GOOD MORNING HAMILTON...

WHO'S NEWS
Radio Broadcaster Leaves $23 Million Legacy
by Jacquelyn Murschel

Dick Purtan holds a toilet brush that warns: 'Do not use for personal hygiene.' The brush was selected by listeners of Purtan's morning show on Oldies 104.3 WOMC in Detroit as the winner of M—LAW's Eighth Annual Wacky Warning Label Contest.
Dick Purtan looks like a man of leisure as he sips a cup of coffee on his back deck and enjoys the view of a nearby pond. You’d never suspect that he once had a fast–paced career in radio broadcasting or that he has left behind a legacy of generosity in the greater metropolitan Detroit area.

“In 1988 I wanted to celebrate my fifth year at a local Detroit radio station by holding a charity event,” says Dick. “A bunch of us discussed different charities, and the one that everyone admired very much was The Salvation Army.”

No one could possibly have imagined that this brainstorming session would result in the delivery of more than 75 million meals to homeless people in Detroit.

Once connected with The Salvation Army, the team decided Dick would hold a radiothon to raise funds for the Bed and Bread Club, which provides food and shelter vouchers distributed by truck to the hungry and homeless through feeding programs, food pantries, and Salvation Army shelters.

The first radiothon, which lasted only a few hours, raised $15,000. In the years that followed, and as Dick’s program gained popularity, the radiothon’s duration, celebrity appearances, and amount of money raised increased dramatically. By 2007 each year’s radiothon brought in more than $2 million.

By his retirement in March, the radiothon had raised a total of $23 million and was the largest single–market–day radiothon in the country.

The reason for its success is no secret. Dale Johnson, the radiothon’s producer for 17 years, said, “In my years of work with The Salvation Army, and being a soldier [member of The Salvation Army] myself, I’ve never met anyone finer than Dick in terms of what he’s willing to give back to the community, to the homeless and hungry. He has the unique ability to take the spotlight off the Army and himself and keep it focused on the beneficiaries.”

Dick lent his name to raising support, rallied friends to do the same, and donated personally. During this year’s radiothon, he gave $50,000 to purchase a new truck. But perhaps the foremost reason for Dick’s passion has been his experience volunteering for the Bed and Bread Club.

“I saw the hunger firsthand,” Dick says. “It really solidified in my mind how important this program is and how it really makes a difference.” Dick has been an agent of change, not only in the homeless community but beyond, as he supports other causes, such as the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.

Through his public service and the way he conducts business, Dick has built a reputation in the community as a man of integrity, not only professionally, but personally. What’s dearest to his heart is his family.

“He is a wonderful husband and father,” says Dale Johnson. “It’s remarkable the way that he has been in the public spotlight—winning many awards, speaking at many events—and yet has remained a strong family man. His family is by far what’s most important to him.” Dick is the father of six girls and still married to his high school sweetheart, Gail.

During the radiothon’s finale, The Salvation Army thanked Dick by naming a Bed and Bread truck in the Purtans’ honor.
Dick responded, “I’m just so thankful that my program was the venue through which the Army could feed so many people.”