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SJFS 2026 Night 2 recap May 14, 2026

Posted by Mike C. in Education, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, smooth jazz, Sports, Thoroughbred, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.
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Continued from night 1 recap

Saturday, May 2, was night 2 of the 23rd anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department.

Much of the day was spent at Hilton Garden Inn, whether hanging out in my room or mingling in the lobby. I’d seen night 1 headliner Steve Oliver when I arrived Friday afternoon. On Saturday, I said quick hellos to Althea René and Steve Cole, who were among the night 2 headliners. I also saw fellow photographer Kat Gilraine, Mark and Phyllis Abrams, Rob and Melanie Hoogenboom, and Billy Okumu. At Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the site of Smooth Jazz for Scholars (within Parsons Complex), I saw Jay Dobbins, Judy Raphael, Steve Lewis, Jay Rowe’s wife Deborah, and his mother Mia DiStasi. I made a new acquaintance after the show, which I’ll get to when the time comes.

I left for the auditorium right after watching Golden Tempo make history at the 152nd Kentucky Derby at the restaurant in the hotel lobby. (Watch Larry Collmus call the race for NBC.)

It was another 7:20 arrival, and this was my gear down in the orchestra pit:

I arrived at the same time for a set that began at the same time: promptly at 8PM. That’s when Kevin McCabe of JumpStart Jazz Productions bid us good evening.

Saturday’s student openers were the full Joseph A. Foran High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jessica Turner.

Trumpet player Max Vicarelli led a great arrangement of “Feels So Good” by the late flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione.

Kevin McCabe returned to introduce the headliners and house band, led by Smooth Jazz for Scholars music director and founder Jay Rowe.

Jay’s opening remarks

Jay on his front-facing keyboards:

Saturday’s headliners were the aforementioned Steve Cole on tenor sax (and jokes):

Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:

…and acoustic guitar:

The aforementioned Althea René on flute:

…and Alex Bugnon on keyboards:

The house band accompanying Jay Rowe and the headliners was made up of Steve Scales on percussion:

Trever Somerville on drums:

Andy Abel on guitar:

…and Dave Anderson on bass:

SET LIST
1. The Next Step (Jay Rowe) (also played on night 1)
2026 single
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)

2. City Groove (Jay Rowe)
2023 single
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar), Steve Scales (percussion)

3. Just Another Love Thing (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Groove Reflections (2021)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Steve Cole (tenor sax)

I love (no pun intended) the “Linus and Lucy” phrases Jay threw into his solos.

4. Attitude (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Without a Doubt (2023)
Featured musician: Steve Cole (tenor sax)

5. Time & Space (Althea René)
Originally heard on: 18 Karat (2025)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute)

6. Life on Mars (Althea René) (Dexter Wansel cover)
Originally heard on: Flawsome (2019)
Featured musicians: Althea René (flute, “flute talk”), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards), Dave Anderson (bass), Trever Somerville (drums)

7. Daybreak (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Global Village (1992)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic/electric guitars), Althea René (flute), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

8. Mystical Remedies/Mystical (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: Modern Manners (1985), Sweet Surrender (2007)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Steve Cole (tenor sax)

9. Sweet Sticky Thing (Alex Bugnon) (Ohio Players cover)
Originally heard on: This Time Around (1993)
Featured musician: Alex Bugnon (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play.

10. Night Groove (Alex Bugnon)
Originally heard on: Soul Purpose (2001)
Featured musician: Alex Bugnon (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play.

11. Synergy (Althea René)
Originally heard on: Conspiracy Theory (2026)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute)

12. Mirage (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Turn It Up (2016)
Featured musician: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

13. Justice (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Smoke and Mirrors (2021)
Featured musicians: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

50/50 RAFFLE ($965 pot) (won by John)

14. Spellbound (Alex Bugnon) (Joe Sample cover)
Featured musician: Alex Bugnon (keyboards)
(recycled from 2024 night 2 recap): The story behind Alex’s cover of “Spellbound” involved filling in for an ailing Joe Sample at Yoshi’s in 2013. Spellbound was the first jazz album I ever bought, in the summer of 1998.
Jay Rowe did not play.

15. Cool Summer (Special EFX)
2024 single
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

16 (Finale). Love and Happiness (Trever Somerville) (Al Green cover)
Featured musicians: Trever Somerville (vocals, drums), Everyone

Before I get to the bulk of the photos, I need to thank Jay Rowe for taking the time between – “Mystical Remedies” and “Sweet Sticky Thing” – to praise the work of me and my fellow photographers Kat Gilraine, Ken Combs, and Keith McDonald. Thank you so much, Jay. We’ve known each other 20 years (since May 5, 2006) and I am grateful to have you in my life. I’m equally grateful to everyone I’ve gotten to know and collaborate with at Smooth Jazz for Scholars, the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony, and Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, just to name a few.

Now, photo galleries of each musician, beginning with Jay:

“Daybreak” solo…
“Cool Summer” solo…

Steve Cole:

Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:

Chieli on acoustic guitar:

Althea René:

Alex Bugnon:

The house band is up next, starting with Steve Scales:

Trever Somerville:

“Life on Mars” solo…

Andy Abel:

…and Dave Anderson:

Dave’s “Life on Mars” solo…

Medium shots:
Chieli Minucci and Althea René on “Daybreak”:

Chieli Minucci and Steve Cole (and Andy Abel) on “Mystical Remedies”:

“Chieli Minucci, y’all!”

Alex Bugnon, Dave Anderson, Trever Somerville on “Night Groove”:

Steve Cole and Jay Rowe on “Justice”:

Wide shots:
“The Next Step”:

“Just Another Love Thing”:

“Sweet Sticky Thing”:

End of “Night Groove”:

“Thank you!”

End of “Cool Summer”:

“Thank you. ‘Cool Summer,’ guys. It’s comin’. Here we go.”

When the time came for the 50/50 raffle, with a $965 pot, Jay Rowe pulled out the winning ticket from the bag Kevin McCabe brought to the stage:

The winner was John from Brooklyn:

As you saw in the set list and video, Trever Somerville sang for the grand finale: Al Green‘s “Love and Happiness“:

Here’s how the rest of the finale played out photographically:

The big finish to the grand finale:

Jay Rowe’s closing remarks:

All right! Give it up for Alex Bugnon, Steve Cole, Althea René, Chieli Minucci, Steve Scales, Andy Abel, Trever Somerville, Dave Anderson, [and] I’m Jay Rowe! Thank you all so much! We’ll see you outside [in the lobby]! We’re havin’ our after party at Bistro Mediterranean on Bridgeport Avenue! So, come on down and have a drink with us! Thank you so much. We’re signin’ CDs out there [in the lobby], too.

The meet-and-greet photos begin with Anita Guris of 2 The Bridge Talent and the guitar she won, signed by all the musicians (Jay, headliners, house band):

Anita and Chieli Minucci:

In addition to that Fender Squier Telecaster guitar, Anita won two gift baskets in a raffle. I may not have had any luck in raffles, but I am proud for the lucky ones, and luck was with Anita this year.

Here I am with Steve Cole:

Althea René:

Thanks to Jay Rowe’s wife Deborah, me with Jay and Chieli Minucci:

…and after I’d put my EOS R7 away, an iPhone 17 Pro selfie with Ken Combs:

I said good night to everyone, exited the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and headed back to Hilton Garden Inn.

I checked out of the hotel at 10:30 AM on Sunday, May 3. Even with heavy pockets of traffic in Greenwich, and in one spot each on the Cross Island and Southern State Parkways, the ride home (as a passenger) took an hour and 38 minutes, from 10:38 AM to 12:16 PM.

Cross Island Parkway Exit 25A, Southern State Parkway East:

Southern State Parkway Exit 13N, Linden Boulevard:

That’s the last of the photos and the last of my two-part 2026 Smooth Jazz for Scholars recap. The publication of these posts, and all the videos, is the culmination of a 19-day labor of love; from the moment I entered the Roosevelt School East Room at LIU Post (for the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony) to the moment yesterday when I clicked “save draft” one last time on the SJFS night 1 and 2 posts. Thank you for following me on this multimedia journey, and thank you to Jay Rowe, the Friday and Saturday headliners, the house band, Kevin McCabe and the JumpStart Jazz Productions crew, and all my fellow smooth jazz fans and photographers.

Like the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony video, I dedicate this two-part recap to my uncle Scott Stephen, a Milford native, whom I lost on April 23. The bulk of my post-production was done at the computer/desk hutch that he graciously assembled back in June 2023. Uncle Scott was a very handy man, a funny man, and as avid a fisherman as my dad Bill. I will miss him dearly.

SJFS 2026 Night 1 recap May 14, 2026

Posted by Mike C. in Education, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, smooth jazz, Travel, Video.
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Read about night 2 here.

Friday, May 1, was the first of two nights of the 23rd anniversary Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut, benefiting the Milford Public Schools music department.

This was another year with minimal anxiety ahead of the ride from Wantagh to Milford, but I did bump into the right edge of my bedroom door before I left the house. (I was walking out to tell my dad something across the hall and my right shoe got caught.) I tended to the resulting cut quickly enough that it never swelled. I didn’t even need ointment or bandages by the time I packed up my gear in the Parsons Complex Veterans Memorial Auditorium that night.

Surprisingly, the Hampton Inn on Plains Road closed down. Thus, the official hotel was Hilton Garden Inn on Old Gate Lane.

After a quick stop at the store for seltzer to stock in my room’s mini fridge, the ride to the hotel took two hours and 16 minutes. It felt longer with multiple heavy pockets of traffic between the Throgs Neck Bridge and I-95 Connecticut exit 23.

Exit 40 led to Hilton Garden Inn:

View from the outside:

…and inside my room (taken Saturday):

I arrived at Veterans Memorial Auditorium at about 7:20. The parking lot by the baseball field was busy with a concert of its own; a rock concert. That was also the case on Saturday.

Yes, I lost with the three 50/50 raffle tickets I bought each night. Next.

Ron Hancox was at a high school reunion this year and Andrew James was also absent. That left a quartet of photographers: Katherine Gilraine, Ken Combs, Keith McDonald, and me. (Happy birthday, Kat, since it’s your birthday while I write this paragraph the day before publication.)

The gear I use:

Promptly at 8PM, the lights came down and Kevin McCabe from JumpStart Jazz Productions bid us good evening.

The Jonathan Law High School jazz sextet, not a full ensemble, played first.

Baritone sax!

The Law sextet played three songs. I recognized the second and third as “Autumn Leaves” and “Song for My Father.”

Kevin McCabe returned to introduce the headliners and house band, led by Jay Rowe.

Jay was on keyboards, facing forward this year:

Friday’s headliners were Steve Oliver on guitar and vocal sounds:

Jessy J on tenor sax:

Brian Simpson on keyboards (but not keytar):

Marion Meadows (ladies…) on soprano sax:

…and vocalist Timmy Maia:

As for the house band, Steve Scales returned on percussion:

Trever Somerville was on drums:

Andy Abel on guitar:

…and Dave Anderson on bass:

SET LIST
1. East Coast West Coast (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Red, Hot & Smooth (2006)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)

2. The Next Step (Jay Rowe)
2026 single
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Andy Abel (guitar)

3. High Noon (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: Positive Energy (2002)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds), Steve Scales (percussion)

4. Dancing in the Sand (Steve Oliver)
2026 single
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

5. Tropical Rain (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: True Love (2009)
Featured musician: Jessy J (tenor sax)

6. Tequila Moon (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: Tequila Moon (2008)
Featured musicians: Jessy J (tenor sax), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

7. I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Timmy Maia) (Hall & Oates cover)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (vocals), Jessy J (tenor sax)

8. I Just Might (Timmy Maia) (Bruno Mars cover)
Featured musician: Timmy Maia (vocals)

9. It Could Happen (Brian Simpson)
Originally heard on: It’s All Good (2005)
Featured musicians: Brian Simpson (keyboards)
Jay Rowe did not play.

10. It’s All Good (Brian Simpson)
Originally heard on: It’s All Good (2005)
Featured musicians: Brian Simpson (keyboards), Jessy J (tenor sax), Trever Somerville (drums)
Jay Rowe did not play.

11. Saturday Cool (Brian Simpson)
Originally heard on: It’s All Good (2005)
Featured musicians: Brian Simpson (keyboards), Jessy J (tenor sax), Dave Anderson (bass)
Jay Rowe did not play.

12. Michelle/The Warmth of the Sun (Jay Rowe) (covers of The Beatles and The Beach Boys)
Originally heard on: Jay Walking (1997) (“The Warmth of the Sun” only)
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)
This was a tribute to Michele Mueller who worked with the CD/merchandise table in the lobby on behalf of JumpStart Jazz Productions. Michele died much too soon at the age of 61 on February 26. The last time I saw Michele was on night 2 last year. I bought Jeff Kashiwa‘s Luminoso CD from her before the show, and she took a photo of us when he signed it after the show.
Thank you to Kevin McCabe for requesting this tribute and reaching out to me for the audio to play on your WRTC-FM radio show.

13. The Lift (Marion Meadows) (started in audience)
Originally heard on: Body Rhythm (1995)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)
The annual game of “Where’s Marion?” commenced in the left center aisle.

14. Treasures (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: In Deep (2002)
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Andy Abel (guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)

15. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: Player’s Club (2004)
Featured musician: Marion Meadows (soprano sax)

50/50 RAFFLE ($1,130 pot) (won by audience member whose name I did not catch)

16. Beso del Sol (Jessy J)
Originally heard on: Terranova (2025)
Featured musician: Jessy J (tenor sax), Steve Scales (percussion)

17. Chips and Salsa (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: 3D (2004)
Featured musicians: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocals, vocal sounds), Everyone (including the audience)

18 (Finale). Give Me the Night (Timmy Maia) (George Benson cover on 1980 album of the same name)
Featured musicians: Timmy Maia (lead vocals), Steve Oliver (backing vocals, guitar), Everyone

This is the part with photo galleries of each musician, starting with Jay Rowe:

“Tequila Moon” solo
Michele Mueller tribute medley…
“Treasures” solo…

Steve Oliver:

“High Noon”…
“Dancing in the Sand”

Jessy J:

“Tropical Rain”…
“Tequila Moon”…

Timmy Maia:

“Everybody say Jay-Rowe! Smooth-Jazz! For Scho-lars!”
“I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
“I Just Might”…
“Give Me the Night”…

Brian Simpson:

“It Could Happen”…
“Saturday Cool”…

Marion Meadows, starting “The Lift” in the audience:

On stage:

Turning to the house band, Steve Scales:

Trever Somerville:

Andy Abel:

“Tequila Moon” solo…

Dave Anderson, with all photos from his “Saturday Cool” solo:

Medium shots:
Timmy Maia and Jay Rowe:

“High Noon”: Percussion by “the two Steves,” Oliver and Scales:

Jessy J and Andy Abel:

Jessy J and Brian Simpson:

“It’s All Good” ending:

“Saturday Cool” ending:

Wide shots:
“It Could Happen”:

Michele Mueller tribute medley:

The 50/50 raffle had a $1,130 pot!

Kevin McCabe brought bag of tickets to the stage, and Jay Rowe picked the winner that wasn’t me:

I didn’t catch the winner’s name, but it’s someone Jay knew.

For that reason, he had to make clear the raffle was not rigged. I blurted out to myself, “if it was rigged, I would’ve won.”

“Chips and Salsa” wasn’t the finale, but all the headliners joined Steve Oliver as it began.

“Ohh-oh, oh, ohh-oh! Your turn.”
“Ohh-oh, chips and salsa.”
The big finish…to the prelude to the finish

The finale was Timmy Maia’s cover of “Give Me the Night” by George Benson:

The big finish:

[Part of] Jay Rowe’s closing remarks:

… Give it up: Brian Simpson, Timmy Maia, Steve Oliver, Marion Meadows, Jessy J, Steve Scales, Andy Abel, Trever Somerville, Dave Anderson! I’m Jay Rowe! We love you! Thank you all so much for a great night! … We’ll see you all at Bistro Mediterranean and see you all tomorrow night. Thank you.

The meeting and greeting began in the front row with Steve Scales:

Steve and I are both Hall of Famers. I’m in the WCWP Hall of Fame and Steve is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Talking Heads.

Out in the lobby, I caught up with Jessy J:

Brian Simpson:

Steve Oliver:

…and Marion Meadows:

And that’s a wrap on night 1 of the 23rd anniversary of Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Click here for a recap of night 2 and the aftermath.

2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony May 5, 2026

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Country, Education, Internet, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Rock, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.
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Picking up on the format from the WCWP-FM 60th anniversary weekend, the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony was part of a three-day celebration, from April 24 to 26, 2026. This was the format for Hall of Fame Induction Weekend:

  • Friday, April 24, 7-9PM: Welcome reception at the Abrams Communications Center
  • Saturday, April 25, 6-9PM: Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Roosevelt School
  • Sunday, April 26, 10AM-1PM: Farewell coffee and bagels at the Abrams Communications Center

Once again, the Roosevelt School‘s East Room dining hall was the site of the ceremony. The 2025 inductees were:

Midway through the ceremony, 2026 graduate Avery Cochikas of The Wave, WCWP’s student-run internet station, received the Arthur Beltrone Founders Award. Art helped found WCWP, which signed on as a carrier current station at noon on October 18, 1961. In the role of program director, Art was the first student voice heard at sign-on.

This recap will include photos during and after the ceremony, along with an aircheck of April 24’s The Rock Show, hosted by Dan Reagan, 2022 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee and chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee. (I have served on the committee since 2022, two years before Dan’s chairmanship began.)

Before all that, I present the 2025 ceremony video, with a running time of 1:49:37.

After an adventurous Lyft ride, I arrived at the Roosevelt School well before 6PM; at around 4:45. Let’s just say it involved a northbound detour up and thin, private road. A few minutes later, we turned west and found ourselves on campus by the intramural baseball fields. Gold Coast Road soon followed and we turned south (left) for our destination.

It would be another hour before attendees and inductees began filing in.

I took these photos during the wait after unpacking my equipment:

Two photos featuring Ellyn Solis and her posse before the ceremony:

  • 2025 inductee Ellyn Solis, Yvonne, Ed, Jill, 2022 inductee Kim Dillon
  • Chris Poppe, Ellyn, Esme

Dinner was served at 6PM, and the ceremony began shortly after 7PM.

  • The master of ceremonies was WCWP station manager Dan Cox.
  • The first 2025 inductee honored was Chris Maffei. He was presented by 2020 inductee Christina Kay.
  • Chris Maffei and Christina Kay
  • Chris Maffei’s acceptance speech
  • Dan Cox looked on proudly
  • Chris and Dan
  • Loni and Rich Frazita introduced the next inductee: Tony Traguardo.
  • Tony Traguardo’s acceptance speech (after the brief return of his Post Serial character, Swami Origami)
  • Rich Frazita sneaked in bunny ears over Tony Traguardo’s head as he and Loni posed with the plaque
  • Dan Cox and Tony Traguardo
  • Time for the Arthur Beltrone Founders Award, presented to Avery Cochikas. Avery was introduced by his two station managers. First, Pete Bellotti, a 2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee.
  • Pete’s speech was followed by one from Dan Cox.
  • Avery Cochikas and Pete Bellotti
  • Avery Cochikas and Dan Cox
  • Avery Cochikas’ acceptance speech
  • The last two 2025 inductees each had three presenters. First to present Ellyn Solis was 2022 inductee Kim Dillon.
  • Second was Cande Roth.
  • Third to induct Ellyn was Chris Poppe.
  • Ellyn Solis with her plaque and her posse: Cande Roth, Kim Dillon, and Chris Poppe
  • Ellyn Solis’ acceptance speech
  • Ellyn Solis and Dan Cox
  • Kim Dillon returned to present the fourth inductee, Cande Roth.
  • Ellyn Solis donned her Midnite Progressive t-shirt when she inducted Cande.
  • Third to present Cande was Phathead, her co-host on their eponymous weekday morning radio show on My Country 96.1 WJVC. Phathead is also WJVC program director.
  • Cande with her plaque and presenters: Phathead, Kim Dillon, and Ellyn Solis
  • Cande Roth’s acceptance speech
  • Cande’s family and friends looked on from their tables
  • Dan Cox and Cande Roth
  • Dan’s closing remarks
  • Ed, Chris, KC (Cande’s son), Yvonne, Evan (Cande’s son), Cande, Jill, Ellyn, Rodrigo, Esme (Ellyn’s daughter), Kim, Brian (Cande’s husband), Phathead
  • Chris Maffei and Jeff Kroll
  • Chris Maffei and Mike Chimeri (2021 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee)
  • Christina Kay, Pete Sacoulas, Sami Jo Negron, Julian Wilson, Tessa and Chris Maffei, Charlie and Margaret Moehler
  • The same people as above, but with Dan Cox
  • Dan Reagan (2022 inductee), Jeannie Moon (2024 inductee), Gina Reagan
  • Dan Reagan and Jeff Kroll (2015 inductee)

Jeff ran the board during Dan’s edition of The Rock Show the night before the ceremony: Friday, April 24. It was so good that it went beyond the usual two hours (2 hours and 17 minutes). Here is my scope of Dan Cox’s aircheck (thanks to Jeff for forwarding me the unscoped original):

In one of the talk breaks, Dan Reagan noted rain was in the forecast for the day of the ceremony. It did rain, and it poured. That’s why my mom Lisa suggested a pack my tripods and bag of camcorders in a tall suitcase to shield them. Thank you, Mom, for the idea. She and my dad Bill were attending the annual Freeport Fire Department installation dinner, in the vein of WCWP’s Hall of Fame ceremony, which is why took Lyft rides to and from my home.

Quick tangent: Before I packed up and left the East Room, Cosmo Leone, another 2022 inductee, congratulated my dad. I told him he was just attending the dinner as all FFD members do each year. Little did I know Coz had reason to congratulate. Bill Chimeri – ex-captain of Freeport Truck Company One – was honored for 25 years of active service, as shown in this photo:

End of tangent.

Dan and his wife Gina were kind enough to drive me from the Roosevelt School up to the Abrams Communications Center where our fellow alumni and this year’s inductees looked around WCWP’s renovated home. It also allowed for a more convenient Lyft pickup spot. (The ride home was conversational rather than adventurous.)

  • 2019 inductee Lew Scharfberg talking to the Reagans and Lamendolas
  • Dan Cox shows off Studio 3 to 2022 inductees Cosmo Leone and Kim Dillon, Kim’s husband Craig Ruttle (to her left), and Jeff Kroll
  • Tony Traguardo and his wife Winifred Boyd (“Winnie”) with Rich and Loni Frazita in the student lounge
  • Kim Dillon, Lew Scharfberg, Larry Lamendola, and Jeff Kroll look at the Radio Dataroom (transmitter room)
  • Pete Sacoulas tours the Radio Dataroom with Craig Ruttle looking from the outside; Sami Jo Negron is to Craig’s right
  • Cosmo Leone with Dan and Gina Reagan
  • A tour of Studio 2
  • Outside the new Studio 4, Pete Sacoulas, Sami Jo Negron, and Christina Kay view the Hall of Fame plaque listing all inductees to date

That’s a wrap on the 2025 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony recap. Congratulations again to Chris Maffei, Tony Traguardo, Ellyn Solis, Cande Roth, and Art Beltrone Founders Award recipient Avery Cochikas.

Thank you to Ellyn and to Julian Wilson for identifying who was who in a few of the photos (last names withheld).