By Tonya Sprague

Not a lot of people know this about me, but for the past 13 years, I've lived a double life. I suppose in a way you could say I was two people. I had my normal life as Tonya through the weekdays and on the weekends, I was someone completely different. You see, my name is also Kelly Stephens, or at least that is the name I went by as a radio DJ. I say 'went' because I recently made the very difficult decision to put Kelly's radio career on hold for now so I can focus solely on my new career with The People News.

April 19, 2008 was Kelly Stephens' last day at 96.5 The Mountain in Chattanooga. As Kelly, I had been working there part-time on the weekends for the past two and a half years. Thirteen years ago, I began my radio adventure in the summer of 1995 at 97.3 Kicks FM, which has since changed it's format and name. From there, I moved on to 96.5 The Mountain, still working part-time on weekends, just after they switched formats from country to rock in 1997 . This was when my radio career 'took off', literally, as I also began working full-time as a traffic reporter for various stations in and around the Chattanooga and Cleveland areas in 1998.

This was quite an experience for me because up until this time, I had never flown in an airplane of any kind, not to mention a small Cessna flying over the interstates and highways in search of traffic accidents. For four years, I kept my listeners informed about problems on the roadways. I never could get comfortable with flying though. I still got that queasy, nervous stomach every time we took off from the airport and landed, but I never 'lost my lunch', so to speak. In the winter it was freezing cold and in the summer it felt like a sauna in the back seat of that little plane, but despite all of those things, I wouldn't trade that life-marker for anything in the world.

I started to rock a little harder on-air in 2000 when I went from 96.5 The Mountain to Rock 105.5 still part-time on weekends. Then in 2001, I 'landed' a full-time position at Alive 95 in Cleveland, now known as Alive 105. Not only was I the mid-day jock from 10am to 3pm, but also the production

director for the entire Brewer Broadcasting radio cluster in Cleveland. It was my job to make sure that all of the spots (commercials) and promos (promotions) were voiced, produced, dubbed  and edited for each station.

In 2004, my production skills on a Dunkin' Donuts commercial entitled "Brain Freeze" earned me a national ADDY award and a local Chattanooga advertising award for best sixty second spot for small market radio.

In 2005, I was the news director,  production director and mid-day jock for Cat Country 93.9. Then in 2006,  I went back to 96.5 The Mountain working off- the-air on the weekdays doing production and on-air on the weekends doing what I like to call, "playing radio".

I wasn't really thinking about a career change, but after responding to a help wanted ad in The People News for a media representative, and getting hired, I soon had one. I was hoping to be able to keep my double life  as Kelly and as Tonya, but soon realized that I cannot be both. So, with a heavy heart, I made the very difficult decision to let Kelly go. I'm saddened, but at the same time proud of where I am today and the choices that I have made along the way. I'm excited and anxious about my future with The People News and in the newspaper/print  media business.

In case you were ever one of my listeners when I was "coming out of your radio box" as Kelly Stephens, I just wanted to take the chance to thank you for many wonderful and unforgettable years! I had some great times.

To quote the popular disc jockey Joe O'Brien, "If you were listening in the car, thanks for the ride." 
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