“When the other station and I parted ways, I took it personally that I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my listeners,” said local radio icon Chaz Saunders. “But I guess it wasn’t meant for me to say goodbye after all.”
It’s been three years since Chaz Saunders signed off of her midday show on Majic 104.9 FM with her trademark “May the windows of heaven open and pour upon you an abundance of blessings.”
Starting today (Thursday, Oct. 20) she will be back on the air with Radio One St. Louis as the new voice of midday (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.) for My Foxy 95.5.
The station has reunited listeners with Saunders and DJ Kut – who will hit the airwaves in the 6 p.m. slot starting Oct. 31.
“I’m excited, it’s surreal and it’s a great thing,” Saunders said. “It’s going to be as though I never left.”
But she did leave. And back in 2008, a universal gasp coupled with outrage was the overwhelming response when after more than 20 years she was no longer on the air.
“Every time, God has promoted me to bigger and better places,” Saunders said. “When you wait on God he will not fail you. It’s when you try to get ahead of him that you have a problem.”
In the downtime she built a studio in her home where she did voice work, image work and documentaries and recorded shows that aired in other markets, including Milwaukee and Dayton. She did home improvement projects, tried new recipes and reconnected with family and friends – which was bittersweet because she lost her father in 2009.
But she missed her listeners.
“This is such a warm community, and they embraced me from day one – it was almost overwhelming,” Saunders said. “If St. Louis loves you, they love you, but it is no faking it with them. And they are going to continue to get everything that I’ve got.”
She said Radio One St. Louis is making her feel at home.
“They have really rolled out the red carpet for me, and it has been nothing but love,” Saunders said. “A friend of mine told me as I was in waiting, ‘You are going to be someplace where you are celebrated and not tolerated,’ and that’s exactly how I feel.”
Shawneen Thompson, station manager for Radio Once St. Louis, said, “This is a very exciting time for St. Louis radio and it’s only getting better. We are giving St. Louis a reason to make MY FOXY 95.5 their preferred R&B station.”
Chaz Saunders can be heard from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on My Foxy 95.5 FM. Visit www.Foxy955stl.com.