Communiqué
WOUB Member Spotlight: Judy Stansbury
< < Back toStansbury has been a member of WOUB since 2000
ATHENS, OH – Judy Stansbury of Granville, Ohio has been a loyal supporter of WOUB for more than 20 years. But WOUB isn’t the only public media she supports. She is also a member of WOSU and WCBE in Columbus because she believes public media’s mission of informing, enlightening and inspiring communities with quality information and entertainment is so important.
“I don’t know what my life would be like without public radio, I listen to it all the time,” said Stansbury. “I just think the mixture of programming is so attractive to me. The many things I learn, from new music to important news alerts, is so amazing. I feel like I’m with friends when I listen. It’s just part of me.”
Stansbury discovered WOUB when she started listening to the music programming on the weekends.
“My first exposure to WOUB was the program Below the Salt. I thought any station that had programming like that would likely have other programs I wanted to hear, so I looked at the daily program schedule and soon found many others that interested me,” said Stansbury. “I loved Ivan and Deanna Tribe and the Bluegrass music programming WOUB offers. American Roots, I love that show, and I always like to listen to the news as well, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. I am also very fond of Scott Simon on Saturday mornings.”
The mother of four and grandmother of six is now enjoying retirement, but was involved in social work throughout her career. She retired from Central Ohio Technical College in 2008 where she was a program administrator. Stansbury also served as the director of a domestic violence shelter and held positions in juvenile court and with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
“When I worked for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, I traveled all over the state working with vulnerable people who had been victimized by crime,” said Stansbury. “I would always search for the local NPR stations as I knew I would find reliable, up to date news, my favorite programs, and local flavor to remind me where I was in the state.”
Stansbury uses her skills and experience now to give back to her community. She is active with the League of Women Voters and works with Women Have Options (WHO) of Ohio, an organization advocating for abortion rights.
“It’s really meaningful work that I enjoy and have been doing for quite a while.”
Stansbury loves to read, take long walks and, of course, listen to NPR.
“I have the radio on all day. I’m a radio person. Sometimes I flip between the three public media stations,” said Stansbury. “I think it’s fair and honest reporting. I love the different kinds of programming, and I especially enjoy the music programming. “
The passion for public media is something Stansbury shared with her husband, who passed away a couple of years ago. Her husband preferred listening to classical music, but also enjoyed Rock & Roll and Big Band music. Now, Stansbury talks about what she hears on public radio with her friends.
“I surround myself with people who are also NPR people,” said Stansbury. “And we say to each other ‘Guess what I heard on NPR today.’”