Laurie DeYoung doesn't hesitate when asked for a defining moment from her 24-plus years as the morning voice of WPOC-FM. The moment was not heard on air, has nothing to do with the country music the station plays and happened well out of the public eye. But it goes a long way toward explaining why she has remained a dominant force on Baltimore's airwaves for more than two decades, and why she was honored in Nashville on Tuesday with her induction to the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.
About two years back, she says, a couple of young women in their 20s approached her husband, Ed, before services at their Timonium church, where he serves as director of the worship arts ministry. They'd been big fans of DeYoung's for years and were wondering whether they could meet her. Sure thing, he said, and the next day he did the introductions.
"They told me they had been victims of an abusive mom," DeYoung says haltingly, struggling for words for the only time in an hourlong interview at WPOC's North Baltimore studios. The mother "had a lot of issues, alcohol issues. And they said that I got them through their childhood. In the mornings, they would turn on the radio, and they said it was like ... they said, 'You were just there for us every morning.' "
DeYoung smiles and fights back a tear, then smiles even more broadly. There's no telling how many times she has told the story, how many times she has replayed it in her mind. But it clearly moves her. "To have these two girls stand there, weeping, telling you that 'You were there since we were little, and you were one of the only constant things in our life,' that's pretty good, that's an amazing moment. And it will always be the best moment I ever had. I just can't imagine something topping it."
That, friends and fans alike agree, is the Laurie DeYoung they tune into every morning, the working mom who shares stories about her family; who keeps it clean and usually upbeat (but isn't above acknowledging when she's having a rotten day); who asks her audience questions like, "What's the greatest thing you've ever learned from someone who wasn't a member of your family?" and delights in their responses.
