After 31 years of service to the mission, KNOM has bid farewell to Lynette Schmidt. As a beloved friend to benefactors, community members, and staff alike, she will be greatly missed in retirement.

In a final interview, Lynette told listeners how her journey began when she visited her brother Norm, who was an engineer at KNOM.

“That’s when the Holy Spirit grabbed me and said, ‘you belong in Nome,’” Lynette said.

She met her husband Ric at KNOM, and they raised 6 children together. In that time, Lynette served as volunteer, news director, inspiration director, development director, and business manager at KNOM. Lynette is grateful for the happy years she spent in Nome with her family.

“Western Alaska has the absolute best people and our children, and now even our grandchildren, would never be who they are, if it weren’t for their Western Alaskan upbringing,” Lynette said. “Nome will always be home.”

We are grateful for the indelible mark Lynette and her family have left on the mission, and we wish her all the very best as she enters retirement.

Image at top: Lynette and Ric Schmidt outside the KNOM station during their volunteer days. They would go on to return to Nome and devote many more years to serving and leading KNOM.