How far would you go to raise money for your local charity? Lots of people would make phone calls, but how many would ride a snowmobile with more than 200 raw eggs crammed inside their coat?

About 13 years ago Bob Duchesne '75 came up with that scheme for a fund raiser that has become a tradition in Maine. "You know what would be funny?" Duchesne recalled asking. "What if we just put raw eggs in our snowsuits for the [snowmobile] ride and listener pledges would make the total." The annual Snowmobile Ride-In has raised about $120,000 over the past 12 years for the Pine Tree Camp, a summer camp for handicapped children and adults. When asked the total number of raw eggs he had to carry in his jacket last year, Duchesne replied with a chuckle, "two hundred twenty-five."

For a nationally renowned broadcaster, the job alone can be time consuming, but for Duchesne giving back to his community is all part of the territory. "People recognize that you are willing to help and that you have leadership abilities," he said. "Then it sort of finds you." Although Duchesne credits most of his involvement in community service to his radio station, Q106.5, it is clear that he has been a true leader in several charity fund raisers and community-related activities.

Besides gallivanting with squashed eggs on snowmobiles at charity events, Duchesne also has served as president of the Down East Big Brother/Big Sister Program in Maine. "Raising money is easy, but getting volunteers for something as intensive as being a Big Brother or Big Sister is difficult," he said. His involvement with the Big Brother/Big Sister Program started about 14 years ago when he proposed a fund-raising idea for the program. Suddenly Duchesne found himself a board member, vice president, and eventually president. Although he is no longer involved with the Big Brother/Big Sister Program, he fondly recollects his commitment with the organization.

For the past five years, Duchesne has acted as president of his local chapter of Maine's Audubon Society. His responsibilities include everything from fund raising to membership recruitment to leading field trips.

So what does Duchesne do when he isn't working with various community service projects? He claims that his career in radio developed "completely by accident." Duchesne began working for Waterville's WTVL radio while attending Colby. After spending a few years in the Washington, D.C., area with one of America's top country music stations, he and his wife, Sandi, moved back to Maine, where he intends to stay. "I just love it in Maine," he said with a smile as a snowstorm raged outside the Bangor studios.

Duchesne's career in radio has soared since his days working with WTVL. He received the 1994 "Personality of the Year" award from the Country Music Association. "I had better seats than Alabama," he said. "They were sitting in the row behind me."

He concedes he has been involved in other community-related activities but claims that some of them are simply linked with the radio station: "It's the radio station and I'm just a jock." Hardly so. Duchesne's involvement with The Pine Tree Camp and the Brewer Economic Development Corporation says otherwise. Still, Duchesne maintains that involvement in one's community is "just natural" and says he is sure that he is like every other Colby graduate. "Just about everyone I know from Colby ends up doing something like what I do anyway," he said.

--Fraser Ross '02