One of my Flint Radio friends

Jeff Wade is the program director of 103.9 The Fox in Flint Michigan. Jeff actually is the one who made sure that I was the hire as a talk show host there in Flint at WWCK AM another station that he managed until I came along and he handed the baton to me. Below is a newspaper article that appeared in the Flint Journal in their Holiday Hero section. I wrote the nominating letter to the Journal. I think after reading the article you will understand why.

Radio Personality, Jeff Wade, raises money for Old Newsboys

by David Harris | The Flint Journal

Tuesday December 09, 2008, 9:26 AM

Ryan Garza | The Flint Journal


"If we can help one single young mom from crying herself asleep on Christmas Eve because she doesn't have presents for the kids, then it's been all worth it," said Jeff Wade about the donations he collects while living in a recreational vehicle.

BURTON, Michignan — Jeff Wade thinks about what it's like for a child to wake up on Christmas Day with no presents.

It's a thought he cannot stand.

So each year, the 53-year-old Grand Blanc man lives in a recreational vehicle for a week to raise money for Old Newsboys of Flint.

Wade, the program director at classic rock station WRSR-FM (103.1) "The Fox," goes around Genesee County collecting donations.

"When kids go back to school, they all ask, 'What did you get for Christmas?'" said Wade, who is the vice president of the Old Newsboys board. "If they say, 'nothing,' then that's something that is going to affect them for a long time."

The RV has a big poster on its side to promote the fundraiser. Wade sits in the RV waiting for people to come by.

People may donate $20 to sponsor a child. Some have donated upward of $500.

On Monday, his third day of collecting, Wade was in the parking lot of Applebee's on Court Street in Burton. He collected about $1,800 that day and hopes to gather $18,000 for the week.

This is the third year of the RV radio marathon. Wade broadcasts his morning show from the RV and does live feeds from the RV twice each hour throughout the day until about 6 p.m. He encourages people to come by and drop off a donation. Toys also are accepted.

"It hit me on Christmas morning (last year), when I reflected on the week, that there are 900 kids waking up with a gift from Santa in part because of the work we did," he said.

"It's a pretty good feeling -- that picture of seeing kids opening their presents."

Wade said eating and sleeping in an RV isn't so bad. He said it can get a little cold sometimes, but the cause is worth the effort.

Wade's wife, Ruth, said her husband always is thinking of others. She visits her husband often, spending the night with him when she can.

John-Roman Domanski, a former talk show host on WWCK-AM (1570), helped out during Wade's RV week last year. He said what struck him most about Wade's work was his sincerity.

"This goes beyond a radio stunt, and I have been in radio for 35 years," said Domanski, who now lives in Tallahassee, Fla. "This guy lives this stuff. There is a huge difference between trying to do public relations stuff and being a person of their convictions."

Wade grew up in Flint, graduating from Flint Southwestern in 1971. He worked for General Motors for about four years after school before beginning his 30-year career in radio.

His father was a longtime GM employee. He said he has a soft spot for GM workers, especially for those who have fallen on hard times.

"I understand what it's like to grow up as a blue-collar kid," Wade said. "I can relate to the families of Flint."

As people come to the RV, Wade greets them with a handshake and a smile. He calls all the guys "brother" and listens to their stories.

Many donate because they were helped as a child, Wade said.

Don Dawe, 53, of Burton, a retired Delphi employee, donates each year. He donated $100 Monday.

"It's a wonderful cause," he said. "I always make it a point to make donations."

Wade tries to live by the motto that people are remembered not for what they take, but for what they return.

"Nobody is going to remember you by what house you owned or what car you had," he said. "They are going to remember you by what you gave back."

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!

The kid update.

Time to update what is happening with the kids.

Dave has been attending University of Central Florida for the past 4 years and has enough credits to graduate.
Last winter he came to us and asked about staying one more semester. I said NO. Now before you jump up and down with conclusions, hear the rest of the conversation.

When I said no he sat there with a very dumbfounded look on his face. My answer was not what he expected to hear in no form what so ever.
I explained that life can really throw curves at you blowing up the best intentions and plans into smithereens. If he was going to stay in school it should be to complete his master's degree not just one more semester. His smile returned. So now in his fifth year the goal comes closer to reality.

Nikki
Holy Cow! What can you tell a 20 year old that they don't think they know already. Some of you have been through this before.
She has a huge heart but I swear some of the Domanski stubbornness rubbed off on this child.
She may not be mine by birth but sure shows me pictures of myself all too often.
Nikki is now a sophomore at Florida State and is fast on her way to being a junior in less than a year and a half.
She recently changed her major from nursing to childhood development. She is ms. social butterfly and is loving every minute of college except for living at home.
The facts are this. She is seldom here. She would prefer to live near campus. (seven long miles away) But her father and mother and I presented a united front and she is home. Financially it is the smartest thing but for her....that's where the stubborn part begins. It took a bit of doing but she is coping with it fine and is the poster child daughter I never had.

John Taylor
John Taylor is now a freshman in high school and is playing for his second year in Band. I first learned how to play the drums in high school. Taylor has left me in the dust. (Not hard to do mind you) He was one of two eighth graders asked to join the High School Band and is living a breathing Drumline all the time. His social and school schedule leaves very little time for anything else and is probably the reason his mother sees little of his help at home. He has made a life for himself outside of the house and lives it with passion.
He texts me messages several times a week despite me telling him that 54 year old men do not text. He laughs it off and does it anyway. I love his sense of humor.

Alex
When your the last child at home you sometimes feel very lonely. Alex, dealt with that hand has managed to adapt ever so slowly into what I now think is a comfortable place for him.
He is now a cub scout and pulling great grades in school. He is now in third grade and reads three years ahead of his peers.
I am proud that he is using his imagination to write. His stories and language use are way beyond his years. Where it comes from we all know but WOW. I wish I had the command of language that he has at that age. I hope it serves him better in years to come than it did me.
Through all of this he still wants to challenge me to wrestle on the floor with him or cuddle up on the couch for one of his favorite movies provided that I make the popcorn. Good Times!
He too has a great sense of humor and loves making fun of mine. He thinks my humor is way too dry and needs to be a bit more wet. His words not mine. Gotta love him.

Winter 2007 in Michigan

Time to bring everyone up to date. It has been just a few days short of a year since I posted.
Above are pictures of our 12 inch snowfall last year in Michigan.
It was gorgeous but indeed dangerous for all who were inept enough to attempt travel.
These are pictures taken at the farm we rented and lived in for five years.

John Taylor and Alex are shown having the time of their lives playing and wallowing in the snow.
The snow hung on the branches of the trees and made quite the picture for this photographer to take and take them I did.

John Taylor disappeared from the inside of the house within minutes of waking up that morning. Grabbed the shovel and went to work clearing the sidewalks and making a path to the cars and the garage. All with no coaching. It made for a very large smile on this father's face as his mother is always telling me how he never wants or offers to help at her house in Tennessee. I must admit it is something that I have never seen from him. He is always doing or volunteering to help with everything and for that he makes me very proud. I think it is the old thing of either being asked to help or being told to DO IT. I have always asked.

Alex and JT are both wearing the standard wearing apparrel of the north. Carhart Jackets. They were one of their main gifts for Christmas this year replacing very ragged, very much beyond repair jackets they used for three years prior. They are 14 and 8 years old in this picture. Live entirely different lives but remain brothers with a bond that is unbreakable. It seems that they see each other everyday rather than just a few times a year. It is one of the rewards that a father gets when he has been doing the right things and teaching his sons the right way to live. They make me laugh and smile everyday.

Happy Halloween

A bald man with a wooden leg is invited to a Halloween party. He doesn't know what costume to wear to hide his bald head and his wooden leg so he writes to a costume company to explain his problem.

A few days later, he received a parcel with the following note:

Dear Sir,

Please find enclosed a pirate's outfit. The spotted handkerchief will cover your bald head and, with your wooden leg, you will be just right as a pirate.

Very truly yours,
Acme Costume Co.



The man thinks this is terrible because they have emphasized his wooden leg
and so he writes a letter of complaint. A week goes by and he receives another parcel and a note, which says:

Dear Sir,

Please find enclosed a monk's habit. The long robe will cover your wooden leg and, with your bald head, you will really look the part.

Very truly yours,
Acme Costume Co.



Now the man is really upset since they have gone from emphasizing his wooden
leg to emphasizing his bald head so again he writes the company another nasty letter of complaint. The next day he gets a small parcel and a note,
which reads:

Dear Sir,

Please find enclosed a bottle of molasses and a bag of crushed nuts. Pour the molasses over your bald head, pat on crushed nuts, stick your wooden leg
up your ass and go as a caramel apple.

Very truly yours,
Acme Costume Co

Caught and charged with fraud.

Nearly three years ago I interviewed with company from Wichita Kansas. I was flown out with 20 others. Was given a battery of tests and two personal interviews. 7 people were offered jobs with the firm. I was one of them. Base salary 150,000 per year plus commissions. First month I earned nearly 25 thousand dollars. Loved the job! The paycheck never arrived. A man called Shaun Anthony Smoker ran the show. He skipped without paying anyone. 37 people had left their jobs to accept new positions with this company and build something new. Now they were left with no job and no way to collect unemployment. It gave me great pleasure to find the following the other day.

FRAUD SCHEME TARGETED
OWNERS WHO WANTED TO SELL BUSINESSES
FEDERAL INDICTMENT CHARGES

Other grand jury indictments: Immigration, sexual predator,
drug trafficking charges

WICHITA, KAN. – Richard Hagan, 46, Melbourne, Fla.; Brian Renneisen, 32, Media, Penn.; John Persaud, Boca Raton, Fla.; Cheri Persaud, 34, Boca Raton, Fla.; Shaun Anthony Smoker, 41; Andrew Wang, 34, Mount Laurel, N.J.; Marvin Randolph Hicks, 37, Canton, Ga.; and Brandon Cook, 35, Miami, Fla. are charged with defrauding business owners who hired PBS Global, Inc., to help them find buyers for their businesses.

“The defendants are accused of fax blasting small businesses throughout the United States with fraudulent offers to help them sell their businesses,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren.

A 43-count indictment includes:
– One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
– 14 counts of wire fraud via faxed transmissions
– Six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls
– 13 counts of mail fraud
– One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
– Eight counts of money laundering

According to the indictment:
– The defendants worked for PBS Global, Inc., which caused thousands of unsolicited faxes to be sent to small businesses throughout the United States offering to find buyers for those businesses.
– PBS offered clients a “100 percent money back guarantee” that it would find qualified buyers for their businesses. When clients tried to claim the refund, PBS denied their claims.
– Sellers were required to pay a designated fee to PBS for acting as an intermediary with buyers, a designated sum for hiring an independent firm to prepare a valuation of the business that was being sold, and a fee for successfully matching a seller and a buyer, which would be due two days after the sale.
– PBS received very little money from completed buy/sale transactions. More than 98 percent of the money PBS received from clients was for independent third party business valuations.
– In order to deny the guaranteed refunds, PBS provided clients with sham matches. The buyers PBS claimed were qualified in fact had no interest in purchasing the clients’ businesses.
– PBS had a total income of about $18.5 million, of which approximately $293,392 came from completed buy/sell transactions.
– In order to deny the guaranteed refund, PBS provided clients with references identifying individuals who were represented as business owners who had sold their businesses through the efforts of PBS. In fact, these references were the owners of PBS or PBS analysts and had never owned a business sold by PBS.

Businesses defrauded by PBS include:
– Chamberlain’s Olde Stuff, Shawnee, Kan.
– Mike’s Plumbing, Wichita, Kan.
– Pruitt Appliance Service, Topeka, Kan.
– Southside Plumbing Too, Inc., Overland Park, Kan.
– C&E Doors, Inc., Great Bend, Kan.
– Economy Movers, Wichita, Kan.
– IMC Kansas, Seneca, Kan.
– Engine House Hobbies, Wichita, Kan.

According to the indictment, in June, 2005, the U.S. Secret Service Office in Wichita received a fax from PBS Global, Inc., offering to sell the U.S. Secret Service office. The owner of Engine House Hobbies agreed to assist in the investigation by responding to the fax. Engine House Hobbies was contacted by an appointment setter from PBS Global and scheduled with one of the company’s business analysts. The analyst represented to Engine House Hobbies that the business could be sold for up to $1.5 million and that PBS Global would guarantee a buyer for $850,000 if Engine House Hobbies would purchase a third party valuation that would cost $8,200.

The defendants face the following charges:
Richard Hagan: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud via fax transmission, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls; 13 counts of mail fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering,
eight counts of money laundering.
Brian Renneisen: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud via fax transmission, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls; 13 counts of mail fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering,
eight counts of money laundering.
John Persaud: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud via fax transmission, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls; 13 counts of mail fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering,
eight counts of money laundering.
Cheri Persaud: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud via fax transmission, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls; 13 counts of mail fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering,
eight counts of money laundering.
Shaun Anthony Smoker: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Andrew Wang: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 14 counts of wire fraud via fax transmission, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Marvin Randolph Hicks: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Brandon Cook: One count of wire fraud via a telephone call.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud: A maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Wire fraud via fax transmission: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 per count.
Wire fraud via telephone calls: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 per count.
Mail fraud: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $500,000 per count.
Conspiracy to commit money laundering: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $500,000.
Money laundering: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $500,000 per count.

The U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

My how time flies.

I hate forgetting passwords and that is what happened to me and this blog.
Too many letters and numbers to remember for everyone and everything anymore.
PIN numbers, usernames and more passwords changing every three to six months and you can't use the last 1500 passwords you used before. aaaarrrrrrrggggg!!!!!! Hey..there could be another password. Nope...no numbers included. You must have at least 4 numbers for a password to be valid.

I know..I know...write them down. Okay...then whats good is a password if people can find them and use them anytime.

So forgive me one last time. I will try to kick start my brain and concentrate even harder before Alzheimer's sets in.

John

The Holy Rollers

I was extremely amused by a news story the other day about a elementary school cafeteria in Texas. There, a worker cleaning pizza pans discovered what she described as a picture of the Virgin Mary clearly visible in the charred pan and although she had scrubbed the pan three times the vision remained.
Seeing this as a path to further enlightenment I called my old high school buddy in my hometown who operates the family business after more than 50 years. Dominick runs his familys Italian eatery. He answered the phone with his normal "Hey JOHNNY......What is going on."
I explained to him the story and asked him to see if he had any of the Holy Pizza Pans in his restaraunt.
He replied that he would not know how to tell.
I suggested to him that if we put some pizza dough on them and let them sit we could be absolutely sure the pan was holy.
He then asked how that would be possible to which I replied that if the dough took 3 days to rise we would have a winner.
Of course my friend laughed at my proposition but not nearly as hard as when I told him that we could then make an anchovy pizza and toss in a few breadsticks and feed the multitudes who would come to see the Holy Pizza Pan.
Low cost of goods always equals tremendous profit potential.

Have a great day!!!

John

Earlier this month we were suprised with the earliest snowfall in recorded Michigan weather history for our area. Below are a few of the pics I took just a few minutes into the start of the snowfall. This is our home and property in the background. All together we ended up with an inch and a half of snow.

Below you will find the reason for such a long time in-between posts.
I have taken on the role of program director for a news/talk station and also manage to go live 15 hours a week with a talk show of my own. Time is certainly a premium every day.
I will try to post here again from time to time to keep everyone of our friends up to date with at least some news as alot of the set up work of a turn a round station has now been completed and that should free me up a bit more. Until the next time.