The Longest Gig

“So Wendy wants me to audition for the voice of the KBYU Kids’ Club. I can’t do that!”

Lori said that 10 years ago.

People have always told Lori that she has a young-sounding voice. And I suppose they’re right. In fact, it’s not unusual for her to be dealing with a rude customer service rep over the phone—and they think they can bully her because she sounds like a kid. Then suddenly this kid-sounding voice stands firm. Surprise! She’s not backing down! You can’t be a mother of 6 without growing a backbone.

But...yeah...she does have a youthful-sounding voice.

So soon after we moved into our first house in 1998, her new friend, Wendy Thomas—Program Manager for KBYU Television—asked her to audition for the friendly, cheerful, young-sounding voice of the KBYU Kids’ Club.

Lori was duly flattered but felt exactly like she'd just been asked to sing karaoke in her underwear for the halftime show at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

There’re some people who would say, “Okay, what do you want me to sing? And do I wear whitey-tighties or boxer shorts?”

But Lori’s not one of those people.

Not even close.

So it took a lot of talking to get her to try. After all, it’s just an audition right? Just get in a booth, speak in a microphone, give it your best shot and walk away laughing with a good story to tell.

And hey, on the long shot that you get the job you can comfort yourself that it’ll only be broadcast to a few million people....

Funny thing is…she got the job.

And she’s been doing it ever since.

For ten years.

Now that’s what I call a long gig.