Dusty Weis is first generation. That is to say he was at WSUM when I started there almost 4 years ago. Now he is a reporter for WTDY 1670AM, and he rocks! Upon the opening of our new studio in Feburay, 2009, Dusty sent me an e-mail which he also published on his website.
Matt Rockwell, who has worked on this project with all the tenacity of a mother eagle defending her nest. Without his guidance, his technical know-how, his creativity, his drive and his dedication to the project, WSUM's new studio would be a shadow of what it stands to be today: the best student broadcasting facility in the nation. His fingerprints will remain on everything in the station for generations to come. If it's not too dramatic to say so, I think it's his opus.
An opus... Wow! I guess I can see that now, but it surprised me some to hear it said. I have never thought of what I do in an artistic perspective since so much of my career has been about enabling the expression of art in others. Thanks for that. I was really warmed by the fingerprints comment as well as it is just so incredibly true, both figuratively and literally.
It is my honor and privilege to have built WSUM's studios. It is also rewarding to hear the results, but I cannot go on without mentioning the awesome help and major moral support I got from Mike (Beaker) Parpovich. Beaker is part owner of Terror on the Fox in Green Bay, and is also one of the lead audio engineers at Overture Hall in Madison. If you listen to WSUM and think it sounds better than the old station did, that's Beaker's tuning. Thanks my friend, I couldn't have done it without you.
And thanks to Dusty for his kind and appreciative words. The opening was most fun for me when Dusty's dad introduced himself to me. Talk about "a chip off the ole block" as we say in these parts! I absolutely do believe the new WSUM facility is the best radio studio in the country, for sure amongst student stations. Chancellor Wiley saw to that. Thank you as well, chancellor.
Photo credit: http://www.klphotoart.com/