Who's Who at WONN

Mike Booker

Originally from Chicago, Mike moved to Lakeland from California in 1960, and began working overnights on WONN in 1969. Since Dixie Motorcycle, the local Honda dealer, sponsored his show, he picked up a natural nickname – “Motorcycle Michael.” In 1971, he was voted Lakeland’s most popular deejay, which was quite an accomplishment for someone in radio only two years, and on the graveyard shift at that.

It was because of working overnights that he met his wife, the former Janice Barlow of Lakeland. He says she called the show around 1 A.M. one morning in 1971 to request a song and asked if he would keep talking to her because she was home alone and afraid of the strange noises coming from outside. After talking practically all night, he finally got the courage to ask her out. She accepted and, six weeks later, he proposed. They tied the knot the following fall.  

After leaving WONN, Mike spent the next 31 years with the City of Lakeland in computer operations and programming. He’s retired today (2011) and continues to live in Lakeland, working on his hobbies – building model racing cars and model railroading. Along the way, he and Janice raised two children – Matt, who passed away in 2005, and Leanne, who married and blessed them with a granddaughter.

Station History