In a small lobby deep in the basement of Holden Hall, one student asks another, "Are you good? Are you calm? Are you ready to go do some radio?"
The words capture the enthusiasm of those who work at WDBM-FM, MSU’s student radio station, which is also known as IMPACT 89 FM. It is enthusiasm like this that keeps Gary Reid, the station’s general manager, young.
"I don’t feel like an old man," said Reid, who just completed his 35th year at MSU. "Many people say I don’t act really like an old man, and that’s completely because of all of the students here."
Under Reid’s guidance, the station has won the "College Station of the Year" award from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Music Inc. for 11 consecutive years. IMPACT 89 FM is one of the few student-run college radio stations to broadcast 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year, and it was also the nation’s first college station to broadcast in high definition and stream its programming online.
Reid also is the associate director of the Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law and a distinguished senior academic specialist in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media.
He was inducted into the Michigan Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2007, and will be honored with the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters on June 27.
"The students' impact, the students' careers have probably reflected more on me than I have myself," Reid said. "And I feel very blessed in that, very honored to get this award."
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