Lloyd Parker (1979-1995)

Lloyd dove into Christian music radio in 1972 while at Evangel University in Springfield, MO. In 1974, while station manager of the campus radio station KECC, he became the program director of a new commercial Christian station in town, KLFJ. The next year he was hired at Springfield’s Top 40 station KICK as news announcer.

He resigned 4 months later to return home to Long Island, NY. There he joined a new gospel station WNYG, becoming program director. 3 years later he was asked by Joe Battaglia to become the program director of WLIX. Joe had just become part-owner of this new Christian station on Long Island serving 6.5 million people in the New York metro area.

Over the next 17 years, WLIX grew to be one of the pioneer Christian music stations in the country. Lloyd eventually became VP/GM and part owner before the station was sold in 1995. Concurrently from 1988 to 1993, Lloyd was VP/GM of WLVX in Hartford, CT.

In 1996 Lloyd joined EMF Broadcasting (K-LOVE Radio Network) in Sacramento as General Manager. In 1999 he added GM of Air 1 Radio Network to his title when it merged with K-LOVE. In 2002 he founded Christian Music Planet magazine and served as its Editor-In-Chief.

In 2005, Lloyd left EMF and moved to Colorado Springs where he currently serves WAY-FM Media Group as Chief Operating Officer.

Lloyd will be heard voicing some promos and special features on Christian 54 Online, but he is also providing resources and guidance that only someone in Lloyd's position could give.  Lloyd was such an integral part of WLIX-AM, and he is continuing to show his passion for their ministry with his involvement in Christian 54 Online.

Pete Winchester (1991-1995)

I worked the weeknight shift during the weekdays as well as a midday shift during the weekends for four years right up to the last day.  While I did play music during my time there I was mainly a board operator for talk programs.  Most of the programs were on cassette tape.  Some of the local ministries thought it was real professional to stick with reel to reel tape, but the more cutting edge ministries converted to CD and Satellite feeds.  During the last year of WLIX, I was the board operator for many Spanish language programs - some of which were pre recorded but most were live. I never understood a word that was being said but it knew my cues and it worked out.

WLIX went off the air almost every night around midnight.  I was the control operator that turned WLIX off for the last time.  I created a special ID that you might hear on "online" from time to time.  It had to be a legal ID including the town of license but I also liked the bottom ID better.  I created it about an hour before sign off on the digital audio editing station that I had introduced the staff to.  They were using razor blades to edit before that.

WLIX had been my favorite radio station for years.  I probably listened to them throughout their entire run.  One day I called up the station and requested a song.  I didn't know they didn't take requests but the fellow on the other end of the line said that "The Easter Song" by "Second Chapter of Acts" was on the list to be played.  I listened closely for that song.  It never played.  I listened for a week, a month, a year.  Then when I landed a job at WLIX I learned about "dropping songs."  It seems that at the end of every hour 2 extra songs are put in the list just in case they were needed to fill up to the top of the hour.  Well, that almost never happened, and I came to realize that the fellow who told me the song was coming up probably had to drop it because it wouldn't fit.

So some years pass and it is Easter Sunday and I am working the midday shift.  Jerry Williams had reason to be there and he granted me the ability to play any song I wanted I guess to fill a large gap.  I knew what I would do.  I quickly move over to the cart rack and pulled out the carted version of "The Easter Song", put it in the slot and on cue I pressed the button to start it and .. nothing.  I heard nothing but dead air.  I forgot to turn up the level.  I couldn't start over quick enough because it was on a cart so I turned up the level and got most of the song in.

My favorite ministry program was "Adventures in Odyssey" because I liked using a story to make a point.  At first I had thought it was just a kids show.  When it was rescheduled to my shift I then learned that it had lessons to teach every age.  Since that time I have made trips to Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs where I visited with writers and editors of the program.  I have an extensive collection of programs in the order that they were aired.  Unfortunately I don't have the more recent episodes.

After WLIX, most of us went on to work for the new owner which sported the call sign of WLUX.  One by one the WLIX people became less and less.  I did see the return of Mary Perez and Addie Triolo.  I made it another 4 years which included moving the station from Bay Shore to Farmingdale.  When I left it was similar to my last day at WLIX.  I was once again the only one in the place.  The only difference was that automation was in operation and their was no transmitter to turn off.  At that point the only remaining member of WLIX was the Chief Engineer, John Bennett.

Currently I work for a manufacturing company as a Calibration Technician.  Not as entertaining, but it's a living.  Also I ended that exciting single life and settled down with my lovely wife Teresa.  I still live on Long Island in a town called Central Islip (not CI).

You can hear me once again from 7 to midnight on Christian 54 Online... and there's no transmitter to turn off when I'm done each night!

Brian Fisher (1981-1984)

I have had bios written about me at radio stations I previously worked at, but to write one of my own?  This will be a challenge!

I spent my formative years in Chatham, New Jersey, a city 25 miles from mid-town Manhattan. Being the youngest of three children, I was greatly influenced by the hobbies and interests of my older brother and sister.  It was the 1960’s, and we lived on the edge of the entertainment capital of America, thus had access to the very best in Television and Radio. I took a keen interest in electronics, photography and music at an early age, starting with recording my favorite songs from 77 WABC (the greatest top 40 radio station of all time).

After bumming around for a few years after high school, a family tragedy caused me to re-think my life and career priorities. Given my love for radio, I decided it was time to seriously pursue a career in broadcasting. I enrolled at Morris County (New Jersey) College, and later Connecticut School of Broadcasting. 

After graduation, I began to look for work in broadcasting. But instead of looking to be the next “Murray the K” or “Cousin Brucie”, I chose an unlikely direction—Christian Radio. You see, In the mid 1970’s, I was “Born-Again” In fact, Larry Flynt, Chuck Colson and Jimmy Carter heard about me and decided they wanted to be “Born Again” too. However, Mr. Flynt later decided that “Porn Again” was more fitting for him….

On a more serious note, I came to believe the words of Jesus Christ in "I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the father (God) but by me." This unalterably affected my worldview, and I then began to take an active involvement in became known as the “Jesus Movement”, and an outgrowth of that movement, Contemporary Christian Music. I was already a big fan of such up-and-coming Christian artists as Phil Keaggy, Love Song, and the 2nd Chapter of Acts. By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s a few radio stations around the country were beginning to experiment with an all CCM format. One of these was WLIX, which I could hear from my room on the south shore of Connecticut. I sent my resume and aircheck to Lloyd Parker, and in March of 1981, I had my first full time radio job at WLIX.  From 1981 to 1984, I learned “the ropes” of broadcasting, working every shift that was available at the then daytime-only station. This began what would turn out to be a 26 year career. After returning to New Jersey, I went to work for WAWZ (now Star 99.1), and later WWDJ. In 1992, my new wife and I moved to Minnesota (her home state), where I went to work at KYCR, spending several years there as not only afternoon drive host, but also Program Director and Operations Manager. In 2000, I was offered the position of General Manager of a 50, 000 watt CCM station in northern Minnesota, and my wife and I rented out our house in the Twin Cities and headed north!

By 2001, I did a lot of soul searching, and decided that, after 20 years in Christian radio, it was time to step away and focus on other priorities. My wife and I enjoyed life in the north woods, and decided to stay in the region, finally selling our house in the Twin Cities and settling in Bemidji Minnesota, a growing and progressive town of 15,000. But, I found I could not stay away from radio completely. Even though I had spent most of my radio career playing what became known as Contemporary Christian Music, I still had a love and incredible knowledge of the mainstream music I grew up listening to. And as I have matured as both a man and believer, I’ve learned that relationships and caring for people often made a bolder statement than the spoken word does…. Anyway, in addition to pursuing free-lance writing, I began to explore and rediscover my roots in mainstream radio, which led to a six year stint as midday personality on regional Adult-Contemporary radio, as well as a community liaison for the company. I had a wonderful time playing the hits of such artists as Celine Dion, Three Doors Down, Five for Fighting, and many others.

Today, I am semi-retired from broadcasting. In spite of some recent health issues, I still maintain an active schedule driving school bus, free-lance writing, helping out in my wife’s daycare, and even some occasional radio!

I am looking forward to being with you on CHRISTIAN 54 WLIX ONLINE weekdays from 2-to-7 Eastern Time.  It is an awesome privilege to be able to, in a way, return “home” to where it all began for me 27 years ago.

I have finally sufficiently recovered from my lingering illnesses, as well as secured the necessary equipment for my "remote" studio. So I will be making my official return by the first of May!!  Be sure to check this page frequently, as I will update it with what you can expect to hear on my “show”, and of course my personal WLIX memories and “musings”……

God bless… and welcome to CHRISTIAN 54 WLIX online!!

Heidi VanEssendelft (1994-1995)

Traditional way to get hired for an on-air radio job: record yourself and try to improve the sound of your voice, visit radio stations and get to know a DJ willing to coach you, get familiar with the industry and the necessary skills, start small, record your best work onto a "demo" tape and send it to a lot of radio stations.

My way: come home from college for summer break, fill out applications for summer work at a couple places, and make a complete fool out of oneself at a live remote.

I never thought of becoming a radio personality.  I was going to college for communications, but didn't really know where that would lead, I just thought the broadcast media was "neat."  I was afraid of the club moderator for the college TV show, but I was part fo the club anyway "for my resume".  I also did a 2hr per week radio show with my roommate on the college station WCLH.  I was afraid of that too.  It took two of us to do the show, we determined it was too complicated to talk into the microphone AND start the CD playing, so she did all the talking and I pushed the button on the CD player.  If one of us couldn't be there then we would cancel our show that week (seriously).

May 1994, summer break, and my parents suggest I find a job (my first).  I apply at the Bayshore-Brightwaters library, where Gram worked, she told me they look for students to help with the summer reading program.  I also go to WLIX.  I walk up the steps and into the office, Janet is there, and I ask for a job application.  She lets me fill one out, but asks me if I have a tape.  I think "Tape? Of what? I would like to work a few hours putting music away.  All radio stations have music to put away, don't they?" I say "Um, no" and she is okay with that and says thank you.  I leave.  I hear nothing back from WLIX, even though I remember putting my phone number on the form.  I take the job at the library.

One Saturday in June is the West Sayville Christian School annual fair.  I attended school at WSCS for K to 9, so I naturally went to the fair.  WLIX is doing a live remote.  I want a prize, a plastic water bottle, in the worst way.  I put my name in the bucket but I am never picked.  The WLIX people, whoever they are (i admit, i was a walk listener), are very nice, and they put up with my begging for that silly water bottle.  Some of them are using those Jack and Jill bubbles, but after a few hours they're all out of them.  Aha, my mother had two bottles of bubbles in the back of the car (not sure why).  "Could I trade two new jars of bubbles for that water bottle?" They go for it!  I got the water bottle!

Ahead to Monday morning, the phone rings, a Jerry Williams from WLIX.  He asks me to an interview, and a few days later I am once again heading up the steps to the office where Janet is once again at the desk.  I still think I am being interviewed for a "music putter awayer" job.  I wait nervously in the chair, glancing around at all these plaques and gold record albums on the wall.  Then, it happens.  The guy who finally let me trade for that water bottle comes into the room and says "It's Bubbles Girl!"  I am so embarassed and i walk cowardly down the hall to his office.  I am seated facing Jerry's desk and behind him Montauk Highway, and a rather intimidating man with thick glasses is in the corner to my right (John Bennett the chief engineer and operations manager).  Jerry asks me if I'd ever done radio before, and I proudly tell him about the college show I do with my roommate.  Then he asks me about my church, and where I went to school, and when I became a Christian, and things like that.  I tell him about WSCS and about the church down the block, and about my accepting Jesus as my savior in chapel one day while I was in the third grade.  Then he passes the interview on to the man in the corner.  "John, do you have anything to add?"  "Yes, what do you know about the Telecommunications Act of 1934?"  Whoa, talk about change of topic.  "Oh, it was in my intro to telecom textbook."  "Okay, thank you." Now back to Jerry, he asks me if I am interested in the Saturday night shift, and I say "yes, what will I be doing?"  He said "some music, and some taped shows, and then signing off."  This sounded like more than putting music away, what have I gotten myself into?  Well, it all worked out, I met Pete Winchester and Mike Lee and a lot of other great people, and it was even okay that Gram bring Friendly's ice cream in around 10pm every Saturday!

I filled a variety of non-drive-time shifts when I was home from college, and I even stayed on a little bit after the sale and format change, but it wasn't the same, and my services were not needed anymore with the "satellite service" they carried.

My college focus was in behind-the-scenes television production and engineering, and my internships and job opportunities were all in television.  However, I became friends with a radio engineer who was going to help someone put a Christian radio station on the air in Scranton, and I offered to help them out in whatever way I could since I was in the area.  I had a lot of CD's I would lend them, and I could help repair and hook up the equipment.

Although things didn't really turn out to be what I had hoped for (another place like WLIX) and it wasn't a long-term involvement for me, I met some great people, including "Chris, the smart alec disk jockey from Philly that came in to break the equipment" who is now my wonderful husband and fellow techie.  I encourage you to check out his blurb to learn about his connection to the original WLIX, how this ministry became such a passion for the both of us, and our experiences leading up to our launching Christian 54 Online.

My WLIX-AM adventure began as a cool part-time job in broadcasting while my friends worked at 7-11 and the like.  I learned from Chris and other "CCM gurus" what an impactful radio station WLIX was even though it was on the AM dial, and I've come to realize I like more than just Amy Grant, Twila Paris, and Silverwind.

The Lord continues to give me courage as I "learn as I go along" in maintaing the website and doing the IT stuff for Christian 54 Online.  It's also blessing to visit with you in cyberspace every midday, but as more former WLIX-ers join us on the air at Christian 54 Online, I plan to become a part-time announcer again so I could get back to putting music away (it's really piling up).

Chris Cane

I am the only person featured on "Christian 54 Online" who never had the blessing of working for the original "Christian 54" so that means I don't have a retro photo to post... we'll work on that!  You may wonder how I'm connected with WLIX.  I'll explain below.

I was born in Philadelphia, PA.  I was raised and educated Roman Catholic.  I guess I was about 10 when I decided radio was my first choice for a career.  So at 17, after years of practice with a little setup in my bedroom, I was hired to do a weekend shift at a small station in Southern New Jersey... 90 minutes from my home. Over the years, I've worked AM Drive, Middays, and PM Drive in a variety of formats.

If I may backtrack a little, one of my favorite pastimes growing up was listening to AM radio for stations far away at sunset.  One day, I found "Christian 54 WLIX".  I found this music they played sounding very contemporary, since being Catholic I thought Christian music was different artists doing their rendition of "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art".  This little station (or so I thought) was very professional.  I thought that someday I would like to work for them, but had no idea about ministry or salvation at the time.

In 1992, I'd sit in the parking lot at college when I arrived early for class and the sun was just rising, I'd listen to Jerry Williams.  At that time, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Kathy Troccoli were popular and getting airplay on secular stations.  I thought this stuff is really good, and knowing some of the artists, it was cool.  I listened when I could for a while.  I called the station to get on their mailing list to receive the WLIXtra newspaper.  I told the person on the other end of the phone (a very nice lady) how I listened in Philly and the signal was good most days.  Heidi later told me I spoke to Janet, the receptionist, and upon hanging up with me, she probably excitedly got up from her desk and told Ops Mgr/Chief Eng John Bennett that there's a listener in Philly....Maybe she remembers my call!

I remember one distinct day that God was definitely at work in me, although I was unaware at the time.  It was October 1995, and I hadn't tuned in for a while, and the staff was saying goodbye for the very last time.  I was saddened, this little station that seemed so good had fallen on hard times.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this couldn't be the end of WLIX.

Did I mention during all of this, I still had not been born-again?

In early 1997, a couple of co-workers started presenting the Gospel to me... alright, "hounding me", so I thought.  I wasn't sure why.  Was I picked because I'd listen, or did they do this to everyone?  In August 1997, my first marriage fell apart before my eyes.  These coworkers continued to present The Word to me, although now it started to penetrate and make sense.  It was around this time that a friend and mentor in radio called to say he'd purchased an AM in Scranton, PA and was going to program a Christian format.  He asked me if I wanted to visit on weekends and help out.  I soon found myself listening to Christian radio over secular music. 

During the first few weeks, I met Heidi.  She was also on the team helping to get the station up and running.  She told me that she had originally moved here for college, and was originally from Long Island. I found that she listened to CCM music, so I asked her if she listened to WLIX.  Her response, "Listen??...I used to work there!"  I'll admit, I was somewhat envious of her then.  We talked about what a wonderful ministry WLIX was and how hard the last day she worked was for her (she was not there the last day, but left to return to college knowing there wouldn't be a WLIX at Christmas).  I told her how I wanted to go to X-Fest '94, but couldn't find anyone to go with me. 

I suddenly realized as I was spending time with Heidi and getting to know her, God was revealing a new life before me, and I just had to recognize it and put it all together.  Things were going well, and in the summer of 1998, I moved to NEPA. 

One of the artists that touched me in 1998 was Jaci Velasquez, and she was touring with 4 Him on the "Obvious" tour. I asked Heidi if she wanted to go since 4 Him is one of her favorites.  We made the trip to Lancaster, PA for the concert.  I was October 11, 1998, at the concert that I accepted Christ as my personal savior.  It was a commitment I did not fully understand, however, at that moment I knew it was right for me and the rest of my life on earth.  It had become evident that God had plans for my future that could not be fulfilled without Christ in my heart.

A change in direction at the little station where Heidi and I met caused us to leave.  However the dream of WLIX living on was still in our hearts.  Your night guy extraordinaire, Pete Winchester, had given us the portion of the WLIX music library that was on tape.  As a new Christian, I found myself looking high and low for documented history of CCM music, the artists,  and how it's changed.  Ten years later, I am still learning!

On May 18, 2002, at a small ceremony on Long Island, Heidi and I were married.  While we both worked in TV (still do), we continued to explore options to keep the legacy of WLIX alive (LPFM, Part 15AM, etc.), none seemed to progress.  In 2005, I was in touch with Bob VanProoyen in Grand Rapids (Note to LIXers:He now has Cart 5 in a storefront studio set up...really cool!).  I told him of our plans, and that we felt our most feasible option (Part 15 AM) could only literally reach around the corner.  He recommended Internet broadcasting and told us how affordable it was.  This was the answer we had been asking for.  There is so much more to this and the progress up to putting "Christian 54 Online" on the internet.  We're gonna develop a "miracles" page to go into further detail about these happenings and wonderful people we've been blessed with in this journey.

When I think back on the last day of WLIX-AM, and how it affected me that day, it's awesome to see what Christ has done in my life, and where that thought that Heidi and I both had on that day has led us.  Many days I am so humbled by the works of Our Lord... I don't know why we've been given this ministry to care for, but I know we're both honored to serve God in this way.

I know I was supposed to keep this about WLIX, but I must also say I am so blessed to have Heidi as my wife, and co-founder.  She keeps me focused and my eyes on Jesus.  She's a blessing we all need.  Thank you Lord!

Welcome to "Christian 54 Online".  I hope this wonderful music, ministry, and memories awakens your heart, brings back some memories and most of all draws you closer to your Savior, Jesus Christ.