Tuesday, February 1, 2011

It's no fun being a responsible adult, but......we stay safe!

Well, it's Wednesday the first of February. The plan by now, (7AM) was to be about an hour on our way to Punxy, PA for groundhog day.  The traveling group included me, Scott B. and a friend from another Michigan radio station, Russ from WCSR in Hillsdale.  Certainly a fun group for travel!

As of last night, we had a "window of opportunity' to head east, and beat the incoming snowstorm that is scheduled for West Michigan and Pennsylvania, stay through it for our broadcast and return after it. 

Then, at 3:40 this morning, the weather service woke me with a "Blizzard Warning" for not only Ionia County but much of the area of Michigan we would travel, and that prompted a look at the weather maps for Pennsylvania.  PA had "pink" on the maps, meaning ice, and none of the TV stations online could agree on where the ice and snow was going to be the worst, all of them cover the area we were headed-to.  Certainly the maps are the most colorful they've been in quite some time. If one doesn't have travel plans, the (weather map)  colors are quite pleasant to look-at! They're like a 1960's "technicolor" movie.

So, we stay home. And, we thank the sponsors who (signed on to) sponsor our trip.  These are the people who believe in the uniqueness of our station, and the "out of the ordinary" things that WION AM and FM does!  Please, in your travels thank them: 

THE IONIA AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
MUIR VILLAGE MARKET ON M-21, MUIR
THE LAMPLIGHT GRILL, MAIN STREET IONIA
D.O.C. PROPERTIES, IONIA
DISCOUNT TIRE & BATTERY, M-66 NORTH OF IONIA
DOOD'S JEWELRY, MAIN STREET IONIA
IONIA DIAL-A-RIDE
PREMIER TRANSMISSIONS, IONIA


It's sponsors like these that make the fun of WION possible. We hope that our event has helped people be more aware of them through their fun advertising for groundhog day.

So, what's next on the list for WION?

Well, we've got our first anniversary of WION's FM signal on 92-7. We celebrate that on March 3rd at the Lamplight Grill, another Thursday night!  (and we celebrate for a whole week on the air.)...

Then, there's the Ionia Chamber expo on March 12th. We'll broadcast live from Ionia High School. This event is kind of a "rite of spring" and tells us all that spring is just around the corner, regardless of what the Groundhog would have said during our broadcast.

There are very few things we adults have happen that disappoint us like they did when we were kids. I can remember as a "geeky" kid wanting to meet Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock from Star Trek) at an event in Detroit. My father was going to drive me to it, a long 60 miles......and...the weather moved in, much like today. We didn't go. As a kid I was devastated. Never did meet Mr. Nimoy. Yes, I was a geek then, and a huge Star Trek fan....and still can say that today.

But, this trip being cancelled?  Yes, disappointing. Yes, hoped to go. No, its not quite the let-down I had as a kid. Its a minor setback, and we'll miss our broadcast for this year.  But..it also opens a new avenue....

Hmm....where can we take our microphones NEXT......."because we can?"  

Ideas welcomed.

Stay safe, stay warm as this storm moves through our area...and send me your ideas! Our microphones are packed and ready for a good road trip!  (in better weather.)