On-Air Team
Mary O’Brien
Mary is from a small town north of Columbus where she was quite the “tomboy”. She played 3 sports all 4 years of high school and then got a basketball scholarship to play in college. She graduated from Capital University with a double major in Radio/TV/Film and Communications. She dreamed of one day being a reporter for ESPN, but God had a different plan.
Shortly after graduation she met and married the love of her life. She says, “He is the most patient and kind-hearted person I have ever met.” They are still newlyweds and don’t have any children yet, but with God’s timing they would love to have a couple little ones. She attributes much of her success to the love and support of her family who have always believed in her.
Interesting Fact: Mary has a little sister that is 23 years younger than her and has been one of the biggest blessings in her life, helping her to learn more patience.
Hobbies: Sports, sports, and more sports, watching the latest episode of Dora with her little sister, and cooking.
You can hear Mary weekday mornings with Josh from 5 am – 10am.
Josh Hooper
Josh was born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio and was fortunate enough to grow up with nearly every member of his extended family living nearby and attending the same church. Family is still very important to Josh, and he’s been blessed with his wife, Jennifer, and their four kids (all 6 years old or younger!).
In fact, evenings and weekends you can find Josh playing with the kids in the back yard bouncing on the trampoline, hitting whiffle balls, throwing a football around, shooting hoops or pushing the little ones on their swingset.
Josh is thrilled to be a part of the team, and you can hear him with Mary, weekday mornings from 5am – 10am.
Tracy Leek
Tracy graduated from Otterbein College where she got her BA in Speech Communications. From there Tracy worked for many different radio stations in Ohio…
She is married to Dustin her highschool sweatheart! Shortly after they got married they moved to Germany where Dustin served in the Army. Tracy worked for Armed Forces Network in Frankfurt. Tracy is a mom of two girls Abigail 5 and Elisabeth 3.
Tracy worked at mainstream radio until she came to know the Lord in July of 2000. She always knew there was a God but never really knew Jesus until one day in a beauty salon at age 26!
Tracy has been in radio for 15 years and is so humbled to be able to join the two loves of her life, radio and Jesus! She loves to spend time with her family and running!
Eric Faulds
Born and raised in Galion, Ohio, Eric got his start in broadcasting at the tender age of 17. Now all grown-up, he and his lovely wife, Mary, are the parents of three great kids; Ashton, Kaley and Eli.
After six years with a national Christian radio group, Eric is thankful to get back to his roots and close to family here in Central Ohio. He is humbled and honored to be a part of The River Family.
When he’s not on the air, you might find him in the air. Since earning his private pilot’s license in 2010, he enjoys renting small airplanes and taking brave friends and family up for an amazing view.
One of Eric’s favorite verses comes from Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good…”
You can hear Eric weekdays 10 am – 3 pm.
Andy Meyer
Andy has been in and around a radio station most of his life. His father was a broadcast engineer; he fixed things, in upstate New York. So, it was only natural for Andy to get into radio. That was back in ’87, playing everything from Big Bands, Rock, Country, Bluegrass, Shag (Carolina Dance Music) and Pop.
Along the way Andy met his wife Kathryn and started his family which, at current count, includes four boys, two dogs, two geckos and whatever else the boys have hiding in the house that Andy and Kathryn have yet to discover.
In his spare time, Andy likes to play guitar at church and video games with the boys.
You can hear Andy weekdays 3 pm – 7 pm.
Greg Murray
Greg was born in Lorain, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland but has lived in Columbus since he was 6 years old. His first brush with radio was in high school when he and his girlfriend Julie (who would later become his wife) did a prom and graduation public service announcement for a Columbus radio station.
Greg graduated from Ohio University and has been in broadcasting his entire career. He and Julie have two very active boys, Wesley and Cooper, who you’ll hear a lot about when Greg’s on the air.
You’ll probably also hear Greg’s voice if you are a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, as he has been the in-arena Public Address announcer for the team since they came to Columbus in 2000.
The Murray’s live in Lewis Center and enjoy hanging out at home together and hosting neighborhood block parties!
You can hear Greg weekdays 7 pm – Midnight.
Sherry Abel
Sherry Abel thinks she is hip because she socializes on the internet. You can mostly find her on Facebook, or Twitter. Her Myspace is often neglected because she has also has a real life.
Raising a family, caring for friends, Children’s Ministry at church and a monthly breakfast at a homeless shelter consume her time.
About her family, her husband is a professional computer geek. Her three sons, one college, one elementary and one preschool keep her busy and in prayer. The baby has autism, so please pray so we can see God work miracles.
Her life in Christ started with occasionally going to church when she was small, wearing fancy dresses and being told to be quiet and stop squirming. Growing up in a single mom home left a lot of room for God’s grace, even though she wasn’t fully aware of it. In high school her friends said they were Christians but didn’t act like it. Pregnant at 17 feeling very alone, she cried out for the sake of her baby to a God she didn’t know. It turned out He knew her all along and had been waiting.
Now following after Jesus with the good support of her church, friends and family, Sherry has what she considers to be a huge opportunity. Sharing Jesus in a real life way with anyone who can listen to 104.9 the River.
You can hear Sherry Tuesday – Saturday midnight – 5 am.
Pastor John Moriarty
Pastor John has lived in the Columbus area all his life while pastoring for 22 years and has been married to his wife, Margi, for 26 years. They have two grown children in college studying education and criminal justice. Pastor John has experience in community involvement participating in numerous events and overseeing city wide unifying projects like March for Jesus; he has a heart for intercession participating in the National Day of Prayer and the Global Day of Prayer. Pastor John also served as a volunteer Hospice prayer visitor. In addition, Pastor John established the Fruit of the Vine in the Short North in 1991, one of the city’s 10 largest food pantries. He has co-led and senior pastor-ed small, medium and mega-churches, helping take, as the outreach pastor, one of the city’s largest churches from 100 to 5000 in just over a decade. John has planted 2 churches in Central Ohio. One of the other churches John has planted, after numerous trips to India, was in 2006, a church in Bangalore, India!
John loves the local church and has a passion to preach and teach the word of God and lead others into a saving relationship with Jesus.
If you need prayer or just someone to talk to your first step could be e-mailing pastorjohn@1049theriver.com. You can also leave a prayer request on 104.9 the River’s Prayer Wall.
Laura Lee
Laura Lee is from the central Ohio area. After graduating from Otterbein College with a degree in broadcasting, she worked in a variety of offices (a biscuit company, a school system, a concert venue, and a shopping mall, to name a few) before landing in radio.
She is married to a wonderful and supportive husband, Bill. They live in Westerville with their three boys (the third being very new!), one cat, and one goldfish. The cat and the goldfish get along better than the boys sometimes do. Laura Lee’s “other” job is a full-time stay-at-home-homeschooling mom, as well as helping out with children’s ministries, women ministries, and drama at their church.
Hobbies: In theory: reading, making photo scrapbooks, cooking, and learning how to knit. In reality: holding the baby.
Favorite Verse: I’ve rested in this verse so many times since becoming a Christian. Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
You can hear Laura Lee Saturdays 3 pm – 8 pm.
Keith Stevens
Keith and his wife Sue have 4 wonderful sons; Daniel, Matthew, David, and Thomas (and two really cool black labs! “Buddy and Jake”).
His joy in life comes from being a husband and a dad, and sleeping downstairs on the family room floor with the kids (and dogs) for “movie night!”
You can listen to Keith Stevens every Sunday morning from 7am – 10am on “Keep the Faith” as he shares stories about life and inspires you to live YOUR dreams!
Todd Stach
When Todd is not at work, he enjoys being at home with his wife, Hillary and their 3 kids. He likes to whip up a new recipe he learned from TV every once in a while. He also likes to pick up his guitar every now and then too.
He coaches youth soccer and even enjoys playing soccer on Sunday evenings in the spring and fall.
Todd wants you to know that he is a work in progress, and has experienced God’s and other’s grace and mercy. The one Scripture that motivates him the most is found in Romans 3 where it says, “suffering brings perseverance… perseverance brings character… character brings hope.”
You can hear Todd Sundays 10 am – 1 pm.
