January 18, 2012 // Local

Redeemer Radio celebrates six years, welcomes new chairman

Todays Catholic

Redeemer Radio Executive Director Dave Stevens, left, and new board chairman Mike Landrigan join Father Tony Steinacker, parochial vicar of St. Charles Borromeo, Fort Wayne, in prayer at the Redeemer Radio sixth-year birthday celebration on Jan. 6.

By Tim Johnson

FORT WAYNE —Redeemer Radio, Fort Wayne’s first and only Catholic Radio station, marked six years of broadcasting in early January. The station celebrated the occasion with a birthday party on Jan. 6 and is also airing birthday greetings throughout the month from supporters.

Mike Landrigan, incoming Redeemer Radio Chairman of the Board, said: “Six years ago, a small group of devoted Catholics established a Catholic presence on Fort Wayne radio, dedicated to sharing the truth and beauty of our Catholic faith.”

“The visionary leadership of founders Chris Langford, Jim Roy, Dave Steffen and Greg Erlandson has engendered the enthusiastic and generous support of volunteers, donors, our local priests and religious, Bishop Emeritus John M. D’Arcy and Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades,” Landrigan added. “The Redeemer Radio Board of Directors will remain faithful to this vision as we prepare to extend the reach of our broadcast with WRRO 89.9 FM in Eden, Ohio, early in 2012.”

Besides the new board chairman, Redeemer Radio also announced the election of three new members to the board of directors: DeeDee Dahm, Cathy Edwards and Russ Suever.

Dr. Matthew Bunson, board member and host of Redeemer Radio’s original, locally produced “Faithworks” said, “Because of Redeemer’s programs and outreach, Catholics have been strengthened in their faith, inactive Catholics have returned and non-Catholics have been drawn to the joy of Christ’s Church.”

Dave Stevens, executive director of Redeemer Radio, said, “Redeemer Radio’s local programming like ‘Faithworks,’ ‘Knightlife, Culture of Life,’ promoting the pro-life message along with our local priests on ‘Readings and Reflections,’ who share the daily Mass readings and offer a reflection, are several ways in which we serve the local Catholic community. Our broadcasts of diocesan events and local Catholic school sports including Bishop Dwenger, Bishop Luers, University of Saint Francis draw new listeners to Redeemer Radio while sharing the Catholic faith and promoting Catholic education.”

“With programming from the heart of the Church — positive, unifying and with broad appeal, in collaboration with the diocese — Redeemer Radio remains a local independent Catholic radio apostolate that serves the Catholic community of Fort Wayne, Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio,” Stevens said.

The station is financially separate from the Diocese of Fort Wayne- South Bend, and is entirely dependent on the support of listeners.

Incoming chairman Landrigan, who is a business consultant partner with B2B CFO and a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Fort Wayne, told Today’s Catholic, he had been serving on the board for a little more than a year and had been the chairman of the expansion committee.

“The involvement I have had with the expansion committee has allowed me to see the big picture of everything that is going on,” Landrigan said.

“I feel very blessed that we have an outstanding board,” he noted. “We’ve had really terrific leadership and we’re really on solid financial footing right now.”

“I want us to be prudent as we move forward,” Landrigan said. “We’ve had terrific volunteers and terrific support from the local area — and I want that to continue.”

Landrigan said he feels his most important obligation as board chairman is to take Catholic radio to a broader audience in the diocese.

“We would like to have a Redeemer Radio network,” he said and take the Catholic voice across the diocese.

“There are so many places in the diocese right now that can’t hear the voice of Catholic radio,” Landrigan noted.

“We’d like for Catholic radio to have a unifying effect in the whole diocese,” he said.

“We know there is a responsibility we have for souls. We want to help save lives. We want to help save souls,” Landrigan said. “And we want to bring them to the fullness of the union with the Church.”

Landrigan said he would bring a business approach as board chairman.

“I’m a business consultant,” he said. “I help businesses grow, be profitable … and I want to bring that same business sense to what we do here.”