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I lucked into my radio career in 1977 when I applied for a receptionist job here at WTHI and the guy who did the hiring thought I might have a voice for radio. I missed the prom but gained a career in broadcasting and have been working in the Wabash Valley ever since. But the radio station I always WANTED to work for was HI-99. I finally talked Barry into hiring me in 1986 and I've gone country ever since. I love my job and I love the people who listen to this radio station. YOU are the best!
If you missed our 2008 THANKS FOR LISTENING CONCERT, you missed a chance to meet Jeff Bates and tell him yourself how that deep, Conway voice of his makes you shiver. For an artist with as many hits as he’s had, he sure did make himself accessible to the audience and it was a gratifying thing to see.
Jeff played his new single RIVERBANK on WTWO’s Live At Five program, right there in the lobby of the historic Indiana theatre and really enjoyed the natural acoustics of that old building, so perhaps you got to see and hear him that way.
I was sitting in the studio here Friday afternoon when one of my coworkers walked in and said, “Are you ready for your surprise guest?” And there he was, in the flesh, Jeff Bates!
He walked in like an old friend, gave me a hug and we just started talking like old pals. He’s really excited about his new album and now that I’ve heard it, I’m pretty excited about his future too.
I’ve taken a lot of teasing for flirting with him but if you’ve ever met him you’ll understand. It’s hard to talk to this man without feeling his warmth. We had a wonderful chat, played his new single RIVERBANK and he sang LONG, SLOW KISSES to me in the studio. And yes, I melted.
If you missed it, you haven’t missed out. We’ve got the interview online for you to enjoy again and again. Click Here to watch interviews from all of the artists that played our show.
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Things my sisters have taught me
*Victoria Principal's acne cream really works.
*Kindness is easier on everyone.
*It isn't the cost of the gift but the thought behind the giving...and if it's homemade, it's the best gift of all.
*The longer I stay in one place (by choosing to stay in Terre Haute radio) the harder it will be for me to ever leave. (Guess Carla was right on that one) Something to do with endorphins in the brain.
*Dog people are good people.
*Walk with God.
*Don't go sailing in forty foot waves.
*No matter how bad it is, we can ALWAYS confide in Mom and Dad.
*If you catch your fingers in the blades of an electric mixer, running screaming down the street is probably not the est way to seek medical attention.
*Jump in! Whether it's a party or a job interview, show up and make an impression!
*I never have to ask for help because my sister is already there giving it to me freely.
*Spend as much time with Mom and Dad as possible.
"May you grow to be as beautiful as God meant you to be when He first thought of you."
TO YOU, MY FRIEND AND LISTENER
I love it when you come up to talk to me and you tell me your name or remind me how we met--something to jog my memory. Because I DO meet a lot of people but there's something special about how we met and it means something to me.
So thank you for helping keep my memories in order.
There are two reasons I love my job: the music and YOU, and you become more special to me all the time.
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I’ve been in a rut. Call it a seasonal thing, call it the winter blahs, call me lazy, but the crux of the condition can be summed up in three words: I don’t care. I don’t care how I look, I don’t worry about finding a man and I don’t fret over clutter or housework undone.
One can live in the land of apathy indefinitely, I have discovered, especially if there is no partner or young children over which to brood and focus. Since I have neither and I live in relative obscurity (remember, RADIO is in your mind, it’s not a face to face job ordinarily.
So I have managed to plod frumpily along until HI-99 decided to give away a makeover to some lucky listener. That means I get lucky too, because Rave Aveda Salon and Spa would perform the makeover on me to show our listeners just how wonderful this opportunity would be to win.
I met with stylist Cheryl the week before the makeover so we could formulate a plan of action. Chery thought my skin tone and green eyes would be nice with a deep, rich red color. Having been a bleached blond all my life, this news of red both shocked me and provoked my interest. I readily agreed to put myself in Cheryl’s hands and let her work her magic.
Before I go further I have a confession to make. The last few years have been rough on me and it seemed I had aged a decade overnight. Wrinkles had set in overnight it seemed and my eyes seem to shrink more every day. I just didn’t feel pretty anymore. In fact, I felt a little helpless and dismayed at the physical cards I’d been dealt.
So the timing of this makeover at Rave Aveda was fortuitous, to say the least.
The day of the makeover I was nervous. Could a haircut and a new color really help my appearance at this point in my life? I didn’t think so, but I arrived on time and ready for whatever Cheryl had in mind.
Now here’s the really cool part: Cheryl had been thinking about her approach to this makeover ever since we met a week previously! I wasn’t just an eleven o’clock appointment, I was her chance to truly change someone’s life…and even if I didn’t know it yet, I think she did.
We did the color first as another Rave Aveda gal gave me a long, wonderful hand massage. That’s part of the way they treat you at Rave Aveda. Every woman in a chair had warming pads on her hands following a deep tissue rub. The arthritis in my right hand was soothed every minute I was there.
Once the color was done we headed into the spa room for the professional makeup application. Cheryl “tinted” my eyebrows and eyelashes, so now my eyes are “framed” beautifully AND it won’t wash off for several weeks! I can skip the whole makeup routine except for dabbing on some fabulous lipstick I purchased from Rave that day. Well, and I do apply some eye shadow, because the tones she used were so pretty I just had to have them.
Then it was time to head back out to the salon to cut my new red hair. I hadn’t looked at this point; I wanted it to be a surprise.
And boy was it ever!! But it was the best surprise I have experienced in YEARS. Somehow that haircut opened up my eyes and made my face look less fat. I say that because it’s the same face and eyes, but the dramatic changes made from going short and sassy and red were unbelievable.
Here’s my before and after shot:
And if you’ve been looking for a stylist you can trust, especially if you like short hair, Cheryl is the best stylist I’ve had in over a decade. She’s a wonderful person and an OUTSTANDING hairstylist.
Dear Diane
I have been listening to you this am and I wanted to let you know that my husband (Sgt Troy Truax) in also one of the brave gentlemen that will be going to Iraq also leaving January 2nd. He is leaving behind a 11 & 7 year old daughter and a 16 month old son. That there is the hardest yet to swallow, doing my best to make sure that this little boy will remember his daddy. So if you would please play by Toby Keith “American Soldier” . That would mean the world to my family and thanks from a brave wife who is giving her soldier up for the next year.
God Bless
Shannon M Truax
Hi Shannon....missed your email til just now, so I'm sorry 'bout that! I just took a look at my lineup and I think I can do that today, hope you're still listening.
One of my "missions" in this war is to support you family members left behind when Guardsmen are deployed. I grew up in the military and having daddy gone was a natural part of our lives. But for you families, it's a jolting, terrifying slam to the life you know and I'm aware of that.
So I'm going to tell you what I tell all my "mommies" when their hubbies get deployed:
You can talk to me and call me and cry and worry as much as you want and need to...(or your friends and family of course), but please try to remember that YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG FOR YOUR CHILDREN. I absolutely know how hard that will be, I know what I'm saying to you, but I promise you, I ADORE MY MOTHER and I know it's partly because of her amazing strength raising five little kids while Dad was shipboard for two YEARS at a time.
So take heart: you are not alone in your daily battle...you've got me to lean on anytime you need to vent, but be strong for your precious children because that's what they will remember about you as they grow up. Be the rock, Mama, be their rock.
God bless those who serve,
Diane
It's happening again...that serendipitous chain of events which ultimately results in new bonds made with not only people here in the Wabash Valley, but also soldiers half a world away.
It began earlier this week when my brother Jim reminded me his old buddy Buss (a close family friend) is over in the Middle East. I knew that. I last saw Buss when he came home on emergency leave for his mother's funeral.
When I walked in and saw him I just wrapped my arms around him and hugged him hard; held him tightly. He didn't let go for a long time. I felt like a surrogate mom in that moment and my heart ached for him.
And now he's back to work somewhere in the desert. So I sent a quick email which he answered just as quickly, assuring me it was fine to write, that he loved mail from home.
As I often do, I shared a little of Buss on the air and the request line rang. It was a guy named James Walker, calling to see if I could help him reach Buss. He served under him in the 192nd, some time ago. I aired James' call, during which he mentioned Buss' full name and the phone rang again.
This time it was Dr. Hay's wife from Rosedale, wondering if this would be the same family as a Buss Wood she knew in that small midwestern town.
And now the Cub Scout leader who emailed me just days ago asking if I might know of a unit her scouts could adopt has a name, a unit to support and that ever-vital APO address.
See, nowadays we can't send care packages to "Any Soldier" as generous Americans have done in the past. In the modern world where terrorism is an ever-present threat, that's not safe anymore. So if you don't know a soldier personally, you can't send mail. Reaching Buss now gives that scout pack an outlet for their thoughtfulness and generosity.
When I got done airing all of this, I grab the audio and sent it to Buss. I thought he might enjoy hearing some of the voices from home that talked about him today on HI-99. It's my way of trying to bring a little of home to our warriors in the service.
And yes Mrs. Hay, that was Buss' grandfather and namesake you knew back when in Rosedale. And I agree, he'd sure be proud of his grandson today.
Be sure we know what's happening in your
area so we can keep our listeners informed. If your community
has an event, send the information to us a couple of weeks
in advance and we'll talk it up for you. And if our schedule
allows, we just might show up in the Cruiser to enjoy your
event with you.
If you can email, send the information to: cperrott@wthi.emmis.com.
If you've got access to a fax machine, our number is (812)
234-0089.
If you're still using snail mail, it's WTHI Radio, P.O. Box
1486, Terre Haute, IN 47807
And of course, if you need to reach me, it's dhouse@wthi.emmis.com.
I look forward to hearing from you or meeting you soon.
God bless our troops,
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