Jeff Owens

General Manager

  • Speech Communication degree at Eastern Illinois University
  • I am from Mattoon and reside in Mattoon.
  • I started at WEIU in 2002.
  • Growing up, my earliest memories of TV are Sesame Street, Zoom and The Electric Company.
  • My wife is Jamie, I have 3 sons: Nicholas, Derek and T.J.
  • My dream was to be a professional sports announcer for the Atlanta Braves or Pittsburgh Steelers.
  • I am overly proud of the WEIU-TV and Radio staff for their tireless efforts to make the WEIU Radio and TV Center a great part of Eastern Illinois University.

Ke'an Armstrong

Publicity/Promotions Associate

Hometown: Charleston (Originally from Casey)

Year Started at WEIU: May 2001

Hobbies: I enjoy camping with my son, traveling, festival/events, cooking/baking and just enjoying life to its fullest!

Interesting Fact about me: I was born in Denver, Colorado and I have quite a unique name. It is not a family name, it came from a name book which I have never seen. I wish I could find it, but I do have fun sometimes making up stories about where my name came from.

Memory at WEIU: Enjoying the many PBS conferences I have been given the opportunity to attend while meeting and listening to people speak such as Ken Burns, Robert Redford, Mrs. Rogers (wife of Fred Rogers), Julie Andrews, Alan Alda, Naomi Judd and many others.

Cody Borntreger

Broadcast Equipment Operator

Hometown: Oakland

Year Started at WEIU: 2021

Hobbies: Video games, tabletop RPGs, and collecting dice.


Rob Calhoun

Radio Station Production Supervisor and Underwriting Sales Rep

Hometown: Charleston (Originally from Arcola)

Year Started at WEIU: 2006 (part-time in 2004)

Hobbies: Sports, Music, Computers, Movies.

Interesting Fact about me: I have my B.A. degree from the University of Central Florida

Memory at WEIU: Becoming the play-by-play announcer for the EIU Women’s Basketball team.

Kelly Goodwin

News Director

Hometown: Alton

Year Started at WEIU: 2001

Hobbies: I enjoy fishing, camping, watching sports and traveling.

Interesting Fact about me: I appeared on WTHI-TV as the morning and midday anchor from 1993-2001.

Memory at WEIU: My husband proposed to me at WEIU! He enlisted the help of some students, created a fake news story and popped the question!

Rameen Karbassioon

Producer/Director

Hometown: Charleston

Year Started at WEIU: As a student 2000-02, then current position since 2007.

Hobbies: I like sports, music, cars, and traveling with my family.

Memory at WEIU: Working all the sports productions with various staff and students thru the years. So many great people and great games and moments that we covered together.

Joel Richardson

Broadcast Equipment Operator

Hometown: Mattoon

Year Started at WEIU: 2005

Hobbies: Collectibles, comic books, physical media, conventions.

Memory at WEIU: Funny antics among WEIU staff.

Dennis Riley

Chief Engineer

My name is Dennis Riley and I am the Chief Engineer for WEIU. I grew up in Rantoul, Illinois and after serving three years in the Marine Corps as a Field Radio Operator I attend Parkland College where earned a AAS in Broadcast Technology. My career in Television and Radio has taken me from part time camera operator at WCIA-TV in Champaign to Chief Engineer of WEEK-TV in Peoria and now here at WEIU for the last 15 years.

In my free time I enjoy working on my carpentry skills (Translation: Never ending home improvements/maintenance) and the occasional hike to take nature photos.

Lacey Spence

Director/Producer, Host of Being Well & Take a Hike: The Mini-Series

Hometown: Oakland, IL

Year Started at WEIU: 2020 (If you count when I was a student … then 2013 😉)

Hobbies: I enjoy spending time with my husband Noah, serving at church, baking sweets, and curling up with a good book!

Interesting Fact about me: I thought I was allergic to strawberries for over a decade after an allergic reaction at my babysitter’s house. I avoided the berries themselves and any sort of red foods or mixed berry options for years. Finally at 19, I decided to see if I’d outgrown the allergy and wouldn’t you know, I did! I now opt for the strawberry option whenever it’s available to make up for lost time.

Memory at WEIU: My first virtually solo project at WEIU-TV was Ashmore, Oakland, Kansas: This is Our Story. Since I’m from Oakland originally and all three communities are very dear to my heart, it was so special to get to tell the stories of people I’d grown up around and went to school with. A lot of extra love went into that show and I hope my hometown pride shined through on live night!

Mac White

Program Manager/Traffic

Hometown: Monmouth

Year Started at WEIU: 2003

Hobbies: Homebrewing, golf, smoking meats, & politics.

Interesting Fact about me: I was born in Germany.

Memory at WEIU: When I worked in master control I would call my daughter and pretend to be Clifford.