Listener Lowdown

"A zest for life" does not come close to describing our featured listener in this edition of the Radio Reader Newsletter. Steve S. is a born and bread St. Louisian, growing up and currently residing in the North County area. He was born with a congenital condition which resulted in significant vision loss. As a child, Steve was mainstreamed into the public school system which offered special resources to assist him in his educational pursuits. During the summers he attended the Missouri School for the Blind where he mastered the life skills to live independently. He graduated from McClure North High School and then attended Florissant Valley Community College where he obtained an associate degree in Communications. Steve went on to obtain a degree from the Broadcast Center and had aspirations of becoming a radio disc jockey. In the meantime, his passion for music helped provide the financial resources for day-to-day living. He was the bass player in the "Second Span" band which was comprised of three blind and two sighted members. They were a local legend in late 80's and early 90's placing third nationally in the You Can Be A Star TV program sponsored by the Nashville network. Locally, the group was recognized by a popular radio station as a KIX Country Band and in 1988 they were interviewed by our own John Weidlich on the popular Talkback program. Steve left the station that day with a radio under his arm and has been a listener ever since. "Minds Eye provides the type of in-depth programming that enables me to synthesize information and converse with others about local and national events," said Steve. "It fills in the blanks left by TV coverage which is usually limited to a ten-second sound bite."

Steve put his musical aspirations on the back burner and went back to school to obtain a bachelors degree in social work. In 2002, he graduated from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and is currenlty a case worker in St. Charles. "So many people have helped me in my lifetime, it is great to be able to give something back to someone else." Steve has not given up his passion for music. The band members are still great friends and every once in a while play at local community events and private parities. "Music is a great creative outlet for me but with a wife and family, I had to set other priorities," Steve added. Now, instead of traveling the music circuit, he and his family enjoy boating, skiing, and camping at the lake.

Program SPOTLIGHT

Consumer News Hour is a program heard on Minds Eye at 4 p.m. every Tuesday and 4 a.m. every Wednesday. We have had a consumer news program at Minds Eye for at least thirty years, beginning as a half-hour weekly program and then expanding to a full hour. Consumer News consists of articles from such magazines as Consumer Reports, Money, and Bottom Line, covering financial advice, reviews of popular consumer products, and anything that might help our listeners to be wise shoppers. The program has been read for the past several years by Celeste Kososki, who is not just a good reader, but an award winner.

Each year the International Association of Audio Information Services, an organization that represents stations like ours in the U.S. and other countries, gives awards to the best reading service programs in a variety of categories. Stations submit their best programs to a panel of judges who determine the winners in each category. In 2006, Celeste won the award for best program in the News Digest Category and in 2007 she received Honorable Mention in the same category. She obviously loves doing this program. She puts a lot of work into selecting the articles and presents them with professionalism and enthusiasm.

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