Driving Notes

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is the place to be this Saturday. Sonfest 2013 brings a full lineup of incredible bands to 2 stages! **Make sure to stop by Big Blue at Sonfest on Saturday! We are giving away TWO Boogie Boards autographed by ALL Sonfest 2013 artists. Sign up to WIN!**

*PLUS – the first 50 people to visit WNZR at Sonfest get a FREE flashing LED glow bracelet!*

 Tickets are $15.00 per person, $12.00 for groups of 15 or more. Groups get 2 FREE tickets with their order! Tickets purchased at the gate will be $20. *PRE-SALE tickets can be purchased through THIS Friday at 5pm!!*

Sonfest Stage Lineup (Tentative  – times could change)

12:45 Satellites and Sirens – MAIN stage
1:10 Wyndsor – SIDE stage
1:50 Capital Kings – MAIN stage
2:15 The Orphan and the Poet – SIDE stage
2:55 Wolves at the Gate – MAIN stage
3:20 Last of the Wildmen – SIDE stage
4:00 Andy Mineo – MAIN stage
4:30 Josh Wilson – SIDE stage
5:15 Plumb – MAIN stage
5:45 Compassion International slot – MAIN stage
6:10 Mikeschair – SIDE stage
6:50 Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – MAIN stage
7:35 Come Wind – SIDE stage
8:20 Thousand Foot Krutch – MAIN stage

For more information and to see videos of the artists go to www.mvnu.edu/sonfest

Get to know our Sonfest artists better! Click here to hear interviews from Josh Wilson, Plumb, Capital Kings and many more artists that will hit the Sonfest stage this Saturday. http://soundcloud.com/wnzr

Today Marcy and I were thrilled to be part of the on-air tributes to our friend Dave Bevington, as he steps away from full-time work at WMVO/WQIO Radio in Mount Vernon.

Dave has been an important influence in my professional career and a good friend over the years.

When I was a 4th grader at Pleasant Street Elementary School in 1979, I met Dave for the first time.  He spoke to our class during a career week about radio.  That was one of the first times I thought about broadcasting as something I might want to do.  Little did I know that 12 years later, as a recent college graduate with a broadcasting degree, I would be hired at WMVO as Sports Director and have to fill Dave’s shoes!

That first year was an incredible post-college learning experience as I was literally thrown into the fire doing Mount Vernon High School sports and whatever else the station needed.  Dave took a couple years off from radio and was running a business in town, but was still a constant encouragement to me.  I made my fair share of mistakes and flubs…and I’m sure there were days when the listeners wished Dave wouldn’t have left…but thanks to people like Dave, Ron Staats, Charlie Kilkenny, Rodger Hill and parents and fans of the Yellow Jackets, I survived that first year and worked to get better and better each year.

A few years later, Dave and I finally got the chance to work together as Ashland Broadcasting merged the old K-Country (98.3/107.7) with WMVO and WQIO.  We had a great run together for several years until I left in early 2005 to join MVNU.

I remember sitting around with management trying to make a decision about where to put “Sports Roundtable” when 98.3 went to a Top 40 KISS-FM format in 2002.  We knew the value of the program to the community and honestly, the region.  Putting Dave’s show on WQIO was probably one of the smartest decisions I was ever a part of, even though at the time it went against traditional “radio programming” strategy.  Putting a sports show on a station targeted to 25-54 females?  Crazy.  But it worked.  It made sense. And it’s still going strong today!

Dave has always been someone I could trust.  He’s a great family man.  He’s wise, sharing his life experiences and advice with those who are willing to listen, and doesn’t shy away from what he believes.  Seeing him renew his relationship with God has been so exciting. Plus, he’s got a great sense of humor and we have so many hilarious stories that will last for years to come.

Dave, my friend, I wish you many blessings during this transition period.  This one’s for you!

-Joe

I was reminded again yesterday about the power of a moment.  As I left the station last night to get Rachel home and get some dinner, I took my typical route out of campus.  I turned right on Martinsburg Road and headed towards downtown Mount Vernon.  As we approached the 586/13 split, out of the corner of my left eye, I saw a figure briefly cut across the sunlight coming from the west.  Now, if you’re like me, living and driving in Knox County, that’s a warning signal to slow down.  My foot immediately went off the accelerator and toward the brake.

Sure enough, something was darting across the street.  But not what I expected.  It was a female deer running full speed.  Not what you expect to see by Burger King at 6:15 on a Thursday night!  Yet it darted about 5 feet in front of my car and headed east toward between two homes there.  I was thankful for that instinct that kicked in.  Another 5-7 feet, who knows what would have happened?  Rachel and I said a short prayer of thanks as we tried to pull our hearts out of our throat.

As I continued driving to the house, I remembered that the instinct kicking in was something that started many years ago with my dad.  He taught me during those influential teenage driving years about the value of defensive driving, and how to spot signals of animal or deer movement.  I’ll admit, there were times that I wasn’t the best “driving student” with my dad, but he stayed patient with us.  My family loves to tell the story of the time I made too sharp of a left turn while headed to my grandparents’ house and ended up ruining two large pizzas that were in my dad’s lap.  The infamous “cheese slide.”

Sometimes it’s those little moments in life that can make a big difference.  Thanks, Dad…for being willing to stay patient with three boys of very different personalities and teaching us the basics.  Thanks for loving us, supporting us, challenging us, spending time with us, and most importantly, introducing us to our heavenly father.

-Joe

NOTE: This is a prayer I offered when I was asked to pray for the media at Mount Vernon’s National Day of Prayer celebration on May 3rd:

“Our heavenly father, we come to you tonight thankful for the opportunity to unite in prayer.  Thank you for the many blessings you have provided which we so many times take for granted.

 My prayer tonight is for the giant that is the mass media…but not only for those who are involved in informing, persuading and entertaining us, but also for us as consumers of that product. Lord, you know the reach and the power of the mass media, whether it be in electronic or print form.  The influence it has in our daily lives.  It sometimes seems overwhelming.  The digital age has taken this to a new level.  But we also know that nothing is beyond your domain.  Praise the Lord for that!

Lord, we recognize that you know the motivation of every soul who is involved in providing content.  

Father, I ask that journalistic cornerstones like truth telling, justice, respect, accuracy, accountability and love become prominent once again.  That those ideals begin to balance out the motivation of the dollar bill, of gossip, or of shock value.

 For people of faith working in the mainstream media, I pray they can truly be a light in the darkness.  Lord, encourage them…strengthen them.  Put your people in their path to keep them strong. We want them to know that you’ll walk beside them as they navigate through a culture dominated by selfishness, instant gratification and greed.

 For those of us using media to spread your word, I ask that we truly embody the fruit of the spirit in all that we say and do. I am personally thankful for Mount Vernon Nazarene University and WNZR.  Thank you for those pioneers who had a dream of a Christian radio station for Knox County.  I’m so thankful to be a part of it.  Thank you for the opportunity and privilege to proclaim your name and your glory over what’s called the public spectrum.  I pray that our message would be grounded in your word, and meaningful in the hearts and minds of believers and non-believers.  That we would truly be what we say we are.  Authentic.  Consistent.  That we would be completely committed followers.

 Let Ephesians 4:29 motivate us as Paul reminds us: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

 Now, Lord for us as consumers…help us remember to stay disciplined in being gatekeepers of what we consume…and what we allow into our hearts and into our households.  I pray that “lead us not into temptation” would be our heartfelt cry.  Lord, please help us develop the ability to filter and guard from the temptations of the media, whether it be radio, television, film, video games, social media and the internet, or print media.

 Help us as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, caregivers and mentors to set the example and train our children, grandchildren and students well in being media literate. Lord we have an awesome responsibility to train up this next generation that is bombarded with media options.  To help them develop filters. To bring clarity to the messages that can confuse our worldview. Help us to be up to the challenge…to be strong, to stay grounded in you. 

 Finally Lord, I want to confess…sometimes we’re bad at this.  We get frustrated, so we withdraw and give up…or we stand on the sidelines and throw rocks at the problem instead of looking for solutions. Convict us when we do this.

 Help us to be your people- to encourage men and women in the media, or students in mass media studies to rise up and change it from within.  Let us encourage them to be lights in whatever field they choose.

 It’s in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit I pray. Amen.”

-Joe

I’ve been watching closely as NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has led the Denver Broncos to six straight wins and the lead in the AFC West.  Right now, he’s the hottest thing since sliced bread…the flavor of the month.  Everyone who covers the NFL wants a piece of him…every Christian organization seems to want a piece of him.

Tebow has been on my radar since he broke Buckeye fans’ hearts in the 2007 BCS Championship and I followed him closely while he ransacked defenses playing for Florida.  I got interested in his story as the son of evangelical missionaries. And I can honestly say, part of it was that I wanted to figure out if this guy was for real…and I think he is.

Tim Tebow could be parading himself around right now as the ultimate example of Christian values and how they can equal success in the workplace, especially in team situations.  But he’s not.  Because he gets it.  He’s turning down interviews and not allowing this success to monopolize his time.  Tim Tebow understands that exalting himself is in complete contradiction to everything he believes in.  He knows the temptations of getting too full of himself.  He also knows that the same writers praising him right now will be the same ones ripping him when the Broncos lose a game.  He knows the journey is over a lifetime, not over six weeks.

He gets James 4:10- “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

When I think about Upward Basketball, I think about cold Saturday mornings cheering Rachel and her team on…but in just a few weeks, Upward Basketball will be all about sunshine, green, and golf.

You can make a difference in the lives of Knox County young people by taking part in the first ever Upward Basketball Golf Scramble on Saturday, June 16 at Irish Hills Golf Course in Mount Vernon.  Dan Stevens and Mike Dapprich from First Church of the Nazarene are working to put this event together and we visited with them this week on the show.  First Church and Faith Baptist host the games each winter and the many volunteers involved do an outstanding job.

The whole point of the event is to raise scholarship money for kids who may not be able to afford the costs of Upward.  It starts at 1:30…the cost is $20 to walk, or $30 with a cart, and Irish Hills members get a discount, too.  Our local Mortellaro McDonald’s restaurants are also sponsoring some special events during the tournament.  WNZR will be there to broadcast during the event.

The registration deadline is Saturday, July 9, so don’t delay.  You can contact Dan at 740-501-1539 to get more information.

-Joe

If you missed our story about rhino romance today…it is definitely in the air at the Oregon Zoo in Portland.

A black rhino named Pete has been alone since his last mate died in 2005. A female rhino named Zuri arrived last month from the Cleveland zoo on a breeding loan. Keepers have been slowly letting them see one another in separate cages.

The Oregonian reports Zuri went on public display Thursday, and the two rhinos touched horns between the bars.

Soon they’ll be allowed together. Keepers hope the result will be an addition to the endangered species.

Zuri is 3-year-old and hasn’t bred before. Pete is 24-year-old grandfather described as ‘spry.’

Click here for the link to the official story!

Thanks so much for your support of WNZR! We have just met our goal of 60,000 dollars! It is such a blessing to see this community help us grow and reach more people for Christ. We had over 250 families or individuals give to WNZR during Lifeline this year and 80 new donors to the station as well. The number of new people giving to WNZR is the biggest encouragement to me. It means that we are still actively reaching more people in our listening area and that the power increase really has had an impact.

In the upcoming weeks and months WNZR wants to live out our theme for Lifeline. We want to Live Out Loud in Knox County and speak Biblical truth to help you (and us) grow spiritually everyday. WNZR exists because of your support, and because of your generous gifts we can continue to be at many events throughout the year. We can use these oppurtunities to “Live Out Loud” and give others a positive message they need to hear. That’s why we do what we do, and that’s why we need your help. Your support this year to Lifeline has blessed our ministry and we pray that our little radio station in Knox County, Ohio can not only bless you and your family, but bring the gospel to the world. Thank you very much and God bless!

-Jayme