Morning Show Host Hits Homerun

COWLINGTON, Okla. - Jan. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- Bob Williams, host of "Upfront & Outspoken", learned Sunday about the desperate need of a family in Nashville, Tennessee. This past week, during his program, he addressed the illness, Transverse Myelitis, and raised the alarm worldwide to the need to get a 14 year old girl the needed treatment and rehabilitation in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jessica Shainberg woke up one morning and had numbness in her legs and toes. Her father, Jeff Shainberg, a single parent, took her to a nearby hospital which simply sent her back home. The following morning, Jessica woke up to paralysis from the waist down. After hours of tests at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital, it was determined Jessica suffered from Transverse Myelitis, a illness that effects the spinal cord.

Bob Williams, thanks to his friends, Jimmy Parker, a award winning independent country music artist, and James Napier, learned of Jessica's plight and the financial burden to her father, though a fundraising campaign had been started to raise $10,000.

As Bob Williams said, "When I first learned about this vibrant 14 year old girl's plight, over a illness I had never heard of before, I needed to get involved. This illness effects about 1,000 people per year between the ages of 10-19 and 30-39. How many people have actually heard of Transverse Myelitis? Not many, if any at all, until it affects them on a personal level."

The CEO of Star Com Media, Jan Starks, stated, "When Bob first brought Jessica's plight to me, I told him to run with it as long as he wanted. Over this past week, he raised the alarm with surprising results. Within 15 minutes after his interview with James Napier, the spearhead behind the Help Jessica Walk Again campaign, Bob learned that Jessica had not only been accpted to the rehab center in Atlanta, but all the costs associated with her transfer had been paid for. In my opinion, it shows the power of independent radio."

Asked what he meant by that, he replied, "Corporate media has forgotten the essence of focusing on the small picture. How can they? They simply make mention and move on to other stories. Independent media, such as Star Com, grabs a story and stays with it from start to finish, unimpeded by corporate sponsors or advertising. We are community oriented, simply put, we focus on issues that affect the average blue collar family. We have the leeway needed to cover stories like Jessica's in depth."

"I am extremely proud of what we do and the ability of not only Bob, but all of our hosts," he continued. "Each has a powerful message and we here, at the network level, have seen the results firsthand. We broke stories that mainstream had to play catch-up on (Cecily McMillan), covered local news in more detail (Bomb threats at both Carl Albert State College and the Poteau, OK School District) and brought local experts in to discuss the effects of particular illnesses and the abilities of area hospitals in coping with them (Ebola in Dallas, TX and the EVD-68 outbreak). Yet stories like Jessica's is what drives us. We needed to get involved and Bob did a excellent job."

"I'm not one who expects any type of praise," Bob said. "I knew Jessica's plight could affect anyone, anywhere, anytime. The fact that Jessica is a very talented, intelligent 14 year old girl, stricken by this, only added to my need to be involved. As a parent myself, I could relate to what Jeff and Jessica are going through. I had to ask myself what if it were my child? Wouldn't I want to do whatever I could to get the community involved, help in some way? The answer was a resounding, yes."

While a fundraising campaign has been started, your help is still needed. We urge you to make a donation today. You can either go to the fundraising campaign at ( http://gofundme.com/kh8rsk ) or make a donation to the Jessica Shainberg Fund at any US Bank.

You can listen to "Upfront & Outspokem" Monday through Friday from 6-7:30am Central Time on TuneIn at http://tunein.com/radio/KKRP-AM-1610-s179019/