‘Here comes Radio’…was the greeting that would answer an approaching Sheila L. Brown as she made her way through the halls of WUFO Studios in Buffalo, NY.
Sheila had made an indelible impression when she initially came on the scene at WUFO in 1986, and earned the perfectly apt moniker, “Radio” from colleagues for her dedication to the industry.
The radio station was where she cut her teeth as a fresh-eyed young woman making a foray into business after leaving her position as a Red Cross employee.
“Not many would have the confidence to quit a secure position to go into commission in radio ad-sales. I watched her climb from the time I met her, when I had a short-lived talk show on WUFO back in ’94, to the days of my association with station hosts and DJs when she became station manager, ” said Christopher Stevenson on Sheila’s fearless beginnings and subsequent ascent in the radio industry.
Her story is an inspiring tale built around faith, family, and business-minded gumption that set the stage for her path as an entrepreneur.
The ambitious Sheila was smart as a whip and eager to prove her worth in the industry. It didn’t take long for her to outpace co-workers when she joined the team, quickly working her way into the Sales Manager position at the AM radio station.
With lofty aspirations many leagues ahead of the average bear, she was ultimately guided by her dream to one day own a radio station.
“If you’ve been praying on it and you know this is what you want to do, you have to start writing it down. You can’t just think that a dream is just going to jump out of the sky, because it’s not.”
At present, Sheila is the Manager and Owner of the ad agency, Visions Multi Media Group, LLC, that she founded and has manned since its inception in the 90’s.
Throughout her illustrious career, Sheila’s passion for the radio industry never wavered – even when she started her ad agency, she kept a promise to herself to return to her roots in radio.
And in 2007, she did just that.
When new management had started to flip the script, she left WUFO in 1998 and bid adieu temporarily, “I looked at the building, and I waved and said don’t worry baby, I’ll be back.”
And reminiscent of an unfailing Terminator bent on reaching its target, she ‘came back’ all right – to buy the radio station once and for all.
Sheila made improvements right away to the outdated WUFO, relocating the station from Buffalo’s University District in a residential area to a cutting-edge facility on Broadway – a happening location in the African-American Heritage Corridor.
The station went from AM to adding an FM channel – a transition that meant introducing morning shows and syndicated shows like Mayor Byron Brown’s Talk of The Town, which gave the station a presence that it hadn’t commanded before.
The successful business executive has had quite the career and boasts a host of accomplishments including; owning and operating four childrens stores, authoring three books, and receiving numerous awards such as; an Atlanta Radio and Record award, the media award for Black Achievers in 2014, and an inductee in 2019 into the Black Achiever Museum in Buffalo, NY.
And then, in 2015, she really stepped outside of the box, putting pen to paper, authoring 29 Years Of Preparation: A Guide And Blueprint To Success – her first book that outlined how to make dreams a reality, and offered sage advice for success.
“Dream, write and pray. That’s all you have to do. If you know that you have a burning in your heart, and it keeps nagging at you, then the Lord is saying ‘This is what you have to do.'”
In the midst of her spirited business ventures Sheila made the time to focus on growing her own family and became a mother to three children with her husband, Kenneth.
She keeps her parents, Charles and Frankie – close to her heart, and their memory alive by standing before their photographs every day and, evocating them into her daily routine.
“I am guided by their love and legacy still to this day.”
She credits her family and faith for being the backbone to her success, giving her the confidence she needed from a young age by positively reinforcing her self-image.
Sheila’s journey is a remarkably inspiring tale of a young visionary to a prosperous business executive who accomplished what she laid out for herself early on in her career. She stands as a testament to all women who envision a world where they too can make their mark without compromising on family and faith.
As the title holder of the youngest African-American female to own a radio station – she’s made history. And she’s recently added another radio station to her roster; Atlanta Stations WIGO 1570 AM. The channel blends classic R&B with gospel. And she’s well on her way to making more.
https://thechicagoweeklynews.com/making-waves-the-story-of-sheila-l-brown-ceo-of-vision-multi-media-group-llc/