“I want everyone to know that the show isn’t a job to me. It’s a gift from the Lord, and I try to treat it as such,” host of the WLCU radio show “Jess in the Morning,” Jesslyn McCandless said.
McCandless spends every weekday from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. on 88.7 The Tiger WLCU FM drinking coffee and trying to make people smile. Since the show aired in February 2017, McCandless has had many individual people come to her and express how her show has impacted their life.
In October, McCandless was informed that a local dentist office, Dr. Holly Davis’ office, had begun using 88.7 The Tiger WLCU FM as background music. The office had been using secular music but then decided to make the change when they heard McCandless’ show.
Davis, and the women who work in her office, feel as if they have a connection with McCandless, and they love hearing her when she is on the air. When McCandless was told about the impact she had on people’s lives she said, “it’s humbling, sweet and just an honor. I never expected to make such an impact on anyone.”
Davis said she has never had a negative comment about the music change but she has received positive feedback from patients for months.
“I don’t have to filter it for different ages,” Davis said. She can let the music play and not have to worry about it offending someone or being inappropriate. The women who work with Davis have noticed a spiritual difference in the office because of the music change.
Ellen Reynolds, a dental assistant in Davis’ office, said a recovering drug addict came into the office and was very nervous about being there. Reynolds took them to a patient chair and, when she returned, the person said the music had a calming effect so the dental work could be done.
The dental assistants are told on multiple occasions by patients that songs playing on 88.7 FM The Tiger WLCU FM fit them and situations they are facing.
Dr. G. Ted Taylor, vice president for university outreach and a patient of Davis’, said he and his wife, Sheri, were thrilled when their dentist began playing CU’s radio station at their office.
“I have heard their staff share many thoughts about the before and after effects of Christian radio,” Taylor said. Taylor feels that the ministry from the music impacts lives and provides a different energy within the office.
McCandless says she loves being able to make someone smile in the midst of a crazy morning. The most important aspect of the show, in McCandless’ mind, is when God uses her to help others, brighten their day and simply make them laugh.
She said, “If I can brighten up a person’s morning, I’m happy.” McCandless also wants to remind people the personalities on the radio are important and “radio is still cooler than Spotify.”
Her show focuses on what is happening at CU and she has special guests from time to time. She is known for talking about what The Lord is doing in her life and how he is helping her find her way through college and into adulthood. McCandless says her goal for the show is “to make a positive impact on the listeners through the stories I tell and the songs I play.”
McCandless is a senior at Campbellsville University, and she says she has been met with open arms by the people in the broadcasting business as well as those from Campbellsville she has been able to meet. She fell in love with radio during her first broadcasting class at CU.
“I never expected to have my own show someday, but I always thought it would be an awesome opportunity,” McCandless said.
McCandless said she is thankful and blessed to be able to help people and never imagined that she would have played a role in so many people’s lives.
Davis’ office is still receiving comments about the music selection and have no regrets about making the change. There is not a lot to concentrate on when you are at the dentist besides the music, and the dental assistants, along with Davis, all agree that the ministry being broadcasted through the music at WLCU is more than just music.