The lady at the Toano veterinarian’s office where my Lab had an appointment didn’t know my name, but something about me seemed so familiar to her.
We exchanged details looking for the connection. Nothing matched up until she keyed in on my voice. “I know your voice from somewhere,” she said, and then it came to her. “You’re the stock lady!”
Yep, I am the stock lady on FM WXGM Xtra 99.1. Every weekday at 5 p.m., I deliver the stock market report, a 90-second summary of the latest news from the S&P and Nasdaq. The station repeats the report between 7 and 8 a.m., the next morning.
It’s something I’ve done for four years now, and a small slice of my day I always look forward to.
As a financial advisor, I have my eye on the market around the clock, but I know it’s not that way for my clients. Nor does everyone want to open a financial app at the end of a workday or tune into the business news on TV to keep up with the latest from Wall Street.
My daily report is a succinct news bite meant simply to inform. I could share the same information in a tweet or on Facebook, but there’s something special these days about speaking to people about something important to them rather than typing in the information in 280 characters or less. It also gives me the opportunity to support local radio and its mission.
I’m passionate about both.
Gloucester-based WXGM serves the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck along with the Greater Williamsburg area. Anytime I can support a local community publication or radio station, I jump at the chance. In addition to news from their backyard, listeners of WXGM get advertising and community information from local businesses. Supporting businesses or industries in your zip code is so important because they’re vital to community growth.
It’s no secret that local radio and newspapers are struggling today. Our feeds are flooded with stories from all kinds of sources, many too sensationalist for my taste. But a local station like WXGM approaches community events and news with a sense of responsibility. Their news stories inform me about the latest from businesses where my clients and I shop. Sometimes it’s news about a business a client owns. I’m not going to find that by listening to the NBC Nightly News.
Whenever I can, I also try to listen to Neal Steele in the morning and almost always catch up with Harvey King in the afternoon. Both are WXGM regulars. I encourage everyone in the community to take a vested interest in all that’s local from restaurants to charities to businesses to where they turn to for the latest news. And if you’re listening to WXGM at 5 p.m., and you think you recognize that voice, that’s me delivering the stock market report one more time.
