Best Radio Personality 21.62% Sharon Rossi* 19.52% Michael Dean/WEJE* 18.92% Doc West/WXKE* 18.02% Jack Hammer/WBYR* 7.66% Bruce Haines/WBNI* 3.15% Moe/WEJE 2.25% Craven Morehead 1.50% JJ Fabini/WEJE 0.90% Matt Teludo/WBYR 0.45% Lawrence Van Vactor-Lee, Matt Quinn, Ron Gregory 0.30% Barb Richards, Dude Walker, Nick@Nite, Randy Alomar, Weasel Others with Votes: Big Man, Bill Dixon, Boomer, Bumper Roads, Buster, Courtney Heiser, Dan Austin, Dick (WBYR), Jeff Moore, Jim Reed, Joel Haas, Julia Meek, Leslie Stone, Mac (WEJE), Matt Jericho, Moe Collins, Natalie Jones, Nate Dog, Pat White, Phil Sidel, Scott Kump, Scott Paul, Shannon Norris, Tim Dawson 1999 Winner: Doc West 1998 Winner: Doc West 1997 Winner: Doc West * On the ballot

How do you win a Whammy for Local Radio Personality when you’re not currently working on radio? You do it by being the one-and-only Sharon Rossi. After 16 years as a rock jock on WXKE-FM, Rossi recently found herself on the outside looking in. That didn’t seem to bother whatzup’s astute readers, who gave her the Whammy anyway. So, what does a rock jock without a rock station do? "Right now, I’m laying on the couch, waiting for the mailman to bring the unemployment check, watching the Lifetime channel on TV, and eating bon-bons," Rossi reported. Rossi has years of fond memories of working at WXKE-FM, her first and only radio job. Many of them she deemed unsuitable for print, but one she did recall with a big smile - the story of her hiring. "I was a single mom, going to school and working at a record store, and I used my only day off to attend a Joe Walsh/Foreigner concert. I went backstage with what we’ll call reckless abandon and met Joe Walsh. Then I walked up to Doc West and said, ‘you know, sucker, I will have your job in three years.’ Two weeks later he called and hired me. I think he was scared," Rossi said. Rossi isn’t completely separated from the local rock n’ roll scene. She works with George Kotsopoulos at Broadripple Place as a consultant on booking bands, a position she held with him in earlier days at Wrigley Field Bar and Grill. But the siren call of radio remains strong. Rossi grew up listening to and admiring WOWO-AM’s Bob Chase, who was her best friend’s father. Radio became her professional goal. Recently, she has talked with a radio industry consultant about possible jobs in other markets, but deep down she doesn’t want to leave Fort Wayne. "This is where my heart is," Rossi said. As for WXKE-FM, one asked with some trepidation for Rossi’s comment on how she left the station. Quietly she replied, "With a broken heart."

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