Many within the community and Ellis County are unaware of the many services and organizations that exist to help a community flourish, or to encourage those that need a lift. Waxahachie resident Ann Lee has been the voice of the radio program, Hour of Hope, for three years and is still personally uplifted with each program she airs. "I am blessed to meet so many giving people in our community. I am blessed to be able to share wonderful stories and life-long knowledge with such a vast audience," said Lee at a recent meeting of the Waxahachie Rotary Club.
In a media culture that focuses on so much negative, which points out so much that is wrong and who is responsible for the wrong, Ann strives to be the positive voice that shares triumphs, wisdom, and hope. Hour of Hope focuses on the facts of what is going right for Ellis County, and the good reasons why Ellis County is doing so much positive. She calls the program a "sweet antidote" or a kind of "alternative medicine". It airs for only an hour, and she is very guided in her discussion so that listeners will get the most information possible. She has interviewed with over 83 local organizations and 24 individuals who make a great impact in Ellis County. A new highlight of the show is the Wisdom Series, in which she interviews an Ellis County citizen that has at least seven or eight decades of life experience they are willing to share. Her oldest guest was 105 years old, and imparted so many valuable lessons. Thanks to technology, the Wisdom Series, and other past interviews can now be heard on-demand from the KBEC website.
Hour of Hope began in 2013, and had two previous hosts: Pat Gallagher and Melissa Cade. Ann Lee was asked to pick up the host position only a year later when the position was suddenly vacant for so many weeks. She overcame her own concerns and doubts, and boldly agreed to host the show. It is another component of the original vision for the KBEC station, to "Keep Building Ellis County", which hit the airwaves in 1955.