You may recognize a mysterious yet familiar voice during WNKU’s Fall Membership Drive this week, as Barb Abney will be lending her talents to the fundraising campaign happening October 13 - 21.
Abney, an Ohio native who was a longtime mid-day host of 97X/WOXY.com as well as Minnesota Public Radio's 89.3 The Current and most recently Go 96.3, will be sitting in with regular WNKU hosts, Liz Felix, Elaine Diehl, Pam Temple, Keegan, and Sledge (another 97X alum) throughout the public radio station’s fall membership campaign.
"I've been listening to the evolution of WNKU from afar over the last year, and I'm very excited about what they're doing for the Cincinnati area,” said Abney. “I don't have a full time gig right now, so I thought I’d offer to help out whether they need a coffee run or another friend on the air. WNKU is my way of keeping in touch with all of my local faves like Wussy, Over The Rhine and The Tigerlillies, so I want to do anything I can to lend a hand."
“We’re always looking for ways to spice up the membership drive.” said WNKU Development Director, Aaron Sharpe. “Barb has a decade of on-air fundraising experience with one of the flagship stations of our format, and she has some serious social equity in the Cincinnati market from her days with 97X. She’s going to be a great asset during the fall campaign.”
This will mark the first full-length membership drive for WNKU since Northern Kentucky University announced an exploration into a possible sale of the station in April.
“WNKU remains on the air, sounds amazing, and is more relevant than ever before,” said Sharpe. “We’ve been more engaged in the community this year than we have in my nearly 18 years with the station. We’re playing more local music than ever before, hosting more live music than ever before, and connecting to the arts and culture scene in this town more than ever more before. And, we still rely on listener support to make it all happen. During the fall drive, we’re asking everyone who is listening to WNKU now to support WNKU now, and Barb will be here to help us do just that.”
You can hear Abney on WNKU every day from October 13 – 21 during WNKU’s Fall Membership Drive, and you can become a member of WNKU by making a contribution any time at wnku.org.
