Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Local radio host discovers something new every day

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It's always good to try something new, but what about trying new things for an entire year?

That is exactly what a radio morning show host did last year.

Dorene Michaels, from 96.5 WKLH, called it "Dorene Discovers." And she took listeners along for the ride.

"It's still cold," Michaels told listeners one recent morning.

Listeners have been waking up with Dave and Dorene for years.

"CBS 58 is here," said her cohost, Dave Luczak. "Making my debut," she replied, as our camera rolled in the studio.

But last January, it was Dorene who got a wakeup call.

She was an empty nester, nearing 50.

"And like, there's got to be something, and I kind of felt myself slipping into a little bit of a funk," Michaels said.

In early 2023, she read a story on air about a woman in England who was trying something new every day.

"On the air, in front of 250,000 listeners, I said I was going to do it," she said. "Dorene Discovers" was born.

"And I really went out of my comfort zone a lot," she said.

Three-hundred and sixty new things in 2023.

From guest conducting in New Berlin.

"Really putting myself out there this time," she said in a video on her Instagram page.

To giving herself a lash lift.

Sharing it all on Instagram.

"And then it just took off," she said with a smile. 

Listeners invited her to play pinball.

She learned the science of butter making, and she worked with a blacksmith.

"Interesting," she exclaimed in yet another video, tasting seaweed for the first time.

Her journey inspired others.

"It got to the point where people were emailing me or messaging me and saying, 'I'm looking so forward to what you're doing next, this has been really cool,'" Michaels said of the feedback she got.

She even welded a sign that now sits in the studio.

"And I have never felt more badass, if I can say that on the air, than when I did this," she said with a laugh, showing off her sign.

"Once it got rolling, everyone stepped up," Luczak said. 

He admittedly said he wasn't sure how long it would last.

"I mean, an entire year? It sounds good. When you actually get down to doing it, I was very impressed," he said.

Michaels ended up impressing herself, too.

She ran a 5K.

"I had several people tell me they decided to do the same journey, just to get kind of off the couch and try something," she said.

She also broke some personal boundaries.

"I did three things I said I would never do," she said.

First, skydiving on her 50th birthday.

She did a polar plunge.

And finally, she got a tattoo.

"So, 360 things, 360 is a circle. And I looked up what it meant in numerology. Which was wisdom, change and generosity," she explained. "The change in me, the wisdom I gained, and the generosity of others."

Listeners offered up ideas and shared their passions.

Michaels found a lot in life to celebrate.

"I get goosebumps thinking about it. Because it did more for me than it did for them," she said.

Michaels completed 360 things in 2023 because she started last year on Jan. 5. 

"I did not go snowboarding, we didn't have enough snow. Or snowshoeing, both on the list," she said of things not yet complete.

But she says she's not done yet. She still has a list of new things to do this year and a crew of supportive people to help.

"I mean, I did something with all of these people," she said to a crowd gathered at Milwaukee's Bavarian Bierhaus.

WKLH hosted a party to celebrate Dorene's discoveries and all of the listeners, business owners and friends who made it happen.

"So, thank you to everyone who helped me," she said to the crowd.

"I'm going to keep going. Not every day. I hope to get at least 100 more in, but I find myself now trying to go to a restaurant I've never been or trying a food I've never been at," she said. " I would hope something like this could become a thing."

"Now that she's done it, I don't think she wants to stop doing it, because I think, as a person, it helps you grow," Luczak added.

You can find all of Dorene's adventures on her Instagram page at @dorene965wklh.

If you'd like to nominate a hero in your life, send Natalie a message at [email protected].