On May 19th Beth Konrad gave us her "New Member Presentation".
Beth grew up in Poletown where her neighborhood spoke Polish. Back in the 1950s, the cities were very segregated and her family had difficulty buying a home in Grosse Pointe due its point system and, after moving here, was unable to join any of the clubs. These childhood obstacles helped define who she is and she is a firm believer in inclusion and equality.
After college, Beth’s goal was to become a broadcast journalist. At the time, there were no women on the radio and the only ones on television were doing weather forecasts. Her first job was at WRIF where she provided hourly news updates and had a half-hour newscast at 4:30AM (as was required by the FCC).
Beth then moved to Chicago to work at a radio station, where her expanded duties included covering speeches, such as one by Spiro Agnew, and providing daily 5-minute national newscasts. She returned to WRIF and part of her job involved researching and putting together news documentaries, which included stories on skydiving, the Moonies, and the lack of rules regarding the referral services for abortions.
After a long time away, Beth believes that Grosse Pointe has become a much more inclusive community and feels comfortable being back.
