Todd B., host of “The Good Morning Show” on Audacy’s WPGC 95.5, is a self-described Renaissance Black Man.
Todd, whose name is Todd Bell, is the host of `The Good Morning Show. 'The U.S. Army veteran is also a father who is raising his three children solo following the death of his wife nine years ago.
Todd joined the Army out of high school in 1991 and served for three years. While being evaluated for service at a Military Entrance Processing Station, he was instructed to write down his top three duty stations. He selected Panama, followed by Hawaii and Germany.
“I wasn’t even thinking. I go through basic training, AIT [advanced individual training training], get my orders and was stationed in Panama, which turned out to be great.”
Todd called the soldiers he met while serving in Panama his “big brothers and sisters.”
“They gave me great life advice, which I still use today,” he said.
Todd’s father is also an Army veteran and served in Vietnam. He received two Purple Hearts, one in 1967 and one in 1969. Todd’s grandfather is a World War II veteran who received Purple Hearts for his service.
Todd said he had plans to attend college after high school but said at the time he was just “fooling around” while taking honors and Advanced Placement courses but “not doing the work.”
“Then someone told me I was cute, so I was chasing girls,” he added with a laugh.
Todd’s parents gave him options – go to work, join the military, or find something to do because they weren’t going to allow him to sit around after high school.
“My parents said we aren’t paying for college because we’d be wasting money, and they were right,” he said.
That led Todd to join the Army on the delayed entry program the summer before his high school graduation.
“It was such a great decision for me and I got to see the world,” he continued. “I learned a lot, grew a lot.”
Todd was 21 when he headed to college after leaving the Army on Jan. 1, 1994.
“I was only three years older than my classmates, but I felt like I was 10 years older,” he said. “I had work experience, I had traveled the world, I was on my own already.”
Todd added that school was “so easy” compared to military life.
Always interested in journalism, Todd said some of his heroes in the field are Edward R. Murrow and Tom Brokaw. Initially interested in pursuing a career in television, he turned to radio. Todd met his wife Michelle while hosting an open mike poetry night at Tacoma Station in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 7, 2001.
“She was the first person who came in, she was very beautiful,” he said.
Michelle was on a blind date with a “preppy guy” from Georgetown who her co-workers had set her up with, Todd said. Eventually, everyone left except for Michelle.
“I would brush up against her accidentally,” he said with a laugh. “I asked her, `where’s your boyfriend?’ She said `he’s not my boyfriend. Those were my co-workers. They set me up with him.’”
Michelle then told Tood that she didn’t even like her blind date.
“That’s how we met,” he continued. “On her blind date.”
The couple married in 2005 and remained together until Michelle’s death from breast cancer on March 20, 2015. The couple have three children. Their oldest son just finished college, their daughter is 14 and their youngest son is 11.
“They were 9, 5 and 2 when she passed away,” Todd said. “I try to keep her memory alive. We talk about her all the time. I don’t run away from the fact she passed away.”
Todd said he takes being a single working parent day by day and credited the help he continues to receive from his family and friends for both his on and off air success.
“I have a nice community of people who will step in whenever possible,” he said. “You have to use your resources. It takes a village, it takes a community.”
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.