“Bullying is bad, bullying is wrong.  If you don’t like hurting others, then sing our bullying song!”

This is the opening line of a song written by schoolchildren from six schools in a five-county area under the mentorship of Richie Phillips, well-known radio disc jockey with WGNA 107.7, part of the team of “Sean and Richie and Bethany in the Morning”.  The students in Vicki Schuette’s fourth grade class at Stillwater Elementary School were among the young composers.

How the song was composed is a fascinating story.

“These kids never even met each other,” Richie says.

Richie, who began his grown-up life as a social studies teacher before he “turned in his blackboard for a keyboard” and became a radio personality, has long been dedicated to working with children in his “Reading, Writing and Rhyming” program which he presents in area schools.  He has been a disc jockey with WGNA for 23 years, playing the best in country music. In 2000, he was the co-recipient of the Country Music Association’s award for Best Morning Radio Show in a Mid-size Market, an award which he has also received from the New York State Broadcasters Association.  And his “Reading, Writing and Rhyming” program has twice been honored by the NYSBA.

Full article in the Nov. 14th issue of the Express