WZOE / Z-98 Talent Bio

Tommy Rose
Program Director, WZOE-AM morning personality

Tommy has an extensive broadcast background. He started as a part time air personality right here at WZOE in 1981. He's worked at various stations including KZEE in Texas. Tommy is a talented musician and singer and plays in several area bands including Groupe Therapy and Class Act. He's traveled with his band The Ringles to Liverpool to participate in the International Pop Overthrow Festival. Tommy is the "morning guy" on WZOE-AM. Thousands wake up to his unique wit and fast pace in the morning. Be part of the fun!

Paul has been with us for a long time, and knows how to do just about anything around here! He supervises the afternoon programming on all three stations in addition to doing some on-the-air work and commercial production. Paul is also our webmaster, so if you have any questions or comments about this site, please call the station and ask for him.

Maria Borri is a great fit for our news operations, partially because she is a life long area resident. Maria and her family live in Granville, IL. She is a graduate of Putnam County High School and Illinois State University. She was a Mass Communications major and minored in English. She also worked for TV 10 in Normal where she was a news anchor while she was a student. She was also a host of the ISU talk show "First at Five". Maria enjoyes writing feature stories.

Scott comes to us from radio in Kansas, so he's a Midwestern boy. He's meticulous when it comes to news gathering, so you can always count on him to keep you informed in a very timely manner. Scott thinks that if you get your news from radio, it's truly "news." If you get it anywhere else, it's "olds." Well, that may or may not be the case, but you can always count on Scott for well written, fast paced news.

Nedda is our resident psychologist. She is a licensed Addictions Counselor. Some years ago, the boss was listening to Nedda as she made one of her frequent appearances on our stations and thought that Nedda should have her own program with a woman's spin on things. Nedda has done just that. You can hear her interesting talk program every Thursday at 10:20 AM on WZOE-AM 1490.

Richard Martinez
Announcer and Control Room Operator

Chris Yeazel
Announcer and Control Room Operator

Andy Sobut
Announcer and Control Room Operator

Randy has been a long-time teacher at Princeton high School. He has been responsible for helping many area kids get a great start in life. In his off time, he's also the voice of the Princeton Tigers football team on WZOE-AM. He had been a football coach for many years, so he knows the game. If you'd like to hear some really great football play-by-play, tune into WZOE-AM any Friday night during football season and catch Randy.

J.D. Orwig
Play by Play Announcer - Bureau Valley Football and Basketball

J.D.'s real job is as the principal of Princeton's Logan Junior High School, but he's also the voice of Bureau Valley Storm sports on Z-98 in the fall and winter months. J.D. has developed a professional style that is envied by the competition. One thing is for sure: he is an exciting guy to listen to on the radio. It never hurts to have a play by play person who is also a fan!

Paul Bomleny
Play by Play Announcer - Princeton High School Basketball

Charlie Waca
Color Commentary - Princeton High School Basketball

Norm Vandermoon
Color Commentary - Basketball

Our outside sales representatives give true TLC to our hundreds of advertisers!

Chris Compton, CRMC
Senior Sales Rep

Chris Compton grew up in Arlington Heights, IL and attended Western Illinois University where she earned a degree in Home Economics along with a minor in Psychology. She retired from Trans World Airlines where she worked in International Sales and came to WZOE in 1994. She has also earned the coveted CRMC (Certified Radio Marketing Consultant) designation from the Radio Advertising Bureau. Chris is our Senior Sales Rep and provides a real degree of leadership in the organization. She has one son, Matthew and daughter in-law Sara and granddaughter Addison.

Lenore Craine
Sales Rep

Lenore is a life-long Bureau County resident. She is a graduate of Manlius High School. She worked for many years at the Bureau County Extension Service and then as a manager at a small women’s clothing store chain. She and her husband Roger have two sons, Christopher and Brian. They also operate a farm in the Sheffield area. When she’s not working, Lenore likes to travel and help out on the farm.

Steve Samet
General Manager

Steve is a long-time area resident. He started at WZOE in 1975 when he was a pup. At that time, there was just the AM. Since then, Steve has owned a number of radio stations around the country as well as a digital satellite uplink system in Bloomington, IL. He has been president of the Illinois Broadcasters Association and has recently completed two terms as a board member of the National Association of Broadcasters. Of course, he has been very active in local organizations and charities.

Mary Harmon
Office Manager

Mary Harmon is our Administrative Assistant, and there’s very little she doesn’t know about radio. She’s been with us for 16 years, and has overseen the installation of a multitude of new technologies in our office. Mary is a life-long resident of Bureau County. She and her husband Bob have three children, Bob, Lori and Sherri as well as two grandchildren.

Donna Milliron
Office Assistant

Donna is our office assistant and traffic person. You’ll often talk to her first when you call us. She and her husband have lived in Bureau County for 16 years. They moved here from Chicago after, as Donna says, they fell in love with the area. She had three daughters all of whom live nearby. Donna says that her favorite things are spending time with her grandchildren, gardening and reading. She also has lots of pets including a talking African Gray Parrott.

Brad Kloepping, C.P.A.
Accountant

Brad Kloepping keeps the books. He was raised in Elizabeth, IL but moved to Bureau County in 1977. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University where he earned a B.S. in Accounting and minored in Finance. He earned his CPA in 1978. Brad likes motorcycling and fishing. He has two grandchildren. Brad has an independent accountant practice and he has been the Princeton, IL City Treasurer since 1996.

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