Radio host reflects on love of community

The first half of Leah Lindsay’s life was spent in near constant motion, but for act two, the Kalispell native has devoted her time and energy to the community she now calls home.

The resume of the radio host, Realtor, playwright and actress portrays a collection of interests she has developed over a lifetime.

When Lindsay was in the fourth grade, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and younger brother from the small town of Plains to Helena.

Having grown up listening to the only available radio station in the area, a country music station, Lindsay recalled the moment she first discovered the wide world of radio.

She and her mother were driving into the city for the first time when, over the radio, she heard the iconic lyrics of “I Shot the Sheriff” crackle through the car speakers.

“I was like ‘Mother, what is this music,’ and she said ‘Well, that’s rock and roll, Leah,’” Lindsay said.

The song faded out and as the first chords of “The Night Chicago Died” began to play, the DJ’s voice interjected, saying “KCAP Helena,” and that, Lindsay said, was it.

She became hooked to the radio, listening to different stations almost constantly and recording hour after hour of broadcasts on a personal tape player she kept with her.

She would call in to stations trying to win whatever contest they hosted, though she said she only remembers winning one.

Over the next six years, Lindsay moved from school to school across Montana as her single mom worked to make ends meet and keep the family afloat.

From her fourth-grade year to her sophomore year of high school, Lindsay said she attended nearly 20 schools, averaging about three or four different schools each year.

Still, she said she looks back on the experience as a way to meet countless people and now boasts that she knows almost the entire population of Montana.

Her friends and surroundings changed frequently, but Lindsay said radio remained a constant.

In seventh grade she created her own mini station in a middle school music class and continued to develop her passion as her mother moved her from place to place.

As she neared graduation, Lindsay said her first thought was to follow her passion to college to study broadcasting and radio at the University of Montana.

However, in the midst of her high-energy, fast-paced lifestyle, Lindsay fell in love and married her high school sweetheart, putting her dreams of college on hold.

For the next several years she said she followed her husband, a military man, across the country, growing their tiny family by three children along the way before eventually coming back to settle in Montana.

It was at this time that she began to discover a secondary passion in the world of theater, a passion that she said helped shape her into the person she has become.

Following a divorce from her first husband, Lindsay said she struggled to maintain her self-esteem.

After returning to the Flathead, Lindsay remarried and had her fourth child.

In the meantime, her interest in theater grew as she began to rediscover value within herself.

Not long after, she returned to school to study acting at the University of Montana.

She earned her degree in drama and dance, and then, six years after returning home, Lindsay realized her childhood dream by taking a position as a radio host/DJ for Bee Broadcasting, home of some of Kalispell’s most listened-to radio stations.

Lindsay celebrated 20 years working as the “Rock Chick” of local radio this year and said she feels like she’s only beginning.

Lindsay is on the air from 6 a.m.- 3 p.m. every day and hosts a morning show on 106.3 “The Bear” and a lunch hour of song requests on B98.5.

Through her radio platform and other projects, Lindsay has spent the last two decades giving back to the Kalispell community.

From her day job on the radio, to her side job as a Realtor, to her night life and passion for community service through theater, one common theme spans across her every day — her love of people.

For Lindsay, the combination of her extensive list of connections, the courage and confidence she gained through theater, and her desire to live big and reach the world through radio all set the stage for giving back.

Every year she hosts and directs a new original play at the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell as a way to raise money for the maintenance of the historic building.

People reach out to the local celebrity for help on countless projects, but this year a new cause struck Lindsay close to heart and home.

Wildfires raging across much of the state are now threatening her childhood home of Plains. As a Montana native, Lindsay said she could no longer stand by as her friends and community suffered.

In a matter of weeks, she became the vice president of a fire relief organization called Disaster Relief of Montana, championing its fundraising efforts through the organization of concerts and sponsors around the Flathead.

Her latest and largest sponsor came when the owners of the five local McDonald’s locations announced they would be donating 29 percent of their proceeds on Sept. 19 to the organization.

“I had this huge thought,” she said. “We need famous people who love Montana to come here and do a fire aid.”

“I want Huey Lewis. I want John Mayer. I want Justin Timberlake … I want them to be a part of it. Where the heck is David Letterman?” she added.

And, she said, her “vision of something big” has already begun to take shape, as musicians, venues, volunteers and celebrities catch wind of her mission.

Less than a week after first proposing her mission, Lindsay found herself hosting her first relief concert on Sept. 8. Between 500-600 people turned out for the re-purposed concert which was originally meant to follow the Dragon Boat Festival that was canceled due to poor air conditions.

The event raised around $3,800 for firefighters and evacuees facing one of the worst wildfire seasons in Montana’s recent history.

And that, she said, was just the beginning.

Lindsay and her team have hosted two more benefit concerts in the last week and are planning a more for the coming months.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.