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The Wisconsin State Journal Melanie Conklin Column: Unlikely Pilot of the Airwaves

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 18:00 CDT

By Melanie Conklin, The Wisconsin State Journal

Jun. 13--Derrell Connor is an account executive at Mortenson, Matzelle & Meldrum, as well as the board chair at the Urban League of Greater Madison.

Add radio celeb to that list.

Connor admits radio host is an unlikely job for him, given that he had no broadcast experience: "None, absolutely none. ... I'd never uttered two words on the radio. But things just happened."

It began last year, when Connor won a Clear Channel contest to host the local sports talk show, "Fanline" on ESPN Radio WTSO-AM (1070) for a year.

After interviews with management, a two-minute rant and an impromptu broadcast the day Barry Alvarez announced he was stepping down as coach, Connor was tied with fellow contestant Erik Johnson. A trivia contest broke the tie, with Johnson winning. But he wanted a co-host, so Connor joined him.

They began last September, and Connor has done so well that WIBA-AM recently offered him his own show, "Outreach" airing every other Thursday. It began June 1.

"I never thought I'd have a show," admits Connor, "much less two of them."

"Outreach" is not about sports. The aim of "Outreach," according to WIBA operations manager Tim Scott, is to "raise awareness and to educate listeners on the positive things that people, most notably people of color, are doing in the greater Madison area."

Connor plans to "spotlight services, programs and people that are making a positive impact in the community." This week, because of a Thursday scheduling conflict, the show airs tonight at 6 p.m.

Most unlikely of aces

Ty Pelton-Byce of Verona made his first career hole-in-one last Thursday during a Wisconsin PGA Futures Tour event at Vitense Golfland. But, as our sports writer Rob Hernandez describes the ace, it probably wasn't the way the 9-year-old son of former UW hockey player John Byce intended it to happen.

The ball bounced off the top of the metal fence of Vitense' batting cages, rebounding to clear a sand trap, land on the green and roll into the hole. "It was right out of 'Caddyshack,' " says Jim Thomas, Bridges Golf Course pro whose son Brady was also playing in the group. "All of a sudden, you hear this clang. I was thinking, 'Gee, that's a lucky shot. He's going to be on the green.' And then it rolls in the hole." In the end, Pelton-Byce shot 40 -- 3 shots behind winners Henry Klongland of Edgerton and Johnny Decker of Verona.

Climbing the ladder a success

At a Verona parade Sunday, New Glarus fireman Matt Sarbacker and his comrades did their usual parade routine with an antique fire cart. They ran pulling the cart in lieu of horses, stopped on a dime and then held one of its wooden ladders upright while Sarbacker climbed to the top, took off his hat and saluted the crowd. But this time there was one additional step. From the ladder top, Sarbacker pulled a ring from his pocket and looked down at his girlfriend, Sarah Grinder, who was sitting in the grandstand, and asked her to marry him.

Sarbacker's sister, Sarah Baumgartner, says Grinder happily accepted the proposal.

Hats off -- to new owners

Miss Annie Mae McClain's hats have been on display at Olbrich, the James Watrous Gallery and most recently at the Milwaukee Historical Society.

Now you can own one of the famous custom-made hats, worn to church by an African-American woman in Wisconsin over several decades. Annie Mae was stepmother to Madison's Joe McClain, whose wife, Carol Lobes, organized their first public display.

Lobes says more than 70 hats will be auctioned off this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Lussier Family Heritage Center, with all proceeds benefiting Women in Focus' scholarship fund for students of color. Visit aardvarkauctions.com to see the available hats.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Wisconsin State Journal

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Wisconsin State Journal

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