89.5 KTSY Manager's Memo

I never dreamed it would ever happen.  There is now only one thing left on my to-do list at KTSY and I’m about to check it off. I need to write and record my last Manager’s Memo.

My office is packed and ready for shipping. Bank accounts, passwords, lunches, email account, going away gatherings, friends and colleagues called, lists and lists of information that has been living in my head, all checked off. Only one thing remains; to say thank you to you.

Unfortunately, the past few weeks have been about me and I’m always uncomfortable with that, because I’ve never believed it. It’s always about what God is doing through us, together. So to my outstanding staff, my operating board, my friends, my family and to the thousands and thousands of you who make up the KTSY Family, thank you for the past twenty years. What an amazing opportunity and adventure you’ve given me. I will cherish these days in Idaho always. I pray God will continue to bless you and keep you in His arms.

And if we don’t meet again, know that I’ll be looking for you in heaven when we finally hold the biggest KTSY Family reunion ever. Look for the signs.

For KTSY, I’m the deeply grateful Mike Agee.

Solomon obviously understood the bittersweet when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. “There is an appointed time for everything. There is a time for every event under heaven.” Then he explains there is nothing better “than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime.”

April 1st, which always seemed appropriate to me by the way, I will celebrate the 20th anniversary of my arrival in Idaho and the beginning of my work for the KTSY Family. Twenty years of ups and downs, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, searching and losing, living our lives together on the great adventure that is KTSY.

But as Solomon reminds us, season’s come and go. Those of you old enough to have experienced it can already sense the bittersweet.

The 20th anniversary will be my last at KTSY.

Those are hard words for me to write. But Wanda and I feel God has new things for me to do. One of my lifelong dreams is to be a teacher. The Texas college I graduated from has invited me to manage their radio station and teach in the Communication Department; to be a professor and share my experience with the next generation of communicators; to do both of the things I love at the same time. And I have accepted.

But it is bittersweet. We love Idaho. We love KTSY. But we believe God has KTSY’s future in mind, as well. The adventure will continue. Thank you for allowing me to come this far with you.

The KTSY Family has an opportunity.

More than thirteen years ago, I prepared paperwork to begin the process of putting another station on the air in the Treasure Valley. Those beginnings, so many years ago, have finally come to pass and we an opportunity to bless others. An opportunity to share the Good News with someone else.  An opportunity to provide the foundation of a new broadcast ministry in the Treasure Valley.

Our new broadcast signal, located at 88.7, will be called The Oasis and will be all about having a place we can focus on God; a place we can set aside the rush and frenzy of our every day lives and find strength and refresh our spirit for the journey ahead. A place we can lift our voices in praise to Him.

This past week, we sent a letter to many in the KTSY Family asking them to help provide the funding to purchase the final pieces of equipment we need to finish the project and make The Oasis a reality. I also wanted you to have an opportunity to contribute as well. You can find out more about The Oasis Project on our website at www.895ktsy.org. Thank you in advance for your prayers and gifts to make The Oasis a reality.

And as always, if you have questions or want to talk about it, my email address is magee@ktsy.org.

Spring is coming.

I peered into my wife’s flowerbed this morning and under the dead leaves and this new dusting of snow, I saw spring stirring. Little buds of daffodils and tulips are beginning to peek from the soil.

It seems like there might be signs of new life amongst the debris of our economy, as well. New businesses opening, new homes under construction again in the subdivisions near my home and some good news occasionally in the paper and on TV news. But I believe another spring is on its way as well. One I long for with all my heart.

John says in Revelation 21 that he “saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” And he “saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” Then he heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he shall dwell among them and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be among them.”

Take heart. Spring is coming again. Soon, very soon, I pray.

“Look what I’ve got! It’s a Super bowl ring!”

I looked up from the checkout line at the Nampa Costco to see one of the checkers showing off a monstrous gold and diamond ring that to a football fan is unmistakable. I heard her ask the way more than six-foot receiver looking gentleman standing at the next counter what year and he said “1985.” That would make him a Chicago Bear and a member of a championship team that included Walter Peyton, Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, Jim McMahon and William “Refrigerator” Perry.

The night before, I watched the BSU Broncos win their second Fiesta Bowl Championship, making the Treasure Valley and Bronco Nation very proud and attaining one of their primary team goals, winning a BCS Bowl game.

Two teams, who worked and sweated and contended for a shared goal and achieved the prize. I tell you this to ask a few questions on my mind recently. What are my goals? What prize am I contending to attain? And what am I willing to do, to give up, to strive with a group of like-minded people to achieve? They feel like good questions to be asking early in January.  I’m just wondering what prize you’re striving for.

For KTSY, I’m General Manager Mike Agee.

2010. We’re beginning a new year and a new decade. That’s hard to believe, since a week or so ago we were worried about the Y2K bug and the end of the world when all of the computers in the world ground to a halt. Seems humorous now, knowing there is more processing power in the cell phone in my pocket than those computers contained.

The children of Israel were embattled by Babylon and were in the depths of despair from the trouble that surrounded them, much of it of their own making. And then Jeremiah spoke for the Lord. “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart.”

I’m thinking that’s a great way to start a new year and decade after a difficult season. To understand He has a plan for me and has my future in His hands. My only concern is to call upon Him in prayer and seek Him with all of my heart. The One who loved me so much He sent His only Son so that I might have life everlasting.

For KTSY, I’m seeking Him with all of heart and still General Manager Mike Agee.

My shopping is mostly complete. The decorations have been up for weeks. Most of the parties have been attended. The boys will be home from college soon and I will be taking a few days off. The Christmas holiday bustle is in full swing in the Agee home.

In the midst of it, though, I’m trying to find some quiet moments to reflect and renew. This holiday, among all the others for me, is the most precious. It’s filled with childhood memories of my mom, aunts and uncles trying to fill the empty spaces my father left. It’s memories of my first Christmases with my bride and best friend Wanda as we began our life together. It’s filled with the squeals and frenzy only your children can bring to Christmas morning, even too cool college boys.

But this Christmas, as a grown-up with a few scars and grey hairs, I’m beginning to understand, I hope, the concept of Immanuel, God with us. We have a God, who loves us so very much, who became one of us, to serve us, to take our punishment and provide a path back to eternity for us. Christmas is a celebration of His arrival and the beginning of that sacrifice.

Immanuel, God with us. I can hardly fathom the depth of a gift like that.

From all of us at KTSY, we pray you enjoy a very merry, blessed Christmas season and a happy New Year.

It is, of course, the season of thankfulness. And I have many things to be thankful for. I have a wonderful and saintly wife, two sons who are growing into fine young men. I’m challenged and fulfilled by my work, with a terrific staff dedicated to our ministry to the KTSY Family. But most of all, I think, I’m thankful for home.

Thornton Wilder, an American playwright best known for his work Our Town, once said “It’s when you’re safe at home that you wish you were having an adventure. When you’re having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.” Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Ed Pearce said, “Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave and grow old wanting to get back to.”

I think they’re right. My sons, who are chafing for their own adventures to begin, surely do as well. But at least, for this week, our two worlds will intersect, where we’ll enjoy some rest, some fellowship and too much food.

I pray you and yours are at rest, as well. From all of us here to the rest of the KTSY Family, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

I think it’s the noise I miss after Sharathon is over. The station is full of energy and volunteers and food and fun and praise to God that is a joy to experience. Not that I will let it interfere with my nap this weekend, of course. But it sure was a lot of fun.

Thanks to all of our volunteers who came and shared their time and treats with us and to our volunteer coordinator Heather Carlson for organizing the phone center. Thanks to my most totally awesome staff for all of their hard work to make Sharathon a success and to their husbands, wives and kids for sharing with us.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us during Sharathon. Your prayers lifted us up and gave us strength to keep moving forward.

And to everyone who pledged their support during Sharathon, thank you for your involvement, your trust and your sacrifice for the ministry of KTSY. I am humbled and honored by your contribution. Please continue to pray for us as we move into the holiday season and the New Year.  2010 is just a few weeks away.

For KTSY, I’m a tired but contented General Manager Mike Agee.

We need you.

You probably don’t find that surprising, but it’s not what you might think. It’s more than just money. In fact, cash is probably the least important factor.

Tuesday, we’ll begin our 20th Fall Sharathon, three days of celebration, filled with stories of God’s work in our lives and the difference the KTSY Family makes every day in the Treasure Valley. Our goal is $550,000. With ongoing support from our One Step donors and supporters who have renewed in advance of Sharathon through the mail, we are more than half way to our goal before we start. We can only praise God for His blessing and provision. But, we still need you, because He has always chosen to bless us through our listeners.

Will you join us in prayer for the Sharathon? Without your prayers, none of what we do is possible. Do you have some extra time next week? We could still use a few folks to help answer phones and provide snacks and refreshments for the event. Call us at 459-5879 to volunteer.

And, of course, if you haven’t already, will you join us with a financial gift? You can visit our website at www.895ktsy.org to make a gift with your debit or credit card.

Thanks in advance for your involvement in KTSY.