[Quality88]

The gentler side of Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie surfaced several days ago through a phone call to WPBK-FM in Stanford, about 35 miles south of Lexington.
Among the most popular daily programs on the station is the "General Store," through which nearly 100 callers a day advertise for free the sale of everything from chickens and ducks to prom dresses, to a tailgate for a Chevy S-10, to fishing tackle and bulldozers.
A female caller had just explained to show host Renee Knies that she wanted to sell her 1991 automobile for $600 because she desperately needed money to attend her father's funeral in another state.
"Maybe two or three callers later, a man called and said, 'Renee, my name is Billy, and I'd like to help that lady,' " said station manager Knies. "I said, 'Okay, Billy,' and he said, 'How would I do that?' "
Assuming that the man might want to donate a few dollars, Knies asked him to call back on the office number after she got off the air at 11 a.m.
"He called, and on my caller I.D. in the office it said, 'Billy Gillispie,' " Knies said. "Of course I know who Billy Gillispie is. … but I didn't know if it was the Billy Gillispie."
The two discussed how much money the woman might need and where she was going for the funeral. Knies phoned the woman to double-check details, and contacted a funeral home north of Cleveland, Ohio, to confirm the woman's story before calling Gillispie back with the information.
"He said to me, 'I want to make sure she has enough money to buy the right clothing if she needs an outfit or something like that.' And that really struck me, because most men don't think about an outfit." said Knies. "And he said, 'I want to make sure she has money for gas and to eat and to stay in a hotel.' And he said, 'Do you think maybe now she won't have to sell her car?' "
The two agreed on an undisclosed amount and Gillispie promised he would overnight a check to Knies. She hung up believing she had spoken with the Kentucky coach, but out of respect for his privacy she had not asked.
"So the next day the UPS man came … and the envelope said 'UK Athletics,' and inside is a really nice basketball card that folded open, and said, 'Renee, thank you for helping me to help this lady. God bless, Billy.' It was a personal check from him that I had to cash and give her the money."
Knies said the woman initially was not told the identity of the man who sent the gift, but that the woman told her, "I don't need to know. I already know -- he's my angel.'"
Radio station personnel chose at first not to release the story, knowing the coach preferred it be private -- but word gets around in a small town. The still-unidentified woman who received the donation was told Gillispie's identity after she returned from her father's funeral and the story was picked up by local newspapers and a TV station.
"Coach has been reluctant to talk about it," said Scott Stricklin, UK associate athletic director for media relations. "When I asked him about it he said, 'I didn't do this for attention, I was just trying to help somebody out.' "
Stricklin said the coach, a native of the small town of Graford, Texas, is apparently a fan of WPBK's "General Store" broadcast, which airs between 9 and 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday at 102.9 FM.
" 'Do you ever listen to that show?' " Stricklin said the coach asked him. " 'There's some great stories on there. Reminds me of the same kinds of things you might hear back home in Texas.' "

This article posted in full from courier-journal.com: News from Louisville, Kentucky