Q&A with Rich Draeger: From radio host to mission communications

Rich Draeger is a familiar voice in the Peoria area. Radio listeners likely know him from his work at the old WTAZ-FM (there’s still a WTAZ-AM at the 1350 frequency) and other Kelly Communications stations, as well as a variety of sports broadcasting. Since stepping away from radio, however, Rich has been using his communications talents for the Kingdom of God, first at the Salvation Army and now as development manager at South Side Mission in Peoria. Rich kindly answered some questions for us recently about his journey.

Amen Peoria: What has your communications career looked like? 

Rich Draeger: I graduated from Bradley University with a Broadcast Journalism degree and, after a short time in radio in Mount Vernon, Ill., I came back to Peoria. I worked at WTAZ-FM and several Kelly Communications stations from 1985-2000. I also did some television work with Bradley women’s basketball broadcasts on WTVP-TV locally, as well as some sports broadcasting for several local outlets after leaving full-time radio work,

AmP: How did you end up at South Side Mission? 

Rich: After leaving radio in a full-time capacity, I joined The Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters staff as a community relations director and eventually moved more into the fundraising side as a development director for the Tri-County area. I left there in late 2019, and after eight months of searching (and soul-searching), the South Side Mission role opened up.