Spotlight On Niagara

Laura Mainella: Putting MORE in Your Morning

Laura Mainella: Putting MORE in Your Morning

By David DeRocco dave@gobeweekly.com  https://twitter.com/?lang=en 

Everyone has their opinion on what you should do to make the most of your day. For Niagara’s Laura Mainella, that means putting a little “MORE” in your morning!

 

As the weekday morning show co-host on Niagara Falls radio station 101.1 MORE-FM, Laura’s daily objective is to ensure your day begins with a healthy dose of laughter, a playlist of classic musical favourites, and maybe a little Hollywood gossip. The station is the latest stop on a journey that’s taken the Toronto-born radio host from Oshawa to Niagara to Ottawa and back again, all part of a career that Laura set her sights on at a young age.

 

“I feel like I’ve always wanted to be in radio,” said Laura, who also serves as the afternoon drive host at MORE-FM’s sister station, 105.1 The River. “Growing up, I always listened to Evelyn Macko. I loved her, loved her voice but I mostly loved how she moved me.  She was an assertive, strong and confident sounding woman and I thought, I could be as impactful and influential as she is.”

 

After graduating from Seneca College, Laura took her first job at the now defunct Newmarket-radio station CKAN as a news announcer. “It was an interesting experience for a first radio gig,” said Laura.  “We always had to ask, is this cheque going to go through? But it was a great ride. I met a lot of awesome people who also moved on to greater jobs in big markets.”

 

Like many radio personalities, Laura bounced around various stations and formats, including a stay at Oshawa’s 94.9  and a year with 97.7 HTZ-FM’s “Morning Mob” with Ben McVie and Joe Cahill. Then it was off to Ottawa and a major market morning show co-host position with 105.3 KISS-FM, followed by stops at HOT 89.9 and DAWG-FM. After returning to Niagara, Laura was a host at 91.7 GIANT-FM before landing with her current gig with MORE-FM, a station she loves for its commitment to the community in which it serves.

 

“I love that where I am now, I can really focus on local business, local content and my love for the community,” said Laura, who’s on the air weekdays from 5:30am until 9:00am. I feel that people can really resonate with that. People, no matter what community, yearn for that. Most of the stations in this market are owned by big corporations who don’t seem to care about the feel of local. It's all about money and numbers."

 

When she’s not entertaining radio listeners, Laura is focusing her attention on her second passion. “I love animals,” said Laura, who operates her own organic pet food line called Higgs and Bee Greens. “I have three Westies (West Highland Terriers), two adopted. I volunteer for Westies in Need, and work with other rescue organizations in assisting with getting abused and neglected dogs out of puppy mills and backyard breeders. I just fostered three cats that I rescued myself, and have since adopted them. I love all animals but didn't think I would ever own a cat, let alone 3, but I  fell in love with them. I guess you can nickname me the crazy dog and cat lady of Port Weller.”

 

Follow Laura on her website www.lauramainella.com. Find out more about her business at www.higgsandbeegreens.com.

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