Good People: Radio’s Stephanie McCoy

I am a huge fan of radio. When I was a kid, the soundtrack on our way to school was WITL. I HATED country, still do kinda... But it holds a special place for me.

When I was at Spec's howard Broadcasting School, I attempted being a country jock. I thought, if I can talk about the music I hate... I can talk about anything. I started liking some Toby Keith... Don't Take the Girl by Tim McGraw. It began to seep in.

My dad IS a HUGE WITL fan. One of my first gigs in radio was Joe Schmoe on WITL weekends. Back in 2004, I was on the air. Stephanie McCoy was doing the morning show with Banana Don. I met them as an intern but one day while I was on the air, I said a name wrong. Stephanie had an event that day. Before she left, she came in, told me my mistake. Then, she gave me some tips and advice for navigating the WITL format. She didn't need to do this and was extremely helpful and thoughtful.

Well, I REALLY wanted to work at WITL. This would be the only way my dad would ever see me as a success. The guy who was running WITL at the time, Jay J McCrae said he wanted me to do the night show. I was so excited. I would finally arrive. But I was doing another job at the company and doing quite good. I wanted to be on the air and this BEAN COUNTER I refuse to name, would not let Jay J put me on WITl as the night guy. I was very upset and put in my 2 weeks notice. I took a new job in a new city. A week later, the BEAN COUNTER was fired. So, I got myself fired from that new city job, thinking I could come back to WITL. They had filled the gig but one had opened up at WMMQ. In January of 2005, I got a nice raise and the afternoon gig at WMMQ. In 2011, I got the morning gig with Deb. My dream partner.

Deb left in January to start a new career. I was very upset. Had my first panic attack. Can you guess who the first person was in my studio the morning after Deb left? Stephanie McCoy. She said "if you need anything, we are here." Again, she didn't need to this.

Now, I meet people all the time that say, "I listen to Banana and Stephanie."

The first thing out of my mouth is "so would I if I could." They are great people. I love that anyone supports local radio anymore, even if it isn't my channel. She was featured on the COVER of Capital Area Women's Lifestyle Magazine recently and I thought it was a good read. 17 years doing morning radio in Lansing is pretty impressive. Even if she is my competition.

Thanks Stephanie, for all you have done for me.  Click here for more