As the nightly music rotation wraps up on 97.5 WOBN, Otterbein’s student radio, sound cues fill the station’s airwaves. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...IT'S MONEY’S MORNING SHOW!” The booth is electrified with excitement in the early morning hours as student-staff member Moneypenny wakes up not only the whole campus, but the Westerville community as well.
One day while on the job, Sean Moneypenny walked into the Art and Communication building to do what he does best, fix a problem. As he and his coworker walked through the building, he noticed a flyer on the window of the radio booth. It read, “TALENT WANTED!” Little did he know the flyer would change his life forever.
Moneypenny said he had his eyes set on being a “big shot radio star” since he was a kid. He said his uncle had been in the radio business, so he wanted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and make it to the radio one day. He has been doing his show since 2008 and is coming up on his 15th season for WOBN’s airwaves on April 22.
His wife, Jill Moneypenny, said, “He’s the same kind of person [at school and work]. He’s the one you can always count on, [he’s] very helpful, very much a problem solver.”
Moneypenny started radio as a fun activity and has continued doing his show with the same mindset. He said, “I never wanted to live in the limelight...I don’t want to be famous, [I] just wanna have fun.” He has a cavalcade of characters, sound effects, and gimmicks that make his show something special, especially given the amount of energy he gives off at such an early hour.
WOBN’s Station Manager Ellie Newman, said, “He’s done his show for so many years...he’s very bubbly and always helpful...he’s given me pointers on things to do with my show and my future.”
Eric Jones, WOBN station adviser, said, “[New] students get so worried...they forget their personality...Sean Moneypenny knows how to really display his personality.”
A sophomore from Otterbein, and current station administrator, Amy Hissrich, commented on her experiences with Moneypenny. Describing his can-do attitude and willingness to help everyone around him she said, “He has more to do than any of us...he has a family, a full-time job, that on top of classes, he’s just a great person to be around.”
Moneypenny is many things, an old, cultured man, a backroads truck driver, even a leprechaun, but one thing he always wants everyone to know is the purpose behind his work. He says, “It’s for the kids, man, it’s all about the kids.”
