Kyra Dillard’s animated voice has entertained metro Detroiters for over three years with her quirky zingers that serve as the perfect punctuation to the chemistry of the Mojo in the Morning show.
Known simply as Kyra, her face may not be recognizable to many Detroiters but her voice sure is. She is the vivid storyteller that keeps you in stitches with her recounts of celebrity misadventures and everyday life.
Whether she’s sharing a personal story about a teacher she’s dated and whether or not it’s proper to kiss him in front of his students, or calling her grandmother on the air to have actor Tyler Perry talk to her as himself and his character Madea without her realizing that it was all the same person, Kyra always finds a way to connect to her listeners.
A native of Columbus, OH, Kyra joined Channel 955 on Valentine’s Day 2005 after an unconventional interview.
“When Mojo, my future boss, called me, I didn’t know who he was,” she recalled, “I thought he was some guy I met at the club. I kept grilling him on how he got my number while still flirting a little in case he turned out to be fine, but I had no idea he was calling about a job, I was just being myself. Luckily he thought it was hilarious because I definitely was giving him a hard time. I pretty much landed the job with that phone call.”
In addition to performing as on-air talent, Kyra is very active behind the scenes. She’s contributes to production of the show doing everything from uploading podcasts, editing interviews and the shows themselves. “I had to pay my dues and I’m still paying dues,” she disclosed, “but it’s OK because it makes me a better broadcaster in the end.”
Her typical workday starts at 3:30 am and she’s on air by 5 a.m. After the show, it’s meetings then editing sessions. Her day usually rolls to an end around 2 p.m. unless she has an appearance.
“It’s hard work and it’s not as glamorous as most people think,” she explained,”but the payoff is doing something that I love.”
When she’s not working or searching for her future rich husband, she volunteers for local charities and events. Kyra is especially passionate about her work with Covenant House which provides emergency housing for homeless teens.
“I really love the goals of Covenant House because it really prepares the kids for the real world and tries to instill values,” she stated. “They put incentives in place to encourage the kids to keep a job and they have the kids pay rent. But the money is actually put into an account that goes back to them upon completion of the program. Working with them is a reality check that keeps me from complaining about my superficial challenges and it really is inspiring to see their growth.”
Although her job can be overwhelming, Kyra is grateful for the position of influence her job affords her.
“The microphone allows me to reach the everyday person,” she asserted, “I feel like we are true politicians in a way because we literally have the ears of the community.
“Sometimes listeners call in with real issues and we provide a platform that allows people to be anonymous yet connect with the community to get help and advice.
“But for me the connection is deeper, I feel blessed and fortunate that every day I know in some way I’ve made someone else’s day a little brighter and I can remind them that life isn’t so bad.”
