From Baseball to Broadcasting, featuring Wanda Fischer, Host of WAMC’s Hudson River Sampler

When the Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance (EBWA) Steering committee contacts prospective speakers each spring for the following year, we usually have particular topics in mind. Sometimes a speaker wants to talk about something different, and often we agree to the change. Wanda Fischer has decided to broaden her subject from “Forty Years (…and Counting) of Folk Music on the ‘Hudson River Sampler’ ” to tell us about her love of baseball since she was a child, how she got into broadcasting, how she stays in broadcasting way past having retired from her “day” job, and how she remains engaged in retirement. A longtime singer/songwriter, she is now the longest-tenured employee at WAMC, having hosted “The Hudson River Sampler” since 1982. She also worked as a longtime public relations/marketing/media relations professional until her retirement in 2014. Since then she has written and published two novels and several short stories. She’s a devoted Boston Red Sox fan and was thrilled to serve as a guest announcer at Fenway Park for one game in 2012. — All who identify as women are invited to join us for what promises to be a fun and engaging presentation.

We will serve coffee, tea, and dessert before the program. We urge you to arrive by 6:45 pm (or 6:30, if you’d like to have more time to socialize). Enter through the back door of the church, from the parking lot. We want everyone to have time to greet each other and settle in before Wanda’s talk begins shortly after 7 pm. Following the presentation, there will be time for questions.  Networking (when each woman may share something of interest with the group) will begin around 8:15, and the meeting will end no later than 9 pm.

While reservations are not required, in order to have some idea of how many people to expect, it would be helpful if you would email Gabrielle Reals at ellegr3@gmail.com by Tuesday, December 12, to let her know you are coming. (If you forget to do this, we urge you to come anyway!) As a reminder, there will be no charge for EBWA programs this year, but in order for us to be able to pay our speakers an honorarium, we need your help. Please consider subscribing by bringing a $30 check made out to EBWA to the meeting (or contact Carol Furman at cfurm13@gmail.com to learn where to send your check). Those who have subscribed may attend the in-person meetings this year for free. All others will be asked to contribute $5 toward our costs, at the door.

Looking ahead: Our January program will feature Patricia F. Dolton, Librarian at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls. She will speak on the topic  “Columbia’s Daughters: The Political Equality Clubs.”  To see the full calendar of EBWA programs for 2023-2034, click here.