In 1955, a Detroit native headed to Grand Rapids for a career-turning move. He accepted the Sales Manager position at a radio station owned by Time-Life Inc. and rose to GM four years later. In 1972, this individual became a part-owner through 1984, when WOOD-AM & FM was sold to Grace Broadcasting.
Today, Michigan broadcasters are remembering the life and legacy of Michael O. Lareau.
Lareau passed away April 26 at the age of 94. Mass was celebrated Monday (4/29) in Grand Rapids, his home for more than 60 years.
Lareau began his career in radio in 1952, as a sales executive for WWJ-AM. Three years later, he landed at WOOD-AM 1300, the oldest radio station in Western Michigan and today owned by iHeartMedia.
As GM from 1959, Lareau helped in the debut of WOOD-FM, in 1962. It retains its grandfathered super-signal status, as it signed on with 265kw of power, allowing to cover Kalamazoo and much of Muskegon and Lansing. Today, this facility is AC WSRW-FM “Star 105.7.”
Lareau became a part-owner in WOOD-AM & FM in 1972, when he teamed with Bill Schroeder, Clifford Christianson, Edsko Hekman, and Jay Vandenberg in acquiring the AM/FM combo from Time-Life.
With the purchase of the stations, Lareau became EVP/GM of WOOD-AM & FM. The five partners held the stations through 1984, when they were sold to Grace Broadcasting.
Under Grace, Lareau oversaw not only Grand Rapids stations, but the company’s properties in Rochester, N.Y.; Killeen, Tex.; and Monterey-Salinas, Calif.
