'Hometown Voices' show coming to Geneva
Geneva is getting yet another chance to shine in a spotlight, as WGN Radio News/Talk 720 plans to do a "Hometown Voices" show here Friday.
John Williams will broadcast from 1 to 4 p.m. from the Mill Race Inn restaurant, 4 E. State St.
"It's nice to put a face to the ear," he said of meeting listeners.
Geneva is the 31st town that "Hometown Voices" has visited since it began in September 2005. The station, 720-AM on your radio dial, visits one town per month. Last month, it was in Crystal Lake. It visited St. Charles in October 2006.
"We're just picking well-known towns with good stories to tell to the Chicago area," said Williams.
He will broadcast from Mallard's, the Mill Race's banquet room, which can seat about 125 people. Anybody can attend the show for free.
"We think it's a wonderful honor to be chosen," said George Roumeliotis, owner of the riverside restaurant. "We'd love to see a lot of people there." He hopes, of course, that people will come early for lunch or stay later for dinner, especially since part of the restaurant is still closed because of flood damage sustained last August.
The radio show team may conduct a Geneva trivia contest and will honor a "Hometown Hero," someone listeners have nominated for their community service. The winner gets a $500 Jewel-Osco gift card.
And the show's producer is trying to get Jim Oberweis and Bill Foster, who are competing to fill the remainder of Rep. Denny Hastert's term in Congress, to face each other in person on the broadcast.
Williams has worked for WGN since 1997, mostly as a mid-day or afternoon drive host.
Doing the show with a live audience tests Williams.
"It's different. It really is. It really is," Williams said, noting he is used to speaking to hundreds of thousands of listeners while seeing only four or five faces around him.
"The challenge is not to play too much to the crowd in front of you (because listeners can't see what's happening) … but if you ignore the people in front of you, it's not much of a show (for them.)
"It's a challenge. We love it."