Welcome, Wherever You’re Listening!
No, it’s not the Magna Carta. But I’ve handled it with care. It’s a document that’s become rather special – and brittle. I’m guessing that Classic Mornings listeners will find it special as well. I remember mentioning something about it during one of the fund drives. But I’ve decided that the time has come to share it via the blog.
Here’s a little background. Just over a year before Classic Mornings began, I hosted an early morning classical music program called The Morning Express. on WILL-FM. It’s hard to forget that the first program aired on Groundhog Day (February 2), 2009.
The Morning Express rolled out at 6 am and was truly a “drive-time” program. Knowing that, I asked the folks in our Membership Department for a list of cities and towns that we served. Every hour, I would select one of those and welcome listeners “coming on board” in that community. It was a more light-hearted classical music program than those I had hosted in previous years. And the hourly greeting to those joining us seemed to be well-received.
A decision was made to bring Morning Edition to WILL-FM in early 2010. I was asked to host a classical music program immediately following Morning Edition, from 9-noon, beginning on April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day – no kidding!). I wanted to preserve as many of the elements of The Morning Express as I could. And I certainly wanted to continue the hourly greetings to one of our listening communities. I simply continued to use the list of cities and towns I’d been given, adding a tiny pencil mark after the name of a place every time I mentioned it.
At one point, Heather Miller, who was our Membership Director for a number of years, gave me a much-expanded list, in a block format which reminded me of a simple baseball scorecard. Rather than checking the boxes next to the towns, I used only one quarter of the little box, adding just a tiny diagonal line, which is similar to indicating that a batter had gotten to first base on a scorecard. But unlike baseball scoring, I waited until every community had “gotten to first base” with a welcome before I advanced each one to second base, etc.
There were nine boxes provided for each of the 161 cities or towns on the list. That means that on the document, every one of those places was welcomed 36 times before I filled the two sides of the page. And I greeted communities 5,796 – actually, 5,797 times. A listener from a community not on the list sent a request that they be included. That came during the 36th round of greetings.
Can you imagine the condition of that piece of paper after the many years of adding all those “no. 2” lead baselines? Long before I filled the page, I began to place it carefully between two sheets of paper, hoping it would last until every block had a diamond. It did! And I’m glad it’s still baseball season when I’m telling you all about it.
I’ve had a few listeners ask how I decide which city or town to welcome each hour. Though the lists are alphabetical, that’s certainly not the order in which I mention them. I would say that I use a “relaxed random method.” That means I point to one on the page and select it, unless I recall that I’ve mentioned it rather recently during a previous round. If I see a gap between two places already mentioned in the current round, I may select a town in the middle of the gap. I will admit that I always save Urbana for the end of each round. And Champaign is welcomed just before Urbana.
Scorecards indicate whether batters who became base runners were put out or stranded on base. They also indicate which batters crossed the plate. On my Classic Mornings “scorecard,” every community crosses the plate. Listeners throughout central Illinois are able to tune in each morning to enjoy and perhaps learn a bit about the classical music that I select with them in mind. And I keep them company with stories and celebrations that are a part of that music. Everybody gets to enjoy all this. Everybody wins!
When I glance at the treasured document, I’m reminded that so many listeners from places on the list and places not on the list make gifts in support of the classical music. They and their communities are a part of the winning lineup of supporters that enables us to continue to bring you the music! Our Fall Fundraiser is next week (September 21-24). We hope you’ll step up to the plate and make a gift of support by calling 217-244-9455 or by going online to willgive.org. Thank you!
