From left: Bernie Schaefer, Lesa Lindsay, John Soukup, Catherine Zill, Jim Taphorn, T.Scott Marr, Irene Lempke, Mark Voris, Bruce McGregor, Mary Jorgensen, Kris McGregor, Mary Lempke and Jim Carroll.
(Not pictured: Karol Carroll)
Jim Carroll - Executive Director
Jim Carroll has been the Executive Director for Spirit Catholic Radio since July 2002. Over 20 years ago, an evangelical fundamentalist co-worker challenged Jim in his knowledge and practice of the Catholic faith. After struggling with the fact he had taken his Catholic faith for granted, he embarked on a five-year quest for personal knowledge of the Truth, which he rediscovered in the Roman Catholic Church.
His journey has led him to the study of the Bible, Catechism, Encyclicals, Church Fathers and Apologetics. Jim has been involved with Adult Religious Education, led bible study and apologetics groups, as well as giving Salvation History and Bible Timeline presentations. He has served on the Parish Council, is an EMHC, RCIA sponsor, and Knight of Columbus. He is also a member of Serra Club of Omaha, Mission Advancement Council for the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton and Chapter Coordinator for Legatus of Omaha, an organization for Catholic CEOs and their spouses. Jim has also served on the board of the Catholic Radio Association, with its 160 member stations across the United States. Jim's 20-year career in the secular world included: AVP with Norwest Bank, Director at Applied Communications, Inc. and VP with First Data Resources.
Jim is a graduate of the University of Nebraska - Omaha (Go Mavs!) and served 11 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve Seabees. Jim and his wife, Karol, have five children and celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2009. Jim's favorite saints include: St. James, St. Patrick, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Augustine, St Frances of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas. He has a special devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. His favorite prayer is the Anima Christi:
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. Oh good Jesus, hear me. Within Your wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from You. From the malignant enemy defend me. At the hour of my death, Call me and bid me come unto You, that with Your saints I may praise You forever and ever. Amen.
Bruce McGregor - Program Director
Bruce McGregor has been the Program Director for Spirit Catholic Radio KVSS since May 2004. He also co-hosts the Spirit Morning Show with his wife, Kris. Bruce believes that God has prepared him to serve in this important ministry by providing for him a solid 30-year career in broadcasting and a love for Christ and the Church. Many in Omaha remember Bruce as the Program Director and Afternoon Drive air talent on both Z-92 and CD105 radio stations for over 14 years. He and Kris would later move to Orlando, Florida, where he served as Program Director at WHTQ and then at WZBA in Baltimore. But a fateful call from Jim Carroll touched Bruce's heart in the winter of 2003; the McGregors decided to return to Omaha, which they considered their "hometown," and to a mission they felt called to long ago.
Bruce's actual involvement in Catholic Radio in Omaha began in 1992. He laid the groundwork for a non-profit Catholic Radio group called "Light of Christ Broadcasting." LOC members included attorney Bill Lindsay, Mark Bonkiewicz, Fr. Gerry Gonderinger and Fr. Gene Jakubek, SJ. They received much encouragement from then Archbishop Daniel Sheehan. However, everything moves forward in God's time, and the time was just not right. So after several years of effort and prayerful discernment, Bruce turned over that foundational work to Steve and Heather Hruby in the spring of 1998. Bruce, Kris and their kids moved to Orlando. They never stopped praying for the success of the mission in Omaha, and they were delighted when KVSS finally made it on the air in January of 1999. He realizes now that the time in Florida and Maryland helped to fully prepare him for the job ahead. When asked to come back and join in the mission in 2004, Bruce didn't hesitate to say "Yes!"
Bruce and Kris have 3 children. He's a Knight of Columbus, EMHC and lector, and has sponsored candidates in the RCIA and CEC. And it's no secret, Bruce LOVES to golf. Bruce's patron saint is Dominic, and the Blessed Virgin Mary has a very special place in his heart. His love for Our Lady is deep and profound. His favorite prayer is the Our Father:
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Bernie Schaefer - Development Director
Bernie Schaefer joins the KVSS family as Development Director after serving the Church for the last 20 years through Catholic Higher Education at Briar Cliff University, Saint Louis University and Creighton University. Bernie's tenure at those institutions involved extensive work in Major Gift fundraising, marketing and PR, board management, social outreach and ministry.
Bernie feels that he has been blessed by the unique charisms of each order that have been a part of his education and career, dating back to the Benedictines in grade school and high school (Hartington Cedar Catholic), the Franciscan Sisters at Briar Cliff and the Jesuits at Saint Louis University and Creighton. Bernie attributes the most significant growth in his faith to his introduction to the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius while a graduate student at Saint Louis University.
Bernie and his wife, Nikki, are members of St. Robert Bellarmine parish and have four children. Both are active with parish and Church organizations, including Couples ministry, prayer groups, choir and Apologetics. Bernie also serves as a board member for Creighton University's Magis program, which places highly motivated, faith-filled teachers to serve underprivleged Catholic Schools in the Midwest. You will also hear Bernie's voice during broadcasts of some of our local high school football and basketball games as he joined T. Scott's broadcast team in September of 2006.
Bernie is inspired by the work of St. Ignatius, St. Francis of Assissi, St. Francis Xavier and St. Joseph the Worker. Bernie's favorite prayer is the Memorare by St. Bernard:
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother, to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me.
Mary Beth Jorgensen - Director of Business Underwriting
Mary Beth Pope Jorgensen is an Omaha native. Mary grew up on Fontenelle Boulevard and attended Holy Name Grade School, Marian High School and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is the 3rd of 4 daughters of Anne & the late Robert Pope. The Holy Name neighborhood has given Mary a great foundation and is her home parish, although she & her husband, Jeff, reside outside of Omaha.
Mary began her radio career in a small market outstate and was thrilled to return to Omaha after learning the industry from the ground up. Mary's commercial radio background includes Triathlon & Journal Broadcast Groups (KXKT "The Kat" and KKCD "CD105"). Mary feels truly blessed to be given this opportunity at KVSS Catholic radio. "It's exciting to be able to combine my faith, spirituality and professional life at KVSS. To be on the ground floor of innovative programming, which provides reliable Catholic information is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I feel privileged to be part of KVSS."
John Soukup - Station Manager Lincoln and Grand Island
John Soukup joined KVSS as the Lincoln Station Manager in January 2009. However, he's been involved in Catholic radio since 2007 when he joined a group of lay people in an effort to bring Catholic radio to the Diocese of Lincoln. He didn't know at the time that the Holy Spirit was laying a foundation to help bring a frequency that reaches more than a million potential listeners. John helped focus efforts in the Lincoln area to raise money for the purchase of the 102.7 FM signal.
John comes to us with a diverse background that started with around 15 years in radio, a short stint in politics, followed by nearly a decade in the public relations, marketing and communications division of a banking software firm. When the opportunity to spread the Gospel through Catholic radio came along, John was reluctant to leave his secular job at first. When he took the advise of a friend to be open to God's will, it soon became obvious which way the Lord was leading him. "Since becoming a part of this apostolate, I've never been so aware of the Holy Spirit working in my life and in the lives of others," he said.
You may have heard John's wife, Ellen, on Spirit Catholic Radio singing in one of her many contemporary Christian songs. She and John began a music ministry 10 years ago that has resulted in Ellen recording four CDs, some of which John sings on as well as their daughter, Carolyn. Their son, Paul, is the athlete in the family. Both kids attend Pius X High School in Lincoln, and the family attends St. John the Apostle Catholic Church.
One of John's favorite saints is St. Bernardine of Siena, whose feast day falls on John's birthday. St. Berardine is the patron saint of communications, public relations and advertising. Another favorite saint of John's is St. Maximilian Kolbe. Both saints were Marian priests, and one of John's favorite prayers is:
Come Holy Spirit; come by the means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well-loved spouse.
Kris McGregor - Producer & Co-host Spirit Morning Show
Kris McGregor has been with Spirit Catholic Radio since July 2005, when she joined her husband, Bruce, as co-host and producer of "The Spirit Morning Show." She has gone on to produce, as well as host, a wide array of local programming in conjunction with "Spirit Catholic Radio presents…", which have included programs featuring Deacon James Keating, Dr. Thomas Hilgers, Dr. R. R. Reno and Mike Aquilina. She gives talks to various groups on varied topics from the Blessed Virgin Mary to Holiness and Media.
Kris began professional ministry work 20 years ago, serving at St. Stephen the Martyr as Director of Liturgy and Pastoral Ministry, Mary Our Queen as Director of Liturgy and St. Mary's in Bellevue as Director of Religious Education. She has served on the Archbishop's Commission for the Sacred Liturgy and is a member of the West Omaha Serra Club.
While the McGregor's were in Florida for 5 years, Kris home schooled their three children and has built an impressive home library (listeners know she loves to read). Very dear to Kris' heart is the work of the IXIM Mission of Solidarity, which is a mission outreach for the Archdiocese of Omaha to her sister diocese in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. She considers her stay with the people of Guatemala, in the summer of 2007, as one of the most profound life-changing experiences of her entire life.
Kris and Bruce have been married for over 26 years. Kris has a particularly strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her favorite saints are St. Teresa of Avila, St. Clare, St. Pio, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Gianna Berretta Molla, Blessed Mother Teresa, Blessed Miguel Pro and St. Edith Stein (the list could go on and on, but we had to put a limit on her). Her favorite prayer is the "Hail, Holy Queen" :
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
My name is Catherine Zill, and I am the Communications Coordinator for Spirit Catholic Radio. I grew up in St. Leo the Great's parish and graduated from St. Pius X/St. Leo School and 
Hi! My name is Irene Lempke. I was born and raised here in 
I am Mark H. Voris, chief engineer for Spirit Catholic Radio - KVSS. I have been in broadcasting a good part of my life starting out in television and moving on to radio. Born and raised in North Platte, Nebraska, I moved my family to Cozad, Nebraska, taking a job with the Nebraska Rural Radio Association's stations KRVN, KNEB and KTIC as engineer. After being laid off due to budget cuts, I sought work in the field of radio. 
Karol is the wife of Executive Director, Jim Carroll, and the mother of their five children. She is a graduate of Holy Cross Grade School, Mercy High School and the University of Nebraska - Omaha. She is in the office on Tuesdays and from home throughout the week. 