LEBANON LIFE SALUTES WAYNE NORMAN, THE VOICE OF EASTERN CONNECTICUT
Article by Allen Stein in June 2005 edition of LEBANON LIFE magazine
Imagine that you are waking up in eastern Connecticut. The sun hasn’t come up yet, but its 6 a.m., your clock radio comes on tuned to WILI AM14 and you hear a friendly voice wishing you good morning. It is Wayne Norman! Wayne has been a friend to many thousands of people in the area starting the morning show November 1, 1971 although he started at WILI in August of 1970. Waynehas the longest currently running morning radio show in Connecticut. Just about everyone in Lebanon and the surrounding towns listen to Wayne for entertainment, NEWS, sports and weather.
Just ask anyone why they listen to WILI in the morning and they will tell you that they listen because of Wayne’s friendly manner and the information that they receive each morning.
I had the privilege to interview Wayne for this article and we talked so much that I could almost write a book about Wayne called a Connecticut Treasure by Governor Jodi Rell when she served as Lieutenant Governor.
Wayne came to Connecticut with his family when his dad was promoted and transferred by Westinghouse Electric from Glendale, California to Bridgeport in 1965. California’s loss became Connecticut’s gain.
Wayne finished Trumbull High School and then attended UCONN which brought him to the Willimantic area. Wayne told me, “I’ve been always interested in sports especially baseball and when I came to Connecticut I got involved in almost every sport there is.” Along with sports Waynehas a passion for weather, just listen to one of his morning shows and you’ll know that first hand. He said that his interest in weather began with his family’s boat and sailing it on a lake in Trumbull. Wayne said, “I had to learn about weather conditions and forecasts for safety reasons. I had love for the science immediately. In the L.A. area I never cared about the weather, there wasn’t any.”
Along with his morning show on WILI, Wayne announces the UCONN football and men’s basketball games and he started doing them in September 1979 and became fulltime in September 1981. The entire state of Connecticut knows and recognizes Wayne from his work broadcasting sports.
To add to Wayne’s passion for weather, love of sports and excellent communications skills is Wayne’s love of doing radio broadcasting. He started as Chief Control Operator at the UCONN radio station WHUS and then went onto hosting the morning and afternoon shows at WADS in Ansonia and then to his current job at WILI in Willimantic.
Wayne explained that the morning show on WILI evolved over the years from a music show to the current format of specially selected music, lots of news, sports and weather along with interviews of interesting people who have an influence in Eastern Connecticut. The format changes were driven by Wayne’s contacts in sports and his natural instinct to know what his listeners are interested in hearing. He told me that, “I do the 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. portion alone so that my guests don’t have to be here so early. We get started a little after 7 a.m. and usually finish by 9 a.m. and the last hour is a friendly time when my listeners and I just relax and enjoy each other’s company.” Just listen to one of Wayne’s shows and you’ll see how he is a perfectionist and expert audio-director of radio’s “theatre of the mind.”
I asked Wayne what are the ingredients of being a great interviewer, “Everyone has a story and my goal is to bring it out. I listen and often learn more about my guest than the fact sheets tell me. Sometimes the interview goes in a different direction than first planned, but always in an interesting and informative one.” Wayne loves people and learning. He is an example of a true continuous learner and his insatiable appetite for knowledge shows with each guest on his show.
Wayne told me why WILI is such a powerful influence in the area. He said that the station focuses on community and the good people who own and manage the station care about the communities and towns the station serves. Wayne emphasized, “This is what keeps WILI in touch with the communities of eastern Connecticut and earns the loyalty of thousands of listeners.” I’ve observed all of this first hand doing the Computer Club Show on WILI. Wayne has been our coach since the beginning.
Wayne is successful because he puts people in the spotlight and communicates to all of us their accomplishments and he has a passion from his work from announcing the games to having an early morning conversation with the weatherman. If you haven’t tuned into Wayne’s morning show on WILI AM14 you have been missing one of the best times of your life.
If being a radio personality, sports advocate, and weather teacher isn’t enough Wayne has just written his first book with a friend Robert Porter called “HOOP TALES: UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball.” It is the first book of its kind and has been selling like the proverbial “hotcakes.” It is loaded with information about the Huskies with many pictures and stories that everyone will enjoy. If you have the slightest interest in the sport, you need Wayne’s book. Even if you aren’t that much interested in basketball, the book still draws you into the excitement of the game and those who have played it. You can get the book at local bookstores and at Amazon.com.
I asked Wayne what the future holds for him and he enthusiastically told me, “The best is yet to come, more interesting people to interview, more interesting plays to announce and more quality time with my listeners.” From my point of view, Wayne Norman is Eastern Connecticut’s spokesman and voice. Lebanon Life thanks Wayne for being part of the “jewel” of Lebanon and the surrounding communities these past 35 years!
