Ten Questions with Mike Harper

1. When did you join Encouragement FM?

I first stumbled in through the doors of KVNE in late May of 1989, and asked to speak with Gary Lesniewski. I was granted an interview and he invited me to come in on the next Saturday night to train with John Fuller! It was a few short weeks of training before I was given a part-time, on-air position on Saturday afternoons. By the following March, I was full-time in the afternoons, driving ninety miles each way from Shreveport to Tyler in a blue Geo Metro!

2. What do you do now and what other job(s) have you held here?

I’m now the station manager for KVNE, and work with Carrie Parsons on the morning show weekdays. As far as other positions held, (while I’ve been called many things!), officially I’ve been the program director and music director.

3. Where else have you done similar work?

This is the only real radio “job” I’ve ever had. I was a manager at General Motors in Shreveport in the eighties, which was nothing at all like radio! I did, however, deejay my senior year at my high school’s radio station in Cincinnati for media class credit. (I was also considered class clown, if that counts for anything.)

4. Where did you go to school?

I graduated from Colerain High School in Cincinnati in 1976 with a dream of being a rock star! I attended Miami University of Ohio with a major in music performance, then Louisiana State University in Shreveport as a Communication Major. After a long time away from school to work and raise kids, I went back and in 2007 earned an Associate in Arts degree at Tyler Junior College. And soon, I hope to graduate with the cool kids at the University of Texas at Tyler with a bachelor’s degree in Speech!

5. Describe your family.

I come from a loving family as the fourth of five kids (two brothers and two sisters) who are now spread all over the country! My dad passed away in 1978 and I miss him greatly. He was hilarious! My mom is enjoying her retirement in Florida and is almost as easy going as me!

I have four brilliant kids who are all grown. Our daughter is married and living in Houston, and our three sons all live in the Dallas area. One is married and the other two are weighing their options!
I love and miss them all dearly and cherish every moment I get with them. They have heard absolutely every one of my jokes several hundred times.

I save my lovely wife and life partner Lois for last because she’s the best of all.

I save my lovely wife and life partner Lois for last because she’s the best of all. She keeps me planted, organized, and loved. We have been married since 1980 and she is more gorgeous with every passing day. I’m not just saying that! She really is!

6. What do you enjoy most about working here?

There are a lot of awesome benefits. Sharing the Good News with East Texas is wonderful, meeting a lot of amazing people is very nice, but I think it’s the laughter. The laughter has to rate way up there.

7. Why are you working in this ministry rather than in the for-profit/secular world?

Mostly for the website bio opportunities.

8. Share a funny story about working here?

There was the time I came to work with my pants on backwards. (It’s a long story.)

9. What is your best memory/proudest accomplishment from your time here?

I suppose it would be the longevity, working nearly twenty years in a medium with a history of large turn over.

10. What do you hope to accomplish here?

I’d like to climb the tower in a bird suit. (Oh wait, have I done that?)

Vital Statistics

Name: Michael Scott Harper

Position: KVNE Station Manager, Morning Co-Pilot

Birthday: January 11, 1958

Originally from: Cincinnati, Ohio

When I was a kid I wanted to be: DJ, a Beatle or a Cincinnati Red!

Favorite Verse: John 10:10

Favorite Artists: Third Day, David Crowder, Jars of Clay, Sara Groves

Favorite Pastimes: Concerts, baseball games, and movies about concerts and baseball games

Favorite Food: Cheeseburger

Listen to Mike Harper weekday mornings from 6-10 on 89.5 KVNE!