40 Under Forty

January 28. 2013 1:22AM

Laura Boyce has been helping listeners find a way to give back

By BRENDAN CLOGSTON
Union Leader Correspondent

Laura Boyce, 30

Home: Hooksett

Birthplace: Manchester

Family: Husband, Jeff Boyce; son, Parker Boyce; parents, David and Cindy Meyer, Hooksett

High school: Manchester High School West, 2000

College/post grad degrees:

Attended the University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Current job: Co-host of Greg and the Morning Buzz, broadcast on 100.3 WHEB Portsmouth, Rock 101 Manchester, 96.3 Keene, 93.9 Lebanon, and 104.9 Lakes Region

Volunteer activities: Being involved with the media, I have had wonderful opportunities to work with a lot of deserving organizations. Every year, as a part of the Morning Buzz, I am able to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Kristen’s Gift and Fred’s Fund for C.H.A.D and Toys for Tots. Every November our morning show holds a two-day radio auction called Lend a Helping Can. We stay on the air from 5:30 a.m. To 7 p.m. for the two days and thanks to our supporters’ generous auction item contributions and our listeners’ liberal bids and outright donations, this year we were able to raise enough money to donate almost $80,000 to 10 N.H. agencies.

Linked articles:
Meet 40 who are making a difference

HOOKSETT - New England commuters and talk radio lovers have known Laura Boyce as one of the voices of Greg and the Morning Buzz on Clear Channel's WGIR and WHEB for just under a decade now.

Beyond being a staple of morning broadcasting in the region, however, Boyce has been a tireless supporter of a number of nonprofit and charity groups throughout the region.

As a part of the Morning Buzz, Boyce and her cost-hosts have supported and raised funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Kristen's Gift and Fred's Fund for the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock, and Toys for Tots. Every November the show holds a two-day radio auction called "Lend a Helping Can." During their 2012 drive, nearly $80,000 was raised in those two days for 10 New Hampshire agencies.

"Being in radio gives us a nice outlet," she said. "You can talk to the listeners and give them a way to give. Listeners get involved when we ask them to."

For Boyce, this mutual relationship with her listeners is a part of what makes radio a special medium. Initially hoping to find a career in sports broadcasting, since taking the job at Greg and the Morning Buzz in 2004 Boyce has embraced radio. Technologies such as the Internet and the iPod at times leave Boyce apprehensive about the future of broadcasting, but ultimately, her belief in the intimacy and local quality of talk radio leaves her optimistic.

"I get nervous," she said. "You think to yourself every day, 'People are going to be listening to their iPods, people aren't going to be listening to radio,' but people still want to hear talk shows in the morning. In some ways, our lives intertwine. Where I am or my cost-hosts are in our lives, some of the listeners are at in their lives. So I don't think the talk show aspect is going away anytime soon. So I'm hopeful."

For Boyce, even the new forms, such as podcasts, can't provide the same flavor and connection that radio provides.

"Our show is available through podcast . but to go all podcast? I don't think it's the same," she said. "We're local, and I think for people in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont, they want to hear it. They hear us in New England: We're New England people, and they relate to that. If there's a guy in California that's doing a podcast, that's not the same."