|
 We had awarded only two champions at that time,
Kathie Williams of Small Town Creations and Nick Bekteshi of Country
Aire Restaurant in Atlanta in January and February, respectively.
For the month of March, we had two very special people picked out,
but were hugely disappointed when we had to cancel those plans.
After several months of waiting and wondering when coronavirus was
going to go to the wayside, we’ve made the careful decision to move
forward with our Community Champions.
With all that said, LDN is proud to announce that the August 2020
Community Champions are the dynamic duo of Bill Gossett and Judy
Busby from the Viewpoint of WLCN radio in Atlanta.
The two personalities co-host the Viewpoint talk show on Wednesday
mornings. The work they do at the radio station sounds like easy
conversation between two old friends because that is exactly what it
is.
They bring in guests to visit with and share their opinions with the
public with the goal of making a positive impact on our community
and our society.
For example, on the August 19th show, they took on the very
controversial issue of law enforcement. Bill began the day by saying
he was tired of the negativity toward our officers in blue and
wanted the community to understand and appreciate that the local law
enforcement offices are staffed with very good people who do their
jobs daily without complaint. Our local officers are good people,
and we are lucky to have them.
The guest of the day was Lincoln Police Chief Paul Adams. The chief
talked candidly about the efforts of law enforcement to maintain the
safety of the community through enforcing law.
Then on August 26th they had as their guest Reverend Glenn Shelton
and discussed racism in Logan County. Shelton spoke with the hopes
of raising awareness not only to the issues of black versus white,
but to the degrees of racism. Granted, we have not seen the violent
cruel treatments of our black population in this area, but Shelton
explained that our actions, though subtle, do sometimes relay a
sense of racism and a degrading of people of color. His best
solution, and one that Bill and Judy supported whole heartily, was
that we should all get to know each other as fellow human beings.
When we do, we will discover our commonality and learn more about
our differences, and we will become more color blind.
Gossett and Busby effectively took two national stories and brought
them down to a community level with the help of their guests. The
goal, to bring understanding and awareness on both topics and how
our community is impacted by these issues.
Gossett and Busby are not afraid to broach the tough topics, but
they also enjoy highlighting the lighter side of life or bringing
attention to those in need and those that are trying to help others.
It is there, that the show reflects the personality of the hosts to
the fullest. Always helpful, always friendly, always willing to
listen to someone other than themselves.
Judy Busby will tell anyone that her greatest claim to fame was that
she was the wife of the late Buzz Busby, a Lincoln alderman for
years who spoke his mind quite clearly and was known among council
members as the man with the red ink pen at budget time.
However, spend a little time with people who know her and you find
that Judy has made her own mark on the world with her kindness and
her willingness to help others. She’s been involved with a number of
organizations including the Woman’s Club and the ALMH Auxiliary. She
has been a champion for the ALMH Auxiliary lifeline projects. She
has served on the board of the Oasis Senior Center and has always
been active in her church.
She raised her family and is very proud of her children Cince and
Cass.
Judy can also be accredited for bringing Viewpoint to WLCN Atlanta
in 2007. It was her show, and she had been doing it on WPRC. When
she came to WLCN, she enlisted Bill to be her co-host and the two
have been working together since.
Bill Gossett is often heard to say “My debit is greatly
exaggerated.” We would beg to differ. In his lifetime, Bill along
with his lovely wife Jean, have done numerous good works in our
community. Bill is noted for his involvement at Lincoln College and
will be recognized by the college with an honorary doctorate this
fall.
The honorary degree was announced in May of this year. The article
written by Lincoln College summed up Bills contribution to the
community very well.
“Gossett has held leadership positions in numerous civic
organizations, including the Abraham Lincoln Hospital Association,
American Legion, Knights Templar, Lincoln Rotary, Lincoln
Toastmasters Club, Lincoln-Logan Chamber of Commerce, Masons, Oasis
Senior Center, Salvation Army, and the Union Cemetery Association.
He is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church.
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An advocate for education, Gossett has served on the
Lincoln District 27 and West Lincoln-Broadwell School Boards as well
as the Lincoln Community High School steering committee. He has
volunteered at Washington-Monroe Elementary and the Logan
Correctional Center. Over the past seven decades, Gossett has been
an active and enthusiastic supporter of Lincoln College, and has
served as a Board of Trustee member for fifteen years. He was
inducted into the Lincoln College Athletic Hall of Fame as a friend
of athletics in 2017. Gossett was also the recipient of the Alumni
Achievement Award.”
He is a veteran who honors all veterans and supports them in all the
ways that he can. He brings a candid and comical perspective to the
things that go on around him. He’s not afraid to speak out when he
sees a wrong being done, and is good at heaping on the praise when
he sees someone doing something remarkable for our community.
He’s been a business owner in Lincoln and was highly thought of in
that arena, and he was Cince Busby’s first employer.
Upon learning that LDN would be honoring her mom and “Uncle Bill,”
Cince (Busby) Bowns was happy to offer perspective from a family
viewpoint.
“Judy Busby (mom) and Bill Gossett ‘Uncle Bill’ have been friends
for over 50 years. When their children were grade school aged there
was a fun filled Busby-Gossett weekend to Chicago to see the Field
Museum, Shed Aquarium, and many other sites.
“For over 40 years we were neighbors on Peoria Street. When dad was
so ill and we spent days at the hospital Uncle Bill would take care
of the dog, turn lights on/off, and watch the house for mom.
“Mom and Uncle both have amazing gifts and talents they freely share with the people of Lincoln and Logan County.
“For many years mom and Uncle Bill have hosted Viewpoint on WLCN
96.3FM, Wednesday mornings at 8:15am. They both joke about “all both
of our listeners.” They sometimes get frustrated that people do not
call into their weekly program to ask questions of their guest of
the week. I tell them both that they have the pulse of the community
and ask the majority of the questions that John Q. Public want
answers to!
“The bottom line is that these two people, who are very community
minded, engage in what is going on locally, and truly care about all
of the people in Lincoln and Logan County. They both have the
uncanny ability to understand and practice that age old adage: “It
is usually not what you do or say to someone, but rather how you
made them feel.”
"Imagine if we could have more people care and give back to Lincoln
and Logan County. What a wonderful thing that would be.
“Thank you both for all that you have done in the past and I look
forward to what the future holds for both of you and our community.”
To clarify any confusion, there is no blood relationship between the
Busbys and the Gossetts. Cince explained that the Busby family moved
to Lincoln from Minnesota and were fortunate to have Bill and Jean
Gossett as their neighbors and first friends. The friendship grew
stronger with each passing day, and the two families became so
intertwined, that the Busby children knew the Gossetts as honorary
uncle and aunt. Cince said that even her kids and grandkids know
Bill as ‘Uncle Bill.’
On Wednesday morning, Bill and Judy were both
surprised to find Karen Hargis, Lisa Ramlow and Nila Smith of
Lincoln Daily News waiting for them at the station. Judy was a bit
alarmed and later laughed about it saying she thought she had double
booked the program! She made the joke “I can mess up a one car
funeral.” A comment she repeated later on air when Bill acknowledged
that LDN had paid them a visit.
The award was given to Bill and Judy in recognition of what their
show the Viewpoint brings to the community, but also to celebrate
the goodness of these two people, and their life-long commitment to
doing good and making our community a better place to live for all.
Between the two of them, hundreds if not thousands of lives have
been touched, and from the LDN perspective, they have indeed made
our world a better place, just by being in.
Congratulations to Bill and Judy, and thanks to station manager Jim
Ash for having the insight to bring these two great people to the
airwaves in Logan County.
[Nila Smith] |
