When our reporters aren’t on air or covering a story, you may find them out in the community being guest speakers or moderating a panel discussion. Rachel Keith was recently asked by the Womens Impact Network to moderate their Education Knowledge panel which helped inform their membership as they start their grants process. She and the panel received a very nice thank you note from the co-chair of WIN’s Education Circle, Linda Thomas, saying “What a wonderful evening it was last night! So many of the WIN members I spoke to were impressed beyond measure at the candor, knowledge and experience they saw from you all. You were an inspiration! I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we all left, better educated to the challenges faced by your organizations, and with renewed respect for the teaching and nonprofit professions. Finally, a special Thank You to Rachel Keith who brought her journalistic expertise to the podium. She was the cherry on top!”
We also got a nice thank you note from a donor who recently joined our Leadership Circle, who said “Thank you for welcoming me so warmly to the Leadership Circle. I look forward to many happy years together. WHQR helps make Wilmington a really special place to live.” If you’re interested in our Leadership Circle, you can learn more about it at whqr.org/leadership.
George Scheibner’s Smooth Landing program sparked memories for one listener, who wrote “Hi there! I love smooth landing and all of whqr’s wonderful public broadcasting! Tonight’s playlist reminded me of my wonderful mother in law and I’d love to have the song list if it’s easy to send!” The hardest part of that request is reading George’s handwriting, frankly, but we did it and sent it along. I should say that I regret that we cannot provide playlists on our website yet. It continues to be a bridge too far, but we’re working on a solution.
As you can imagine, the community continues to mourn our friend and colleague Jon Fonvielle. We’ve heard from a number of people with messages like this one, saying “I was shocked and saddened to hear George’s announcement at the beginning of Magnolia Fatback Folk Hour and to then hear the show hosted by John. Although I didn’t know John, he provided years of great shows. I was a big fan. In fact when fund raisers accepted call ins during the show, that was my time to pledge. I do hope that WHQR honors his contributions to the station and the listening community.” To that end, George Scheibner has been playing some of Jon’s favorites during Smooth Landing and Soup to Nuts. We’ve been getting appreciative messages from listeners like this one: “I wanted to thank you George for the fine job you did last Saturday night after the passing of John Fonvielle. The selections were very reminiscent of his music. Most heartwarming in such sorrow. He will be missed every day. I live near Greensboro but fell in love with your music programming from a house on Virginia Creek in Hampstead years ago. Thanks to the internet I can enjoy your entertainment from a distance when I am not at Virginia Creek. Thank you for the transmission quality improvements over the years as well. All you folks at WHQR make our lives better in such hard and unbelievable times.”
We love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Or you can email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.