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"Connection to the World" is the important thing for KMUW volunteer Rex Cornelius. He believes the station is the best way to get the national and global information that he's interested in. He's an adult child of the military, and grew up on U.S. Army bases in Texas and Japan. He thinks contact with Army families of so many different backgrounds has a lot to do with his interest in people all over the world.

Rex’s public radio listening began with KUT in Austin during the late sixties. He was pleased to find KMUW waiting when he came to Wichita in 1970. In his teen years he had spent some time trying to build an antenna that would make the BBC World Service more consistent on a "not very good" short wave radio. You can imagine his enthusiasm for the current HD radio project that makes it available all the time.

His working life has almost all been in libraries, "except for those fork-lift, warehouse summers." He began at the University of Texas library while studying there, and once spent eight months in England as library research assistant to an Oxford University Press editor. Rex is Electronic Resources Manager for the Wichita Public Library now, teaching computer literacy classes and maintaining the web pages and online catalog. "I'm a great believer in access to information and free public libraries. There's a pretty good connection between public libraries and public radio," he says. "Both give you what you need and ask very little in return."

Rex began answering phones for the pledge drives in 1998. Since then his early Saturday shifts have become a routine part of every spring and fall. "It's not a lot of effort to thank the station for the benefit I get every day." The station enlisted his help in expanding volunteer services a couple of years ago, and he says he was honored to become a founding member of the KMUW Airheads. He and fellow Airheads spread public radio awareness at station sponsored media events. "Letting people know the benefits of non-commercial radio come easy to me," he says, "I don't know what I'd do without it. I have always been interested in everything. KMUW is the best source for the 'everything' I'm interested in."

Everyone is downtown on the final Friday of each month. The gallery openings with art ranging from traditional to uber contemporary, along with live music and free eats, make the Final Fridays the place to be.

Beginning on Friday, May 30th and continuing on through September, KMUW will be out trolling through the galleries and venues looking for KMUW listeners. How will we find you? WEAR YOUR KMUW T-SHIRT of any vintage or CARRY YOUR KMUW COFFEE MUG!

Staff and our Airhead Volunteers will be handing out coupons from our valued underwriters, as well as KMUW memorabilia. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet other listeners who share your passion for public radio.

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