Rick Smith

Magic, technology, and radio. Three words to describe how I got here! I was first a listener to WCIC after moving to Bloomington, IL for work in 1998. I was an IT guy, church A/V guy, and a magician whose first interaction with WCIC was asking the station to promote a magic show. A friend and I were performing to raise money to go to Honduras for a missions trip with our church, and WCIC agreed to promote the show. That turned into former Station Manager Dave Brooks hiring me to perform at a couple of listener banquets a short time later.

From those interactions with WCIC, I knew that when my contract job ended in 2002, I wanted to work with WCIC. I called Dave, and while they didn’t need any technical help, he was the first to bring up the idea of working on air. I started part-time on air, and then in 2004, I joined full-time in the engineering department for WCIC and her sister station, WBGL. During my 15 years of full-time service, I always dreamed of getting a full-time on-air role. I was excited to accept the position of Program Director in April 2020 and hope to serve well at WCIC for a long time!

My wife, Melissa, and I have been married since 2003. We have five kids - Makenna, Maddie, Meadow, Reece and Macey - and live on the east side of the river. Melissa and I got our nicknames for each other (Honey Bee and Honey Bear) after I shared news of our engagement on the air. A listener called to tell me that Melissa meant Honey Bee in Greek. When I told Melissa and said I would call her that from now on, she decided to call me Honey Bear! I’m a lifelong Cardinals fan, who is glad to try to balance out all the Cubs fans that work at the station!

My job here is literally a dream come true after first joining WCIC part-time back in 2002. I have prayed for God’s guidance and wisdom throughout the years, and He was faithful to complete what He started. I’m so glad to be here and look forward to getting to know you more. I’m excited to share stories about life together and to pursue God with you!