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WCBE Evening Announcer Wayne Self Passes Away at 57

With the heaviest of hearts, we must share news of a deep loss in the WCBE family.  Our beloved Wayne Self passed away early this week.

Wayne died quite suddenly of an apparent heart attack…a heart so large, it amazes us that it could ever be broken.  Wayne opened his heart wide to all of us at the radio station as a mentor, friend, advisor, and colleague.  That warmth came through in waves during the scout tours he loved to host in the evenings, and in the way he embraced our own children when they’d come to visit mommy or daddy at work – visiting Uncle Wayne was the spice that made the trip so flavorful.

You likely knew him as our evening announcer.  Behind the scenes, he was also our hard-working Production Director and Traffic Director.  Perhaps most importantly, Wayne was our cheerleader, always looking forward to and pushing for WCBE’s brighter future, embracing and advocating ceaselessly for our plans to serve the community in bigger and better ways than by merely being a radio station.

His knowledge and experience were extensive.  Born in 1957 nor’east in Springfield, Massachusetts, Wayne began his adult life at Carleton College in Minnesota, graduating with an English degree.  Grad school was at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, where he welcomed his only child, son Ali.  He also launched his media career there as a freelance jazz writer.

Wayne worked for arts grants organizations in Kansas City and Washington, DC, before landing in Columbus in 1995 – for the King Arts Complex initially, but he launched Jazz Sunday on WCBE in 1996 with legendary pianist Jim Maneri.  In 2001 he returned to Massachusetts to work with a New England fine arts organization in Boston, returning to Columbus briefly before heading back east to attend to family matters while helping Habitat for Humanity, and teaching in the Springfield public schools.  The siren call of Columbus was too great, though, and Wayne returned to our fair city – and WCBE – in 2007.

To say we’ll miss Wayne is a grievous understatement.  He gave life to a huge part of the heart of WCBE; his passing leaves a void that can never truly be filled the same way again.

Thanks, Wayne, for all you did at WCBE…for the team, and for each of us as individuals.  We hope the heavenly choir greeted you with regal riffs of beat, bop, scat, and swing!