- By Dan Veaner
- Around Town
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Casey Stevens"Did you hear _____ on Casey?" That's what people in Tompkins County and the surrounding areas talk about every day. Casey Stevens hosted his last show on WHCU 870 AM on May 26th. Opinionated and sometimes tart, he has been respectful of his guests, helping them get the message out about charitable and community events. He has held many lively, informed interviews with local politicians, sometimes calling them to task for decisions they have made. That and his natural on-air likability have made him beloved in the community."I think the interesting thing about Casey is that you never really know side he's on," says General Manager Susan Johnston, who says he is a private person off the air. "He runs the gamut. I would say he's more of a libertarian than anything else." And then with a smile she adds, "And a curmudgeon."
Before becoming a radio personality Stevens held several different jobs including that of tire salesman. He was in the military, and eventually went on the air at another station where WHCU programmers heard him. They liked his voice and in 1991 offered him an afternoon call-in show called "Call Casey." When Jerry Angel left the station five years later the management convinced him to do the morning show, which he has hosted for ten years.
One of his first guests was Dave Ferris's son who was stationed in Iraq in the first Gulf War. Since then he has interviewed thousands of guests. Many of those have been lively interviews with local politicians, non-profit and charitable groups. He has interviewed national figures as well, including James Carville and John Glenn.
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A Trumansburg resident, he attends Lansing United Methodist Church and is involved with Tompkins County community off the air as well as on. "He is an unbelievable advocate for all of the not-for-profits," Johnston says. "I don't think there is a not-for-profit in this community that he hasn't touched their lives and they haven't touched his life." He has advocated Taste of a Nation, Hospicare, The Museum of the Earth, and the Johnson Museum, among many others. He's been especially involved with the Kitchen Theatre, and very supportive of the local art, music and theater scene.
He's been the honorary chair of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event since its beginning here. "I happen to have been up all night the night before June Lasorto came on the air with me on May second, 2000," Stevens recalled at the kickoff event last February. "Somewhere in the midst of that very tired morning I said, 'If people send me money I'll walk all night.' I meant it, but I forgot that I said it. Two days later I got five checks in the mail and I said, 'Oh my God, what am I going to do?' and they said, 'You're going to walk all night!'"
Stevens (center) at the February Relay for Life Kickoff Event
He's been walking the full 15 hours ever since, asking radio listeners to send money for his "Morning News Watch team and to form their own teams. The first year he raised about $15,000 contributing to a milestone when the relay topped $100,000 for the first time. Now he emphasizes others forming new teams. On his own he averages around $5000 to $6000 per year.
Most people don't know that 'Casey Stevens' is a stage name. "I was actually there the day that he became Casey Stevens," Johnston recalls. "We needed to come up with a name for the talk show. Shadoe Stevens was a DJ in Los Angeles and Casey is Ken Cowan's (who was President of Eagle Broadcasting) son's name. So we just gave him the name." Stevens remembers that 'Casey' came from Casey Kasem. His real name is Rich Flaville.
Casey gets to the station around 4:30 or 5:00am to prepare the show, check e-mail and get the weather. He is on the air at 6:00, and spends four hours talking to his guests and listeners. Being in the studio with him is fun as you watch two Caseys. The first is the one most people know, interested and engaged with his guests, warm, yet crusty. During the commercial breaks another Casey emerges, cuing up sound effects, talking to CBS on the phone, putting guests at ease, and running down the hall for coffee. Whenever he reports the weather he unconsciously looks out the window as if to confirm that what is reported on his computer screen is really happening. He projects a sense of fun that relaxes his guests and brings the best out of them.
| Casey's Last Broadcast On May 26, 2006 at a few minutes before 10:00am Casey Stevens went off the air. The show was broadcast from Cayuga Radio Group's conference room to allow space for the stream of guests who came for the last time to talk to Casey. Even so the room was packed, with former interviewees spilling into the corridor.
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When the show ends at 10:00am he does production work, attends meetings, records commercials and does other work related to the show. Then he is off to TC3 where he has been taking classes to become a substance abuse counselor. That will be his next job, still helping people, but in a very different way.
"He really took us to a different level when he came on board," Johnston says. "We had morning hosts previously. Most of them were music oriented. What Casey did was give the programming a depth that we hadn't had previously. He is loved, beloved and pisses people off! And I think he enjoys that. It just makes for interesting programming."
(Picture Courtesy of WHCU)
At the beginning of his call-in show Stevens went through a show without any calls and feared that nobody was listening. Over the years he has listened to countless local people and everybody has been listening to him. His voice will be missed. In his next career it will be easier for him to tell when someone is listening. And they will be listening.
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