I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all of you who supported WKSU during our spring on-air campaign.  We heard from more than 2,000 listeners who came forward to make a statement about the importance of WKSU in their lives.  Fund drive weeks are always chaotic and somewhat stressful — and oddly enough the great weather that week experienced didn’t help our cause — but we persevered (or you persevered) and we all thank you for your calls and emails.

During the week I had the great experience of seeing our own Eric Nuzum come home to speak to the Akron Roundtable.  I hired Eric as a student and later hired him again to be my fund drive producer. Then, in a stroke of genius, John Perry (now WKSU’s General Manager Emeritus) hired Eric to be WKSU’s program director. He remained with WKSU in that position until 2004 when Jay Kernis, who was then vice president for Programming at NPR lured him to NPR.  Just this month it was announced that Eric is now in Jay’s role as the VP for Programming at NPR. Eric returned also to join us on Morning Edition on March 15 and to pitch with us once again. Eric’s success at NPR is due partially to his own ingenuity and talent, but also to his experience at Kent State and specifically WKSU where he was mentored by many, including Leonard Will who taught Eric that there are no compromises in being a professional.

Eric’s talk, “Dare to Listen,” is an excellent example of what it means to be a part of public media and distinguishes why we are different than other media that is consumed in the United States. I encourage you to give it a listen and then reflect on why WKSU is important to you and be glad that you have helped make us into the station we are today.

Enjoy the spring (or whatever you call this freakish pre-season) and stay tuned.

Al Bartholet

Recently, I received an e-mail from a colleague who included a picture that proclaimed “I Survived the Winter of 2012.” Even though it’s March 13 – and there is always the possibility of a late winter or early spring snow storm – I think we may have escaped the clutches of a typical Northeast Ohio winter. I write this statement with great trepidation, because it’s almost like saying that the Browns are going to have a good year. It’s a great way to jinx the thread of hope!

Also, on this Tuesday, I predict that we will reach WKSU’s spring fund drive goal by Saturday. I really don’t have a solid reason for my proclamation other than sheer enthusiasm for the listeners and their devotion to this station.

I think we all have a tendency in life to take for granted some of the people and things we love – which is always a big mistake. Life is fragile, and the time is short to express yourself and the way you feel about what you deem important.

At WKSU, we introduced The 2% Solution as a reminder to those listeners who may have forgotten to renew their WKSU annual membership. Two percent doesn’t seem like much, however this minimal increase in WKSU’s membership base would make a tremendous difference in our ability to serve you. And, if you are confused about the status of your membership, chances are good that it’s time for you to make your call or go online to make your yearly pledge! Now is the perfect time to get back to assure that you stay a member of WKSU (and take advantage of all of the station’s member benefits)!

Once again, thanks for your support. You are part of our community and together we are able to do amazing work for Northeast Ohio! Here’s hoping for an early spring and a successful fund drive!

Walter is a name that has been a part of my life since birth. In 1906, my grandfather was given the name “Walter Adolph Bartholet.” As you can imagine, in later years he didn’t broadcast the “Adolph” at all–in fact, I didn’t know his middle name until I was a young man. My uncle also was named Walter, as is my younger brother: Uncle Wally.

Then came Walter Mirapaul, whom I met in the early 1980s through the honor of working in development at WKSU. Walter–a self-made man who got his start selling eggs and juice from the trunk of his car and, after many years of hard work, founded Ohio Pure Foods–had other names, too, including “Mr. Juicy,” the drink that made him famous and made him a fortune. Walter, who passed away in December at age 89, became my surrogate father after my own father passed away in 1986.

I can’t recall the precise occasion when I met Walter, but I’m sure the introduction came from WKSU’s former general manager, John Perry. Over the years, Walter and I developed a friendship around WKSU, tennis, the arts, and everything else that mattered in life.

Walter always supported WKSU and numerous other organizations that he felt were important to the quality of life in Northeast Ohio. He was a man about town, and I sometimes think of him as the Austin Powers of Akron in the 1970s.  Although he was wealthy, he always shopped religiously at locations such as Rex Salvage and Gabriel Brothers.

Walter loved the cafeteria at Summa Hospital, where he was a board member, and he was always eager to take me to lunch there, knowing that his lunch was free. Not that he wasn’t a generous man; in fact, he was incredibly generous and was a champion of working people–waitresses and waiters, custodial folks, parking attendants, etc. He offered strangers money or clothing just because he wanted them to get a break. One time he stood behind a woman at a bank who came up short when she tried to pay her heating bill; Walter came to her rescue–a complete stranger–to get her out of a jam. He was a champion of the little guy and he once told me that he didn’t like hanging around with rich people because all my friends are like me, they don’t have a lot of money. Although he had the same seats at the Cleveland Orchestra for over 50 years, he spent intermissions with his friends, handing out gifts of chocolate near the Severance Gift Shop. Chocolate was one of his favorite bartering tools; he always brought a candy bar for the Severance Garage attendants so he could be assured of a good parking space and quick passage out of the garage after the performance. His getaways were so quick that I’m sure he was already in Summit County before I even turned the ignition in my car.

Walter was so many things to so many people, but for me he was a dear friend who was always there whenever I called. I’ll miss hearing him say “Hey, Kid, what’s going on?” Upon reflection since his passing, the lesson that I have to take with me is that I need to emulate his qualities.  He always gave me advice–not always good advice, but always heartfelt advice with my benefit in mind. After the first couple of days in any fund drive, I always called him to see how he thought it was going. And he always had an opinion.

Someone should write a book about Walter Mirapaul–a member of the Greatest Generation, a WWII vet, a loyal friend, and a man who made his fortune in Akron and was loyal to Akron until the end.  There are many more stories I could tell (and there are plenty of stories I cannot tell!), but for me and for many of us at WKSU, I can honestly say we will miss him. He was a huge part of my life.

All Bartholet

It’s 17 degrees as I write this on this Monday morning in January, but I’m looking forward to summer when the political climate will be hot and sticky as the Democratic and Republican parties head south for their respective conventions in Charlotte and Tampa.  WKSU is again planning on covering both national conventions as we did four years ago, offering the Ohio perspective to how the conventions will shape the political climate here in the buckeye state.

I’m struck by how things change and how much they stay the same, because WKSU may be the only radio station in Ohio actually traveling to the conventions (which is somewhat ironic, since public radio does not benefit financially from the election season – like our commercial colleagues, who are barraged with political ads from candidates). With the presidential election, 33 seats in the Senate, all seats in the House, and 11 governor’s offices up for grabs in 2012, it will be a robust year for political advertisement. However, WKSU does not accept ads from political parties, so there is no cash cow waiting for us as the elections near. Despite this reality, we nevertheless will still go forward with covering the conventions.

The only way WKSU can see our way there is with help from our generous sponsors and supporters. I hope that once again our team will find those organizations that want to support WKSU in our efforts to cover what will surely be historical events, again with a distinctly Ohio perspective. Our reporters will be working night and day to bring you up to speed on the developments within both political parties – as only public media can do with in-depth, insightful coverage that keeps you informed and makes you an part of an informed electorate.

So, even though the events of August and September seem very far away, I hope that you or your organization will see your way to lending your support so WKSU can go about doing the work that we have won so many awards for in the past.

As always, thanks for listening, and stay warm.

Al Bartholet

Well, it’s that time of the year when already those New Year’s resolutions are beginning to not be as clear as they were as we ended 2011. So far, winter has been elusive, but as a native of Northeast Ohio, I caution the staff not to act as if we have escaped winter – because often just the mention of a mild season will bring a blizzard.  When that snow falls and you need weather info and school closing info, all you need to do is visit our web site for a complete list of closings. I wish the internet was around when I was a youngster. I would have spent more planning what I was going to do on a snow day than wishing, hoping and praying for a miracle.

So best wishes for the new year and stay tuned to WKSU.

I would like to thank everyone who pledged during WKSU’s Hunger Challenge. The campaign, now in its 16th year, had modest beginnings – raising all of $8,000 for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. Today, with the participation of not only the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, but the Cleveland Foodbank and Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, WKSU raised $185,000 to support the station and with that same amount from the generous support of our challengers sending $185,000 to the foodbank community. This fund drive event has come a long way, but the need continues to grow as we deal with the worse economic downturn that most of us have seen in our lifetime.

As we inch towards the holidays at breakneck speed, I hope that you have the chance to reflect on the year behind us. I know that my family is very fortunate and this year. I’ve learned to appreciate just how fortunate we are after returning from a trip to El Salvador visiting my son. Today, I still have an 80 year-old mother who is in good health, two sons who are employed, a daughter who is working towards a Masters degree and a wife who is truly my best friend.

So, I feel lucky as I look ahead to 2012, but also I look forward with the knowledge that change is ongoing. WKSU has been a constant for so many of us, but the media world travels faster than the speed of light and WKSU strives to be relevant. Thanks to all who contributed to our “Sound of the Future” capital campaign – WKSU’s greatest fundraising success to date. Now that we are well positioned technically, we will use this digital technology to push our content on every conceivable platform making WKSU available to you wherever you are around the world.

Enjoy the holidays, stay warm and let’s look forward to a new year together!

Reports of the economic downturn are hard to avoid, they’re in the news every day.  Ohio has been hit hard – almost everyone knows someone who has struggled with unemployment and this issue is sure to be in the forefront of the debate that will be the focal point of the next election. Many of the statistics are alarming. One stat that is sobering is the number of children who are living near the poverty line in the United States. Soon we’ll reach 20 million and all-time high.

I hope that while you are listening to WKSU this week, you will consider being a part of our effort to support our local food bank community.  If you pledge to WKSU during our Hunger Challenge, your pledge will be matched dollar-for-dollar by generous donors with funds to food banks in our listening area.

Our efforts are very modest, but the impact here is important. If WKSU reaches our goal of $200,000, it will enable nearly 800,000 meals to be served to those in need.

This short fund drive has no mugs, tote bags, or grand prize drawings, but we will all win if we are successful.  Please consider making a pledge during our challenge. See you on the radio!

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to WKSU during the fall campaign. I know that I’ve lost count of how many campaigns I’ve participated in at WKSU – probably more than I care to remember. But each drive energizes station staff, because we exist to serve you in the work that we do at WKSU.  I’m continually amazed by the geographical diversity of where our members live – from Roaming Shores to Alliance, from Strongsville to Minerva and communities in all 22 counties that we serve.   Fund drives are the lifeblood of WKSU and with continual discussion of the future of federal and state funding member support may play an ever increasing role in paying for public broadcasting as we go forward.

During the campaign we heard from new friends and old, including our volunteers who manage to join us in the pre-dawn hours for Morning Edition and stay late into the night to answer phones for our folk music programming. From all of us at WKSU – a huge thank you to all of you who believe the work that we do makes a difference in your life.

We’re almost recovered from the 45th Kent State Folk Festival. It was exciting to share some excellent music with you and the entire Northeast Ohio community! But, just because this folk fest is in the books, it doesn’t mean we’re sitting back with our feet up enjoying a frosty beverage.

The crispness of the fall air means that we are inching closer to our fall fund drive, which is always big news around here. It’s “all hands on deck” during drives because they are so important to WKSU. Not only does most of our funding come through individual donations, but it’s also the time when we speak with the most listeners. Many people ask why we have on-air appeals and the answer is quite simple. We know that there are thousands of people listening to WKSU at any one time, without knowing their names or addresses or, indeed, any way to contact them. The drive allows us to have a conversation with you and all other listeners and personally ask for you support to keep us going. And, it’s much more effective to reach you through the radio than setting up a table at Summit Mall!

This month, when we begin the drive in earnest, you will hear the stories of other listeners and their reasons for giving to WKSU. As a publicly funded, non-profit radio station, they are WKSU. So am I – and so are you! Together, we make a difference every day in Northeast Ohio. I look forward to talking with you!

Summers in Northeast Ohio are short and another one has slipped away from me. But as the summer ends, fall will be fast and packed with anticipation.  The Kent State Folk Festival arrives early this year and opens with the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops on Sept. 21 at University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall on the KSU campus.  For you old-timers, this was the home of the KSU Folk Festival for many years.

The festival this year will have something for the young and the old with David Wax Museum joining Low Anthem for Saturday’s performance at the Kent Stage. Friday should be the best Folk Alley ‘Round Town ever with (hopefully) warm temperatures and (definitely) hot music as every possible venue in the city of Kent is taken over by folk music.  If you like to start your weekend early, you will enjoy a New Orleans-inspired evening on Thursday with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Kent Stage. And, as always, there will be a wide variety of workshops at the Kent State Student Center on Saturday. If you still haven’t had enough, you can sing along with the legendary Peter Yarrow – closing the festival at the Kent Stage on Sunday.

Summers go by like a New York minute, but I hope you had a chance to see our crew at many of the venues WKSU staff made appearances over the summer, from Blossom to Cain Park, from the Akron Art Museum to the Cedar Fairmount Festival (where we brought along the Folk Alley mobile unit). Folk Alley also joined the fun at Blissfest in Michigan and, once again, we drove our motorcoach/recording studio to Newport, Rhode Island for the Newport Folk Festival. This weekend, we’ll be webcasting the National Folk Festival from Nashville, Tenn.

So, before Labor Day, I’ll have some sweet corn, more watermelon and savor those final days of summer. Thanks for listening and supporting our efforts at WKSU!