A Close- Up Look At People Who Matter : Quiet Urgency as KUSC Nears Fiscal Year End

Even as June 30--the end of the current fiscal year--looms, the telephones at KUSC are quiet, except for the occasional pledge call.

The USC-based public radio station is running short promos to try to pick up stragglers--listeners who missed the last pledge drive.

This is not crunch time for Tracy LaMondue.

“I think the most nerve-wracking time is prior to a pledge drive,” said the 34-year-old Van Nuys resident who has been the station’s director of subscription marketing and services for seven years.

“Tracy is a very good person to have in that position,” said Wally Smith, the general manager. “You have to have really high energy to do that job, and Tracy has an abundance of it.”

As the economy in Southern California has dropped off in the past five years, support from corporate foundations has dwindled, and federal money--about 18% of the station’s budget--is expected to drop to zero by 1998, he said.

That leaves LaMondue, and about 300 volunteers who are recruited each year for the three pledge drives, to make up the difference with subscriber donations.

The fund-raising contributes to KUSC’s goal of providing a continuing format for classical music, information and entertainment, which commercial radio usually will not attempt, Smith said.

That makes for more active listeners, according to LaMondue. “Whether you like what we say or don’t like what we say. You’re participating.”

“We’re serving a need in this community,” said the energetic fund-raiser, who sometimes crosses her arms to still her expressive hands. “Commercial radio can’t provide the diversity we provide.

“It’s kind of taken for granted, that it’s always been there. But it’s the things we take for granted that are the first to be cut.”

Originally from Memphis, Tenn., LaMondue was told by her father--now a retired U.S. marshal: “You can’t know everything, but you should know just a little” about many things.

Travel early in life--the family also lived in New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.--and her parents’ encouragement opened her mind to the world.

As a fund-raiser, LaMondue has to find new ways to tap into the listener market on a personal level. She lines up gift packages for donors, often changing them throughout a drive to find the most appealing combination.

“That flexibility is part of our success,” said LaMondue, who met her goal of raising $1.5 million this year, although it was harder than in previous years.

“Radio is a very personal experience,” LaMondue said. “Everyone uses it for different reasons.”

During pledge drives, the microphones are set up in a room with 19 phone lines, designed to bring the listener into the excitement of the event. As she directs the operation, announcers find offbeat ways to reach listeners, such as targeting the appeal to “You, driving the red Mustang.”

Individual donors are much more important today since major contributors have dropped off, LaMondue said. “One person who gives us $500 is no more important than someone who gives us $10.

“We need it all.”

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