Pathways To Health Radio

I am Bill Simpson the host of Pathways To Health Radio. I am available for Speaking Engagements and Stress Reduction seminars for corporate and civic organizations. I am also a Stress Reduction Coach for individuals. For more information on my presentation "Stress Reduction 101: 5 Easy Ways to Reduce Stress Now" please visit my Stress Reduction page.

                                                                               BIO

 I was born in Richmond, VA and grew up in Fredericksburg, VA.  My father was a salesman and my mother was a professional harpist. I grew up surrounded by music. I was exposed to a wide range of musical genres ranging from of my mother's Classical and my father's Big Band to the Top 40 and R&B from my older siblings. On my 8th birthday I received my first drum set and have been banging away ever since. 

 It was the love of music that got me hooked on radio and as a result of listening to endless hours of radio broadcasts led me to a career in radio. My first on-air experience was in 1977 when I began working for my college radio station (WUVT) at VA Tech in Blacksburg, VA.  They had two stations and I worked on both. One was an AM Top 40 commercial station and the other was a listener supported public station with a block format.  This means that there were many types of musical genres played at certain blocks of  time each day.  You  would hear a wide range of music from classical and jazz to rock and bluesgrass to funk and fusion, etc.

 After graduating with a BA Degree in Communications I worked in several markets throughout Virginia and ended up in Philadelphia in 1987 as Dave Sanborn of the Carter & Sanborn show on Power 99FM. The reason for changing my name is a long story. If you want to know why you may email me.  The show lasted almost 12 years.  In 1999 I began working at Smooth Jazz WJJZ 106.1.  At the same time I began my career in holistic health. 

 During my days at Power 99 my father had died of liver cancer.  He had lived a very sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle. I was determined that I was not going to live my life that way and began my journey into holistic health.  I began reading books, watching videos, taking seminars, etc.  I began changing my lifestyle. I started eating better. I learned tai chi and meditation. I began psychotherapy. I searched out many ways to gain optimal health. I became so passionate about it that I decided to become a holistic massage practitioner.  During my year of study I not only learned massage but how to live a healthy life not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well.  This is the holistic approach to health.

 My journey didn't stop there. I went on to learn Shiatsu (acupressure), Reflexology and Therapeutic Touch.  In 1996 I met a Tai Chi Master and QiGong healer, Master Ru Yu Wen.  He ended up living with me for a year and I gained a priceless education in return.  In 2001 I had the priveledge of studying the healing art of QiGong and Tuina (Chinese massage) in Beijing, China.  Shortly after that I opened my own practice in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia under the name of Holistic Hands Wellness Center.

 During that time I was still on the air at night hosting Philadelphia After Hours on WJJZ.  I would smooth out my clients' day with massage, bodywork & tai chi and smooth out my listeners' night with smooth jazz.  I like to say that I was a professional "smoother".  I loved the fact that I was making a living from both my passion for radio and holistic health.  I had no idea that my dream of combining my two passions in a radio show would come to be so soon.  One day I was having a casual conversation about interviewing with my Program Director Michael Tozzi.  He mentioned that he needed someone to do a Public Affairs show on Sunday mornings.  I told him that I would love to do a show on health. The next thing I knew Pathways to Health was born.  I was in heaven!  It was a win/win situation. I got to pursue my passions and in return thousands of listeners became aware of ways to obtain optimal health.

In 2005, I was approached by the management of WDAS to find out if I would consider getting back together with Brian Carter, my radio partner of nearly 12 years, to bring back the Carter & Sanborn Show.  This was a wonderful opportunity to get back with my dear friend to do what we loved doing. We agreed and signed a 2 year deal only to be replaced by syndication 10 months later.  It was like hitting a brick wall at full speed. I had recently gotten remarried, we were a week away from moving to a new home and we were expecting a baby in 4 months.  This was definitely one of those growth moments in my life where I had to rely on faith and know that all would work out for the best.

One of the things that kept me going was being able to continue to do Pathways to Health on WJJZ.  Sadly, about a year later the company that owned WJJZ decided to drop the format. This created a huge void in my life. No more smooth jazz on the radio and no more Pathways to Health. I was at the point where I was about to let go of my radio career. Fortunately only a few months later Greater Media Philadelpia decided to pick up the format and hired Michael Tozzi to program the radio station. Soon thereafter I was approached by Michael to return to host Philadelphia After Hours and Pathways to Health Radio.  I was delighted to say "YES"! We all joked around the station saying "The band is back together!"  Another test of patience and a reminder to always keep the faith.

I was so grateful that Greater Media made the decision to bring back the format and all the great players with it. I was most grateful to Michael Tozzi for his progressive foresight and how he really "gets"  Pathways to Health Radio and it's positive impact on the community.  To have this show on a mainstream radio station in a major market was very rare in this country and is was a BIG deal to me! 

In September 2008, Greater Media decided to remove the Smooth Jazz format from its lineup of radio stations. The entire air staff was let go and so was Pathways To Health Radio.  I am in the process of looking for a new terrestrial radio station home for the show but in the meantime I will serve you through the internet.

I look forward to hearing feedback from YOU-the most important part of Pathways to Health Radio.  It is through your feedback that we will grow as a show and provide the resource you want. Please email me with any comments that you may have about the show or suggestions for topics/guests Bill@pathwaystohealthradio.com. Thanks for listening!

I leave you with this quote that I use at the end of each show:

Peace- It does not mean being in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hardwork. It's being in the midst of those things and still remain calm in your heart. 

                                                                          Anonymous

I wish you Peace and Good Health!

                                                     Bill Simpson