There is no silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as Stacy Harbough noted, it has opened up opportunities. At the May 13 Waunakee Rotary meeting, Stacy described how she grabbed her own opportunity to craft a new skill, one that drew media attention.

Stacy is a social media and community specialist with Design Craft Advertising in Madison. Originally from Indiana, she moved to Madison because it was a cool small city, and she discovered the grassroots, community radio station, WORT on 89.9 FM. She began to volunteer, becoming a co-host on the news and just before the pandemic hit, her desire to become a DJ grew.

Stacy has always loved vinyl, and described the regret she felt downsizing from a record collection of 750 to two boxes when she moved from Stoughton to Madison in 2019. At the end of 2019, she began to think about a hobby to pursue. On New Year’s, her resolution was to learn to become an engineer and operate the sound board of a radio program.

COVID-19 delayed that goal, as WORT programs became remote during the Safer at Home Order. But Stacy didn’t give up. She has a passion for vintage reggae music and began experimenting with putting music together for a DJ’s Saturday night program using the technology she could find

Still, Stacy missed vinyl records and so adapted her resolution and bought turntables. She had time to experiment and began to practice putting together polka songs in DJ fashion, deciding which songs would work best after the other. While Stacey didn’t grow up with polka in her family, she found the happy music is a large part of Wisconsin culture, and she began to go see polka bands.

“This moment happens when I’m moved to tears,” Stacy said, adding these moments make her want to give back to the “happy culture.”

The social media specialist noticed a tweet in her Twitter feed from a Wisconsin State Journal reporter asking about quirky hobbies. Stacy responded about her polka DJ passion and after being interviewed and photographed, she was on the front page of newspaper’s Sunday people section. Madison Magazine saw the story and created an issued dedicated to news skills learn during COVID, and Stacy was featured again. Then Wisconsin Public Radio ran with her inspiring story, and she began getting emails from folks all over the state, including from a Fennimore woman who offered her 130 polka records. Media attention keeps coming.

Stacy has since been contacted by the New Glarus Chamber of Commerce and invited to their Roger Bright Memorial Polka Fest, and to play her music at their Octoberfest.

Along the way, she’s learned that her strong clear vision for her hobby and patience with herself have led to her successfully becoming a polka DJ, rather than combatting “imposter syndrome.” As long as she’s spinning those records, she’s the real thing.

 

Other news:

-Phil Willems and other club members will be selling flower baskets Saturday at Village Park.

-Also Saturday is Tri 4 Schools.

-June 29 is the steak fry, or changing of the guard, at Drumlin Ridge Winery.

-June 21 is Make Music Waunakee.

 

Birthdays: May 23, Bob Klostermann; May 26, Bob Lenz

Anniversaries: May 21, Karli and Alex Pagliughi; May 23, Greg and Heidi Garton; May 24, Ryan and Sherri Knight; May 25, Mick and Jeamie Holm; May 25, Jon and Barbara Townley.