorable times was when I was in Washington (Illinois) and got an interview in Rossville (Illinois) at 7:30 am the next day. It was two and a half hour drive and for the first time I got to listen to their show from beginning to end (except for the 30 minutes in between for the interview).

So why am I writing all of this? Well, on Monday morning, as I was driving to work, I turned on the radio and heard Kevin and Sarah talking about the new Hobbit movie coming out. Then Kevin tried to make a segue to another topic, got choked up, gave up on the segue and just dove in: he announced that this week was his last on the show and at the station. I seriously almost slammed on the brakes and called my wife to wake her up to tell her what happened. (I didn't because I knew she would hate me for waking her up.)

He did not say where he is going or what he is doing, only that it is something that will help improve things for his family. (I have heard since that he is going to Terre Haute, Indiana.) Kevin reassured listeners that he is not leaving out of job dissatisfaction, nor is anyone at the station mad at him. It was touching to hear him describe his radio show partner as his best friend. It is obvious listening to their show that they are indeed friends and it improves the quality of the show considerably!

I don't know if Kevin and Sarah are ever going to read this, but I just wanted to say thanks to Kevin for the years of keeping me entertained, informed, and alert as I have been commuting to work in the morning and preparing for classes. I have called in, I have talked to you both, I've shared stories and jokes and personal successes and I've loved every minute of it. Even now, I am listening to them as I am on the couch typing this. Kevin, I wish you all the best as you move on to the next stage of your career. And Sarah, don't worry; I'm still going to listen to your show in the morning!

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