Team WFRE of Frederick, Maryland, tops in fundraising at St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon

Daphne McKee is from Frederick, Maryland, but some of the most significant moments in her life have taken place 650 miles away in Nashville, Tennessee. She has brunched with country musician John Rich at his house and grooved to a concert by Sara Evans. She has stood with thousands at the St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon — all united for the cause of supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. 

When McKee runs, she often thinks about Ella, a St. Jude patient and family friend who died in 2022. 

“Our families, our kids all grew up together,” McKee said. “You want to be there for the family, and this allows us to do something to honor her.”

Ella’s memory and the need for ongoing cancer research is what drives McKee and Ella’s family to return each year, rallying their community to give and honor the lives touched by St. Jude.

Frederick may be a smaller country radio market, but its heart beats louder than many larger cities when it comes to fundraising for St. Jude. Leading this charge is Team WFRE, a group of dedicated WFRE 99.9 FM radio listeners who have turned their passion for running and charity into a formidable force. At the helm is McKee, the team captain and a WFRE sales employee, whose community connections have fueled the team’s success.

“Our listeners are very supportive, and Team WFRE has a partnership with the station that helps people come out to the team events and want to support us,” McKee said.  

Team WFRE’s journey began more than a decade ago, sparked by a program director’s vision to combine the station’s reach with a noble cause. “I think she just decided to make it her mission in her afternoon show, and it’s kind of cool that it’s grown from that,” McKee said.

Local partnerships, such as with Weis Markets, which dedicates an entire month to fundraising, have been instrumental. The community’s efforts have placed Team WFRE among the top fundraising teams nationwide, with a lifetime total of more than $1.5 million.

Team WFRE’s fundraising efforts are diverse and creative, and they speak to the life stories of each team member.

Driven together

Laura Johnson didn’t set out to start a fundraiser. She just missed people.

In 2020, craving connection during the pandemic, she and her husband joined a gathering of fellow Jeep aficionados. That day, something clicked. 

What if she could bring people together like this for St. Jude?

Forty days later, she and her friend Heather Wilhelm hosted the first Jeeps for St. Jude event on Johnson’s farm. They raised $7,200 for Team WFRE. The next year, they raised $33,000.

Now, Jeep lovers flock to her 25-acre property for a weekend of music, raffles, bounce houses and a Jeep beauty show. “We have a motocross track on our farm, and people use that as an obstacle course,” Johnson said. She leads a caravan tour through Frederick County, then welcomes everyone back for a festival that feels like family.

Johnson and her husband have had Jeeps since they got married. “We’ve been together over 40 years,” she said. “We used to have a CJ7, which we were ridiculously upset about letting go.”

That first Jeep carried their three kids when they were little, back when their family was just beginning. It’s a time in her life that she treasures.

Every family deserves this happiness, the mom and grandmom believes.

Boot Scoot

At her Kickin’ Up a Cure fundraiser for St. Jude, Janine Weiger danced with her friend and event partner Heather Hume, laughed — and felt herself healing.

With every foot tap, sway and rhythm of the line dance, Weiger felt something lift. 

When she became promotions director at WFRE in 2023, she didn’t expect the role to stir up so much. Years earlier, cancer treatment had nearly cost her family their home. “There’s a lot of economic disadvantage, and it’s painful,” she said, her voice breaking. “It’s just a hard thing to go through.”

After joining Team WFRE, Weiger visited St. Jude and learned about two girls who had started a dance–themed fundraiser called Cancer Dancer. She brought the idea home to Frederick, and Kickin’ Up a Cure was born.

Learn more about Cancer Dancer.

“It gives me joy to help someone else,” she said. 

Rooted generosity 

In three decades of radio, Andy Webb had never seen anything like WFRE. “Radiothons are common, but this was different,” he said. “After the radiothon, our listeners didn’t want to stop giving — and we didn’t want to stop, either.”

DJs and the staff show up to help out at Team WFRE events and hold fundraisers of their own. “I’ve never seen another station where staff and listeners are so united in their support of a cause.”

Webb, the team WFRE program director, believes country music’s accessibility mirrors the station’s culture. “No one’s on a pedestal — not the artists, not the air staff. That’s what makes Team WFRE work.”

He joined WFRE during the pandemic and took time to learn about the St. Jude mission. What struck him most was how its research helps children everywhere. “St. Jude is like a light on a hill.”

“Cancer doesn’t stop after the radiothon is over,” Webb said. “So we can’t stop either.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon is the culmination of Team WFRE’s efforts. The event is a race, a memorial and a celebration. For McKee and her three daughters, “It’s become our family tradition.”

Top fundraisers are treated to a pasta dinner with St. Jude family speakers, a hospitality tent and various recognition events. “St. Jude makes you feel special,” McKee said. 

Most years, McKee, who is 62, combines walking and running to get to the finish line, but said, “My goal this year is to run it.”

Then she’ll come back home to Frederick and marshal the team to begin a new year of fundraising. 

Team WFRE of Frederick is proud of all they’re doing to help St. Jude families.

“St. Jude is near and dear to this community.”