DISC JOCKEY LIVES ON BILLBOARD FOR WEEK TO RAISE FUNDS FOR EASTER SEALS

Morning disc jockey Mike Ford of KGMO, Oldies 100.7 FM, is living on a billboard for five days to help the Easter Seal Society of Southeast Missouri raise money.

Ford has been on the "Million Dollar" billboard on the Wal-Mart parking lot since 7 a.m. Monday, and will come down Friday at 5 p.m.

"The first thing I'm going to do when I get down," Ford said, "is kiss the ground".

Ford said he volunteered to live on the billboard. "Why not, it's for a good cause" he said. "It's not every day that I get to help raise thousands of dollars for Easter Seal and say I was a major part of it."

"I've done some ridiculous stunts in the past," Ford said, "but I've never lived on a billboard."

Ford said to kill time he walks to one end of the billboard and watches people in the parking lot for an hour and then he walks to the other end and waves to the cars. "Then I sit up here and try to stay warm," he said.

Ford said on Monday he got sunburned. "But, I got rained on so much Tuesday that it drained the sunburn out of me," said Ford.

He said that the freedom he misses the most is being able to drive around and see the sights.

"The single biggest problem," Ford said, "is battling for position with all the hornets and wasps that live up here."

He said that it is fun when everybody drives by and honks and waves. "People hang half their body out of the car and I get the thumbs up sign a lot," he said. "People see me and realize how lucky they are not to be in my position," Ford said.

"Five days is not a big sacrifice compared to what I'm doing it for," he added.

Ford does come down to use the port-a-potty at the base of the billboard and the weather has not been mild enough for him to sleep on the billboard, said Chuck Martin, regional executive director of Easter Seal. "He has been sleeping in a trailer underneath the billboard," Martin said.

Ford's food is hoisted up to him in a bucket. "The restaurants in Cape and Jackson have been great," said Martin. "Every single meal has been donated."

Martin said the goal is to raise $10,000. "We're at about $1,000 now," he said. "We appreciate the community support and I just want to encourage people to come out to the billboard.

"We're asking people to donate $1, $5, whatever they can," Martin said. "These last days we need some dollars to reach our goal."

Martin said the mission of Easter Seal is to help people with disabilities achieve maximum independence.

People can donate money at the billboard or call in pledges locally at 335-3377 or regionally at 1-800-281-0119.