Since 1985 DON WADE and ROMA, the dynamic duo of WLS, have had the greatest job in the world. They get paid to distill all the news of the day and bring it to their friends, WLS listeners all over Chicagoland and the world (via the internet). They are the longest running Morning Drive Team in Chicago. WARNING: DON and ROMA are addictive! Few side effects. No prescription necessary. Their fast-paced dialogue with local or national newsmakers, whether on politics, entertainment, business, or life, provides the inside story on hot issues. Listeners leap in with their opinions and sparkling conversation. Their many awards (stuffed in a storage box somewhere) include Talker Magazine's Heavy Hitter 100, Local Radio Legends of America, & the Marconi Award. But the only award that matters to them is having YOU chose to listen each morning!
DON WADE is invariably passionate, witty, usually conservative, and always opinionated about the political and social issues of the day. He thrives on exposing and debunking the media bias and spin which distort the world around us. He and his co-host ROMA challenge listeners with provocative scrutiny, laughter, and debate of everything from the profound to the mundane. An all-American patriot, DON is unafraid to challenge movers and shakers, no matter what their political leaning.
DON is proud of being fired from more radio stations than he can count. Why? Because his opinions got him in trouble. When he found a home at WLS in 1985 he found a place where his opinions counted. WLS Talk radio became the perfect vehicle for DON's rapier dissection of our crazy world--with politics, celebrities, and the media as favorite targets.
Born in New York City, DON attended William & Mary and graduated from Boston University. In both prep school and college he worked on campus radio stations. His rock-and-roll radio DJ jobs hop-scotched the country from Philadelphia to Seattle, Buffalo to Dallas, Denver to Chicago. Other than working in a box factory one summer, he has always been a radio "star." In other words, he's never had a real job. A microphone is his life. His favorite celebrity interviews are the Beatles--on their American tours, in Nice, France, & in Obertauern, Austria. In fact, they gave DON a cameo role in the Beatles movie HELP. (Don't blink!)
In contrast, ROMA (aka: The Voice of Reason) provides the thoughtful balance that drives DON mad. They are a team at home as well as at work and have been married since 1979. They walk to the beat of two different drums and yet are happy together 24/7.
ROMA is the daughter of an equally diverse couple. Her father was a minister, orphaned at 11, who picked cotton in North Carolina to support his siblings and work his way through Wake Forest. Her mother was a Duke University mathematics and physics PhD honored by the Smithsonian for her accomplishments. ROMA earned a BA and MA from Baylor and completed all coursework for her PhD in English literature at WSU in WA. While on sabbatical writing her dissertation, she ran into DON WADE who insisted on messing up her career path. It took him over a year to convince her she needed him in her life. Slow, but relentless.
ROMA has taught university, community college, high school and even grade school gifted children. She is a self-taught home remodeler turned General Contractor who loves steel-toed boots, sledge hammers and power tools for Christmas. Demolition is her favorite way to vent. She has taught kitchen remodeling and deck building seminars for local Chicago lumberyards. Trained to teach yoga and meditation, ROMA is also a self-professed health nut and lover of all things spiritual & philosophical. She's the compassionate one.
DON and ROMA's terrific kids, HUNTER & HEATHER, & Hunter's bride MARGY are their greatest pride and joy.
HUNTER is a US Marine LT COL completing his Master's Degree at Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair in DC. He recently completed 4 Iraq & Afghanistan tours. HUNTER is a former Blue Angel who flew in the Chicago Air Show in 2000. HUNTER was USMC Tailhooker of the Year 2007, and the F/18 hornet squadron he commanded, the legendary Red Devils VMFA 232, won Top Fighter Squadron 2007. He is a Glenbrook South High School and Illinois State University grad.
HEATHER is a full-time Global Event Planning Officer for CITI in New York City; lives on the upper east side; and in her "spare time", is completing her second & final year in the MBA Executive program at NYU---one of the top MBA programs in the US. Heather loves the challenge of tackling such a competitive program while holding down a demanding career in banking. She's studying nights and weekends to compete. She went to New Trier High School and graduated with honors from the University of Washington in Seattle.
Dr. Margy is a Surgical Dermatologist in the Alexandria, Virginia area. She is also retained as a Dermatogical-Surgeon-on-Leave for Scripps Medical in San Diego. She attended the University of Texas, Texas A & M, and Bethesda & Balboa Medical Schools and is a former Commander in the US Navy. She almost outranked Hunter in the military and she definitely outranks him in their home. Margy also happens to be the best cook in the entire family.
Life is sweet for all of them. DON and ROMA know they are richly blessed indeed!
