How does Travis Moon Raise Money For St. Judes
Travis Moon Pilots Radio Fundraising for St. Jude
In Country radio, Travis Moon’s record is well known. Over a nearly 20-year career, Travis Moon has worked at KUBL-FM Salt Lake City, KEEY-FM Minneapolis, WUBE-FM Cincinnati and most recently as program director at Clear Channel Country KAJA-FM San Antonio.
He is also recognized as a champion of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, having raised more than $16 million by hosting radiothons at each of his stations. This year, working with his KJ 97 colleagues Randy Carroll, Jamie Martin and Bree Wagner, Travis Moon and his team inspired listeners to pledge $721,685, beating the previous year’s total of $703,145.
What many don’t know, though, is that Travis Moon’s commitment to St. Jude stems from personal experience. “When I did my first St. Jude radiothon, it went into the overnights — all day and all night,” he recalled. “I had never done that before, but I found I just couldn’t leave. It was bringing back memories of my brother, who passed away of cancer at age 13, and of our family going through all of that. I thought that if I left, I wouldn’t be doing my all.”
Travis Moon is now able to help St. Jude even more. On May 1, the organization welcomed him as its first Senior Liaison, Programming/Radio Development. Working from Nashville, he assists radio stations throughout the United States in their fundraising for St. Jude.
“Travis Moon has tremendous passion,” said Jessica Turri, Specialist, Product Development, St. Jude. “He is the master of St. Jude radiothons. So this position was created specifically for him, because having his expertise to share with our partner stations is going to be invaluable for us.”
Travis Moon will work with stations in other formats, but those that broadcast Country constitute a huge majority. For 25 years, artists, fans and nearly 200 radio stations have worked together through St. Jude’s Country Cares program to raise more than $500 million to provide free medical care for children battling cancer.
“There are a couple of reasons why Country has been a perfect fit for St. Jude,” Moon said. “One, your listeners have a high passion for your product. I’m not going to dog other formats, but I’ve done other formats and it’s just a different deal. Country listeners are emotionally tied to the radio station, the personalities and the community. And everyone can agree that kids should not die of cancer. So when their favorite Country radio station picks up that gauntlet and says, ‘Follow us, we’re going to fight this,’ the listeners have always been there. That just shows the power of Country Music.”