Radio host Leza Lachapelle Dandos launches new morning show on KYCA, and continues nourishing connections with the community
By Joanna Dodder Nellans • Photos by Brooke Photography
It may seem unusual to recognize a stranger just by hearing their voice, but it happens to Leza Lachapelle Dandos all the time.
“Grandma, that’s Leza sitting right next to us,” a young woman commented during Leza’s Prescott Woman Magazine interview at a Prescott coffee house. She explained that she’d never met Leza, but said, “I recognize her voice.”
Leza has been on the air with a variety of Prescott-area radio stations and a TV station since 1993, taking only five years off to raise her two girls Dempsey and Delaney while her husband Scott held down the fort at Prescott Glass and Mirror. So it’s no wonder people recognize Leza by voice alone.
Leza started a new radio chapter on March 20 with her own KYCA morning show, 9-10 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. She relishes the opportunity to talk with listeners and guests throughout the entire hour.
“Welcoming Leza back to KYCA radio with her own talk show has enhanced our station in many ways, and we are thrilled to introduce her and her talk show to our listening community,” said KYCA co-owners Janice Derks, general station manager, and Jason Zinzilieta, general manager.
By now, many listeners feel like Leza is a friend, and she feels the same way in return.
“When I’m talking on the radio, I’m just talking to my neighbor,” Leza said. “In a small town, radio is so important because it really connects us. You can gain information about what’s happening locally, and even hear the leaders and people you know bringing you that information.”
Leza has been through many happy times with her listeners in the “Cinco Cities,” as she likes to call the region. She loves to joke around on the air with coworkers and listeners alike. On April Fool’s Day last year, for example, she had quite a few callers convinced that movie star Will Smith was in town for professional anger management therapy after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
In between the good times, of course, there are hard times. Leza’s toughest time on the air was the day after 19 of Prescott’s Granite Mountain Hotshots perished in the Yarnell Hill wildfire.
“I cried on the air speaking about them, then opened up the lines and we cried together,” she recalled.
After covering just about every radio station job, Leza enjoys sharing her vast knowledge with young women.
“If somebody tells you that you can’t do something, you have to believe you can do it,” she told the girls at the annual Prescott YMCA Girls & Sports Day one year. “I believe you can – do you?” And the girls replied in unison, “Yes!”