Radio Co-Host Is "Open"

Frank Ski is open to helping his community, especially children.

by Mary Welch

March 2, 2008

A t the beginning of every year, Frank Ski sits down with a big calendar and starts writing. He inks in family vacation days, days with his wife, days when he has practices and games as the coach of his son's football team, and dates that he knows he will be working or hosting civic events. All the rest are "open." "Those dates are ‘open' for opportunity," says Ski, who is half of the
top-rated Frank and Wanda Morning Show on V-103. "Those dates are open so that if I can go out in the community and help make a difference, then I'm open to do it. Working in the community and making a difference is important to me as a person, not just as part of my radio job."

Ski, however, is quick to point out that he understands that a large portion of his job is off the air – speaking to groups, hosting events, talking to kids in schools and clubs, and serving as a role model. "When I first interviewed here in 1998, before I was offered a job, I came down and had to meet with the Concerned Black Clergy. They didn't want someone who could be a person of influence not understanding the power of that influence. I learned very quickly that Atlanta as a community, and our radio station, want to do the right thing." It's a responsibility that grows as he, well, adds on a few years. "The older I get, the more I believe in giving back, being a role model and standing up for what's right. I have a responsibility and I can not only make a difference, I can make change."

His station plays a variety of hip-hop and other urban-oriented songs, and Ski says there are songs on the playlist that worry him. "When I was younger I was making those songs. But now we have a responsibility for balance. I think people are getting tired of the lyrics against women and the other such lyrics. It's not selling. People want better things in life; they want change."

Ski, who was honored with the Distinguished Community Service Award by the Atlanta chapter of the National Urban League last year, has personally raised almost half a million dollars for the Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry and Homeless project and the Metro Atlanta Respite & Development Services, a nonprofit agency that assists children with special needs.

Although he hosts several high-profile charitable and educational initiatives a year, one of his favorites is the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. "Those people are heroes – everyone one of them," he says about the inductees. "We did six inductees this year, and two of them I didn't know anything about. What a shame. Shame on me for not knowing. One of the ones was a legal aide to Dr. Martin Luther King. Another was the guy who organized the rallies and made it happen. Why don't we know about these people?"

Ski believes the biggest division in this country is not class, race, ethnicity or sex. "It's between the informed and the uninformed or misinformed. We have a responsibility to get the word out, even if the word is tough to hear or read. I'm here to help inform people." As part of his mission, Frank and his wife, Tanya, formed the Frank Ski Kids Foundation, aimed at providing financial assistance to low-income youth applicants and youth-serving agencies to expand opportunities for educational, athletic and cultural learning. Hundreds of Atlanta youth have benefited from the positive alternatives and educational opportunities the foundation provides.

"My wife and I really share a passion for kids, and we wanted to provide financial assistance but, more importantly, quality time for kids. When I was in Baltimore, I would always sponsor a Little League team and my name was on the uniform. But it was when I was with them that I would get the ‘wow.' I realized it was about being with kids, listening to them, offering your thoughts and giving them experiences that will help change their lives."

Ski, an admitted Discovery Channel freak, says the foundation has been on the forefront of providing educational experiences for children. "When I was a kid, my dad took me on a boat off Cape Canaveral, and I saw a rocket go off into space. I would remember that when I would get more successful and wanted to help kids have those same experiences. It can change their lives." The foundation is the first to consistently graduate a top-ranking class of students from NASA's Space and Rocket Center Space Camp and Space Academy in Huntsville, Ala..

Last year, it succeeded in a very ambitious plan and took 11 students on an all-expenses paid excursion to Ecuador to explore the Galapagos Islands and the Charles Darwin Research Station. Ski visited the station a few years ago and decided students needed to have the same experience. On the air he announced a contest for Atlanta students. The top students who wrote an essay on how we can protect and preserve the planet would win. Ski's best times on the trip were the three-hour boat rides to the islands. "I would sit and talk to the kids; really get into their minds. We had no TVs, no radios, no iPods. It was all about the kids and talking to them."

One incident stands out in his mind. One 14-year-old couldn't swim but wanted to join the rest of the group snorkeling. "I asked her if she trusted me to teach her to swim. She did and we ended up snorkeling together. It brings tears to my eyes." The irony of Ski being able to bring children to the Galapagos Islands is not lost on him. "I was the kid who read about these things. My father was a single father, and we never had any money. But he and I would go fishing with $3 worth of worms and live bait, and we would spend all day together. I never thought that I would ever be able to do anything like what I'm doing. I thought I would just read about it."

Ski, who says his father taught him a solid work ethic, intends to bring his father on the next foundation trip. "I want to share the experience with him. He really influenced my life, and I want him to see that it's being carried on. It's extremely important." Ski won't divulge the next trip with area students. "I'm announcing it on the air on my birthday in May. It'll be even bigger."

Ski takes his philanthropy seriously and challenges everyone to do the same. "We have to get out in our community – no matter what your community is – and give back. Everyone has a responsibility to give back. No if, ands or butts. If you don't have money, give your time. If you don't have time, give money. Do what you can, but lend a hand."