Burgess wins third Gracie Award for WGLS-FM

Rachael Burgess was not going to let a little hardware get in the way of her dreams.

After all, she loaded her most prized possessions into her 1996 Ford Crown Victoria and set off from Arizona for an education at Rowan University because she wanted to study radio/television/film (RTF) in the University's nationally recognized College of Communication.

So when Burgess, then a freshman, finally walked into Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM after a 2,300-mile trek across the country, the bevy of national awards gleaming on the radio station's walls didn't intimidate her.

Instead, she was inspired.

"I wanted to get my name up on that wall," says Burgess, a native of Sierra Vista, Ariz. "I was determined, before I graduated, to get my name up on that wall.

"WGLS-FM has a highly regarded reputation and I knew it would be tough. It was a challenge."

Since 1993, WGLS-FM has won 182 regional and national awards. On May 25, Burgess will add to that legacy.

The graduate student in public relations, who earned her bachelor's degree in RTF last spring, will receive a prestigious Gracie Award presented by the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM).

She will accept the "Outstanding Talk Show-Entertainment Information" Gracie Award during a luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Public Affairs Director at WGLS-FM, Burgess, who received the award in the category that included local, online, public and student entries, will be among media royalty as she accepts her Gracie. Other awardees this year include: Meredith Vieira of the "Today Show," Anne Thompson of "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," Hannah Storm of ESPN and actresses Betty White, Clare Danes and Alfre Woodard.

Established in 1975, the Gracies honor programming and individuals "of the highest caliber in all facets of radio, television, cable and web-based media, including news, drama, comedy commercials, public service, documentary and sports," according to its web site. The Gracie Awards honor the memory of legendary entertainer Gracie Allen.

The awards are presented by the AWM Foundation, which supports educational programs, charitable activities, public service campaigns and scholarships to benefit the public and women in the media.

Host of "A Community Affair," a weekly show focusing on issues affecting residents of Gloucester County and South Jersey, Burgess was recognized for the Gracie for her interview of Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron. The interview was conducted last September and focused on Cameron's "platforms," which included nutrition awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention.

In winning the Gracie, Burgess not only is taking her rightful place on the Rowan Radio awards wall. She's also upholding a tradition of excellence by female media students in the College of Communication. Burgess' Gracie was the third for WGLS-FM in the past five years and the eighth overall for the College of Communication.

Burgess got interested in RTF while a student at Buena High School in Sierra Vista. Through her work with the theater, she began filming events at her school's performing arts center, including the Miss Sierra Vista Pageant.

The irony that she won the Gracie for her interview of Miss America isn't lost on Burgess.

"It's like it has come full circle," says Burgess, 22, who admits to being nervous when she found out she would be interviewing Cameron.

"When I was in high school, I learned that the best way to get over stage fright is being prepared," she says. "I knew Caressa's background, the program and her platform. I wondered why her causes--nutrition and AIDS awareness--were so important to her."

Though the Cameron interview earned her a big national award, Burgess says all of the interviews she's done on "A Community Affair"--from local accountants to a Rowan professor who studies New Jersey's land use to area politicians--have been fascinating.

"I've liked every interview I've done," she says. "The people I've had on the show are so interesting. I learn so much.

"The public affairs show is one of the big deals at Rowan. It's on at prime time, 5-6 p.m. on Tuesdays. It's not buried at 2 o'clock in the morning."

The youngest of four children each born a year apart, Burgess worked three jobs--two at the mall, another babysitting--to pay for her schooling. The devotee of National Public Radio's "Science Friday" loves radio because, she says, it makes her think. She's hopeful she has had that affect on others in her Rowan career.

"I like that radio triggers a different part of your brain," she says. "You have to use your imagination and picture what's going on. With radio, you have to think."

Always interested in government, she hopes to land a job in government affairs after she graduates on May 12.

"I'd like to change how people react to their government--and how citizens and government interact together," she says.

To listen to Burgess' Gracie-winning show, visit http://wgls.rowan.edu/episodes.php?feed=COMMUNITY_AFFAIR.