I love the word legacy. Meeting a father-son team last year at the National Religious Broadcaster (NRB) Convention introduced me to two new friends who have a rich legacy in radio. Dick Bott, now 80, and his son, Rich Bott, pioneered and own and the Bott Radio Network, based in the Kansas City area. These two dynamic men, programming and staff, reach into 15 states via 91 stations. I have the joy and privilege of being on this network with my radio feature, “Seeing Beyond with Gail McWilliams” each weekday. Plus, I have had the privilege of doing some 30-minute interviews with Mr. Bott, Senior at the microphone.
We first met by a mutual friend, Beverly Singleton, from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Bev in her own right has been an influential woman for expanding radio shows and hosts. Not knowing this, we just met in Nashville and became immediate friends. One afternoon sitting at a table at the Gaylord in Nashville, Dick and Rich walked by. They stopped to greet her and she then introduced me and the rest is history. Dick said the moment he heard my story, he excitedly said to me, “You are going to be on my radio show and I know the first question I am going to ask you.” And, ask he did, months later. It was that interview that confirmed to me that we were on the right road of expansion. While the show aired multiple times, a particular listener was impacted greatly, who contacted our office. To this day, she is my steadfast encouragement that one voice can make a difference.
A woman in Missouri, outside St. Louis heard the interview. She was overtaken by God’s love and her own tears. Crying uncontrollably she had to pull her car over to the side of the road and she cried for nearly one hour, while giving her heart to Christ. She remarked that what she heard in my voice was a confident and authentic faith and endless joy. I have since become friends with this dear woman who continues to grow and develop with a new outlook on life.
Dick always had a love for radio. He was intrigued as a child to think you could use one microphone and be heard in multiple places. He has pioneered the faith-based radio networks that we enjoy today.
Dick started his radio venture in the basement of a mall between a barbershop and a child care center. Now, 51 years later, the Bott Radio Network consists of 91 stations reaching into 15 states, with a combined audience of more than 50 million people. Programs also can be heard worldwide by satellite, on the Internet and through mobile digital technology.
Sharing the legacy can often seem natural in an ordinary life plan. From a young age, Dick would take his son, Rich, to the NRB, when it had just begun. Now Rich is the Chairman of the Board of the NRB. It only reminds me that we never know exactly what is developing each day and season of our lives
Gentlemen, thank you for letting me team with you for his strategic hour. What great things have happened since we first met! Teaming with you as a voice of encouragement to a world blinded by darkness is an honor and a joy. I admire you both and glad to call you my new McFriends. Your voice and work will outlive your lives.
We hear His love through you.