CHUCK CROUSE: Michael Hinman of Tampa, Fla., writes of a Kane
radio personality who was his mentor in the news
business.[neWLine]
“”Nearly 13 years ago, I got a phone call from a man named Chuck
Crouse. He had just bought WLMI in Kane a few months before, and
was looking to hire someone to help keep things going on the
weekends. I was barely 17 years old, and still a student at
Johnsonburg High School, and was very surprised to have received
the call. …[neWLine]
“”Somehow, I got the weekend job, and would spend the next 18
months of my life being a part of a family that included Chuck’s
wife Ginny as well as co-workers like Barry Morgan and Scott
McGuire.[neWLine]
“”It didn’t feel like work. It was a labor of love, but I also
know it was a labor of love for Chuck and Ginny who gave up a very
urban lifestyle just outside of Boston to take over a small radio
station in McKean County that most outside of the region had never
heard of. …[neWLine]
“”While I’m excited that Chuck and Ginny will be able to finally
enjoy a long-deserved retirement, I somehow still find it sad that
WLMI is now under new ownership. While I have every confidence in
the world that Jeffrey Andrulonis of the South Carolina company
Colonial Radio Group will continue the great work that the Crouses
along with the rest of the WLMI staff have done over the last
decade and a half, I guess it’s still a bit disconcerting to
realize that the family is never going to be the same.[neWLine]
“”I just wanted to tip my hat to the legacy that Chuck and Ginny
Crouse have maintained with WLMI, and to publicly thank both of
them, along with the rest of the WLMI staff, for helping me realize
my own potential.[neWLine]
“”I came to realize that I had a face for radio, and a voice for
newspaper, but I also realized that dreams are reachable. Chuck
once told me that he had always dreamt of owning his own station.
He achieved that dream, and went above and beyond. And in the
process, everyone in Kane and the surrounding communities that pick
up 103.9 reaped the rewards.[neWLine]
“”And now, back to America’s best country music …””[neWLine]
Michael is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
