Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Bob Thornton – Leader, Innovator, Forward-thinking

Beginnings

Bob Thornton received Christ at a summer church camp when he was 11 years old. Soon after returning home his parents told him they were divorcing. The chaos that followed kept him from getting baptized and joining a church until he was in middle school. Still, he was fortunate because his older brother eventually came home from a church camp with an 8-track of Sweet Comfort Band. “Angel” was the first “Christian Rock” song he ever heard. He fell in love with CCM and gobbled every record and tape up he could find, from DeGarmo & Key to Petra to Daniel Amos. He knew at a young age that he wanted to be involved in getting this music into as many ears as possible and by the time he was 16, he was already working part-time in radio.

There were only two local radio stations in Clinton, Oklahoma and Bob was hired at the age of 16 at KWOE to “rip and read” the afternoon news after school. He worked there part-time until he graduated high school. After that, during his freshman year of college, he began working full-time at the other Clinton station, KCLI. First, as Production Director, and then 6 months later as part of the Bob & Todd morning show. In Bob’s words, “We were awful but it was fun!” A year or so later, he moved to Weatherford, OK and took over evenings on KBXR-FM  (AC). It was there he started a Sunday morning CCM show called, “Heartbeat.” (He had heard the Ops Manager could not get anyone to work Sunday mornings so Bob offered to do it for free if he could play CCM and the Ops Manager agreed!)

After college, Bob moved  to Oklahoma City where he became a sponge with regards to learning all things radio; music scheduling, announcing, ratings, clocks, news, etc. He did whatever he could to gain experience and knowledge and eventually he was given his first chance to program a CCM full-time at KNTL-FM. (Note here about Bob… Even though 80% or more of CCM radio stations are non com radio stations, Bob has worked his entire career at commercial CCM stations.)

“I was always attracted to the idea of of doing CCM radio on the same playing field as commercial radio, that is, to compete head to head and trying to get the ratings to support the station through advertising,” he says. “I later heard about the philosophy of Gene Warr, a Christian businessman in OKC who loved the idea of a ministry that generates its own revenue. He believed that if the radio station could pay its bills with advertising, the listener could give to another ministry. The advertiser would profit and could give to a ministry and the station could profit and give, so 3 generations of giving could happen instead of just one gift to pay our electric bill. I always loved that idea and while I’ve never precluded the possibility of non-comm, I have always enjoyed that business model.”

KNTL “The Light 105” was on the air from 1992 until 1996, when Bott Radio Network acquired the station and eventually turned into to a Christian Teaching/Talk format. One of Bob’s first hires at KNTL was Ryan Springer. Looking back, the station was always a struggling, bootstrapped effort by people who really wanted CCM radio for OKC. The city already had a Christian rock station, the legendary KOKF. However, under CBN’s ownership the station struggled to grow. The home office changed General Managers 3 times in 6 months and ultimately succumbed to an identity crisis.

Bob (back row/second from left) with KNTL team in 1992 in Oklahoma City. Also shown are Greg X Volz who helped sign on the station with a concert, and far right- Jonathon Wise, Morning Show Host.

Bob also remembers the first record label rep he ever met in person was Grant Hubbard, who started at Word around the same time he started at KNTL. They have continued to be great friends ever since, even though the Oklahoma Sooners are 3-1 against Alabama since that first meeting.

Grant Hubbard, Cindy Morgan, Bob, and Jeremy Hubbard (who went on to be an ABC news anchor) backstage in Wichita 1993.

Wichita…

After it became clear that KNTL was not going to make it long-term, Bob began looking at Wichita. He had met Lyman James a year before and heard about the similar things they were trying to do with commercial Christian radio there. He joined KTLI as APD in March of 1993.

“KTLI was one of those stations where for a short season everything just worked,” he says. “We had some phenomenal air talent in Lyman James, Craig West, Ryan Springer, Kathy Sprinkle, and many others.” They were soon able to upgrade the signal to 50,000 watts and the station grew. Rich Mullins lived in Wichita until his passing in September of 1997. He became a great friend of the station. Eventually, Bob was named PD and not long after that, he began to innovate in digital technology. KTLI was possibly the first CCM station to stream on the internet. It was on a 28k modem that ran to a dial-up internet service in downtown Wichita and took almost daily reboots and fixes, but even then, there was no going back. They had listeners from overseas almost immediately! Bob also started the PD email Forum which continues to this day. (Note: Today, Bob continues to serve CCM radio with these email forums in conjunction with CMB. There are several collaborative email groups that you can join here, including Programming Forum, DJ Forum, Managers Forum, etc.) He eventually developed mobile apps, music research software, Alexa skills, WordPress plugins, and more. And started a side company called Radioservers that is thriving today.

Tulsa…

While he was at KTLI, he was utilizing Jon Rivers as the station image voice and the two became good friends. They had a few conversations about Bob joining KLTY and he even interviewed twice. “In early 1998, I felt like we were headed to Dallas,” he says. “But then David Stephens offered me the National PD position with his growing company and a chance to move to Tulsa. With 2 very small children, my wife Jackie and I felt like Tulsa would be a great environment to raise them in, and we made the move Labor Day weekend of 1998. My second day on the job KLTY’s GM John Peroyea called me from the Tulsa airport. He was in town to take me to lunch and try to talk me into coming to Dallas- on my second day of work in Tulsa! I have not told many people that story. We ate spaghetti at Zio’s while he told me that Jon Rivers really wanted me there to help with imaging and programming so he wanted to take one more shot. It was a huge honor but I had already made a commitment to KXOJ and so we kept unpacking. That was 25 years ago.” In September 2023, Bob celebrated his 25^th anniversary at KXOJ!

Memories…

“As I look back, I’ve had to the chance to work with and learn from some amazing people,” says Bob. “Ryan Springer (WBGL) and I worked together in Oklahoma City and Wichita. Craig West and I worked together in Wichita and then I convinced him to move to Tulsa and join me at KXOJ. We hired Mike Kankelfritz from the country station in town to be his morning show partner. Mike would go on to KSBJ and then call on Craig again to join him as the morning show at KLOVE. In Tulsa I had the privilege of hiring Dan Ratcliffe (WFSH), Rachelle Renee’ (KSBJ), Scott Herrold (Hope Media), Caryn Cruise (KCBI), Gary Thompson (who had stops at several CCM stations before returning to KXOJ a few years ago). I was able to work for a short time with Dave Gordon (Northwestern Media), Kurt Wallace, Terese Main (Family Life), Chad Bradley (WCVO) and Ashton (Air 1). Locally we have some amazing people in Dave Weston and Katie Rindt, who are the best morning show team I’ve ever worked with, and our latest addition- Kevin Davis who spent time with RTN before coming to Tulsa. I am sure I am leaving someone out- I’m getting old!”

KXOJ Staff 2004 includes: Gary Thompson, Caryn Cruise, Craig West (4th from left), Bob, Scott Herrold, Heather Miles, and Ashton

“I could share a hundred stories about Craig West, all hilarious. He had action figures glued to the hood of his VW Bug!  He is truly the funniest human I have ever known. When we hired Rachelle right out of OU (Boomer Sooner!) she included a head shot photo. Kurt Wallace was APD at the time and showed it to me. We were like “why a photo for radio?” But she was ahead of her time- knowing social media was just around the corner at the time. Oh, and ask Scott Herald sometime about the consequences of wearing muddy shoes into the studio- he tells the story much better than I can.”

Amy Grant came into the studio at KNTL Wichita in 1998. It was her first radio interview since Rich Mullins passed away. Rich lived in Wichita at his passing and all of the staff at KTLI were close to him. The interview was special with Amy because both of them were still grieving. They played word association with various silly words to try to make the interview fun and then ended with the word, “Rich Mullins. What word goes with Rich Mullins?” Amy paused a full minute on live radio and said “free!”

Festival: a shot from the roof of Freedom Live 2000. Over 50,000 people showed up and it made the cover of Newsweek with the headline “Jesus Rocks.”

“I’ve been humbled to call Steven Curtis Chapman a friend since 1987. My fiancé (now wife of 33 years), Jackie and I went to a little store-front church in Oklahoma City called the Sonlight Center to see him in concert. It was poorly promoted and he was pretty new to the scene. There were maybe 20 people there in a small room with a tiny PA and just Steven and his guitar. He was amazing. We recorded an interview after the show and ended up talking forever. We’ve been friends ever since and still talk all the time. I love that about this industry- there are so many artists and radio people who become genuine friends.”

Steven Curtis Chapman with some of his kids, with Bob and family (Josh, Jackie, Emily)

“My first GMA was in 1992 and remember  that I drove all the way back from Nashville wearing out the “cassingle” of Man You Would Write About from 4Him. What’s crazy is Andy Chrisman lives in Tulsa now just a few blocks from me and we like to take each other to hole in the wall Mexican places. He wants me to try Sushi (as does DJ Maj with a passion) but I refuse. Some of the best industry friendships I’ve made were started at GMA or CMB conventions. Dave Gordon, Jason Sharp, Doug Hannah and many others feel like brothers I could talk to about anything, and it’s only because we stayed up until the wee hours talking at those events.”

Jon Rivers, Kip Johns (KCMS), David Pierce and Bob at a radio conference late 90’s

“In late 1999 (when everyone was freaking out over Y2K) we decided to do a “Legends” concert and celebrate the best music of the 20th century. We had The Ragamuffins as the house band with Dana Key, Greg X. Volz, David Meece, Phil Keaggy, Farrell & Farrell, Billy Smiley from Whiteheart, Patrick Andrew from PFR, Randy Stonehill and Bryan Duncan. The concert nearly didn’t happen. The Ragamuffins flew in and it did not occur to us to rent backline. We scrambled to the only music store in town and cobbled together the gear about 2 hours before doors! There’s a cool review online still – https://tollbooth.org/creviews/legend99.html”

Today and tomorrow…

“I’m a forward-thinking person, so I don’t do enough reflecting to be honest,” he says. “What I have learned from the past though is that there is no replacement for personal connection on the air. There is no music rotation or promotion or marketing or social media or strategy or ai or anything else that can substitute for personal connection. Mark Rider taught me in 1991 that you can make a great connection with the audience by giving away quarters and loaves of bread. Budget does not matter. Size does not matter. One person at a time matters.”

“Today, I find myself spending more time on the future of radio delivery. We all know that streaming is growing annually and in some cases surpasses terrestrial reach. However, the method, quality and end-user experience are always changing/improving. The first time I streamed a station was at KTLI Wichita in 1996 on a 28k modem. People had to have “high speed” of 28k or higher just to listen to it. It felt like a miracle. Fast forward to all of the platforms where radio can be accessed today, from phones to televisions to smart speakers and with all the meta data, trivia and companion experiences. Who knows that that package looks like in 3-5 years. I’m on multiple Amazon, Apple and Google teams to explore these topics and more, including ai being used in a responsible way (to enhance delivery, not replace airstaff or artists). At some point I’ll think we’ll be talking about a single user experience, as opposed to multiple channels. Today we see it as radio and streaming and social media and websites, etc. We need to start thinking about blending all of it into a single unified experience for everyone, including those who are not P1’s.”

Who is another CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org  

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently works closely with radio stations and artists as National Director of Partnerships for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Thornton first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Thornton appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Jim Campbell – Champion for Local Radio, Bold, Obedient, Excellence

Editor’s Note: “I’ve never had a 5-year plan!” Jim Campbell said to me, as we began our conversation. “This has always been a one-year-at-a-time ministry. There was never a master plan to be one station, two stations, or twenty stations! I just tried to be faithful with what God provided!” Jim continued, “If there is any kind of success that I can reflect back on, the credit has to go to a great staff. Today, we have 130 people on our team and I trust these people with my life. They are as committed to the call as I am. I deeply love them and care for all of them.” 

This is Jim Campbell from the Radio Training Network. 

Jim Campbell grew up in a sharecropper’s family in rural Tennessee. They were very poor. A sharecropper never really got ahead. If you made any money, you gave the property owner a percentage. But it was there that Jim learned to work hard. His mom, Lyda, was the biggest influence in his life. He remembers seeing her take chickens to church so that she could pay her tithes. He also remembers going to town on Saturdays and there was a little AM radio station right on the corner. That grabbed his attention. He would stand there and watch the radio announcers for hours. He dreamed that he could be a radio announcer one day. He accepted Christ as a child. They were a church-going family, and as a young man, he felt that God had a call on his life, and although he wasn’t called to be a pastor, he never doubted his call to ministry. 

Jim’s his first chance to be a radio DJ was at age 19 at a small full-service AM radio station in Dyersburg, TN and he loved it. He did the morning show. “It was FUN RADIO,” he says. He became known as “Jumping Jim in the Morning!”  

He met Ruth in math class in the 9th grade. They dated all during high school and were married right after they graduated. It wasn’t very long before they had two kids! And even though they were happy in their small town in Tennessee, Jim was still feeling the “call” on his life. So, he loaded up his young family into a VW Beetle and moved to Florida to attend Southeastern University. He still didn’t think he was supposed to be a preacher, but he was trying to follow the Lords leading. 

“People ask me…How do you find the call of God in your life?” he says. “And I always tell them to just get up , put your pants on, and go to work. When you do that, God will open the right doors for you!”

While he was attending college he needed to work full time, so he found a job at WONN-AM in Lakeland Florida. That meant that he did weekends on the air, sold ads during the week, and took a full load of classes, too. Whew! They were still broke! They ate a lot of bologna in those days, too, but he remembers that learned a lot about the business side of radio. (For example: If he didn’t sell any ads, he wasn’t going to get paid.)  

He graduated from Southeastern University in 1969 and took a full-time position as Youth Pastor and  Music Director on the staff of First Assembly of God Church, Lakeland Florida. (Remember…Jim never thought he was called to be a pastor, but there weren’t really a lot of Christian radio jobs in those early days.) So, he worked full time at the church and still did a part time 2-hour shift on WTWB radio, because he enjoyed it so much. Soon, his CCM radio show was receiving so much response, that he talked to the Senior Pastor of the Church and suggested that they should apply for a radio station frequency in the area! They did! In May 1975, a 100,000 Watt FM frequency was granted to Evangel Christian School in Lakeland Florida and the call letters were chosen, WCIE (Where Christ is Everything!)  It would become one of the nation’s first successful full time CCM stations.

WCIE Button from 1976

The Original WCIE

The listenership at WCIE exploded right away. It was growing beyond their wildest dreams. People wanted to hear this type of music. The weekly cume almost immediately surpassed 100,000. They were playing the latest and most popular Christian music. (I.E. Evie, Petra, Phil Driscoll, etc.) Jim was the Station Manager but this wasn’t his full-time job. He was still Music Director at the church and the radio station was just a portion of his role. In the coming years, Jon Hull, Bill Scott, and others joined the team.

Jon Hull WCIE 1980s

As Jim reflects back, he remembers that even though their audience was growing rapidly right away, they had no experience in fundraising. Instead, they were learning as they went. (This was before Share Media and other fundraising experts were around.) The early days of fundraising were slow and trial and error. Their first Sharathon had a goal of $50,000 and they raised $5000. But it was only the beginning. They would learn. Soon WCIE was growing in revenue, too.  A little later, they felt called to expand to more stations and they raised money to build 2 other radio stations as mission projects. WJFJ (His Radio) Greenville, SC and WJIS (The JOY FM) in Sarasota soon signed on and began to grow, too. Even with three radio stations, Jim’s main job was still as an employee of the church. He eventually became Administrative Pastor. He served at First Assembly of God for 22 years. 

And then he was fired. 

In 1989, Evangel Christian School sold the original WCIE to Moody Radio. This was unheard of in those days. Non-profit radio stations were not sold back then. It shocked everyone, especially Jim. He didn’t know what he would do, so he and Ruth just took 3 months and prayed. They knew they had been called to start the station, but what was next?  Jim describes the next part of the story like this…

”A gentleman in the community named Bill Watkins reached out to me around this time and said, “I want to help you continue doing the ministry of radio.” I told him that I didn’t have any money, and he said, “Let me get the money. I can take care of that. Go and see if the church will sell the 2 other radio stations that you had started. I’ll help you buy them, but after that you will be on your own to run them.” He proceeded to write me a check for $1.1 million! When I asked if we needed some sort of a contract, he said, “no I trust you, let’s do it.”

In 1989, Jim, Bill, and 7 other board members formed the Radio Training Network (a non profit ministry) and purchased WLFJ (His Radio) and WJIS (The JOY FM) for $1.1 million. There was no longer a church staff involved in oversight of day to day radio operations and strategic direction of the radio stations. Now, this new Board was could soley focus on the ministry of Christian radio! Jim says, “We made a few commitments in those early years and we’ve tried to stick to them. We committed to using these stations to reach people for Christ, to do local radio and do it with excellence, and to never to take on any debt.”  (Note: Today, RTN has no debt!)

Focusing on local, the His Radio remote van

His Radio recent remote broadcast from Raleigh, NC

All 9 board members have held lifetime positions, only 5 are still alive and continue to be board members. “Some people frown on lifetime board members,” Jim says, “But I believe when you have a board that understands the vision, you should keep them together.”

RTN 

“Almost every single time we have entered into a new market, it’s because a local group has asked us to come to their city,” Jim says. “God just keeps blessing us and providing the funds each time and to do it in a way that we don’t have to take on debt.”

Today RTN stations are in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, NC, and South Carolina. They have a combined listening audience of 1.9 million weekly listeners on 102 broadcast signals. Additionally, they have 14 mobile Apps, too, with over 12 million hours of online listening and 4.4 million user sessions. 

“We try to be as local as we can in every market that we serve in.  We believe in local radio.  Even in markets where we don’t have a studio, we hire a market “point person/manager” and challenge them to become the “Christian mayor for the city.”

Most RTN stations are in the Southeastern US, but not all.  For example, there are stations in Springfield and Joplin, MO. This was again an example of local people coming to them asking to come to their city. Recently stations were launched in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Port St Lucie. Jim is especially proud of The JOY Crew these days. This team is always on the streets. They love on the listeners, give away prizes, and connect locally. They have been involved in over 100 events across Florida this year alone.

The Return of WCIE

The sale of the original WCIE was an industry milestone. That station was often #1 or #2 in the ratings and was having a huge impact in the area. But then it was gone…Years later, RTN was able to acquire a small rim shot station in the Tampa area, but it didn’t have the coverage area or impact of the original WCIE. But God had a plan that took many years to come to fruition. Step 1, another station in the area sold their frequency to RTN, (This was a miracle.)  Step 2, the FCC allowed them to take that purchased station “dark,” (another miracle- The FCC does not often allow that.) Step 3, God worked it out where the school (original owners of WCIE) sold the call letters to RTN, (another miracle- remember this is the place that had once fired Jim!) Finally, God provided $2.2 million dollars and no debt was taken.

With Carmen Brown (current Station Manager-WCIE and morning show co-host) and Rita Christie (WCIE Morning Host in 1975)

That’s not all! WCIE recently upgraded their facility (a new 16,500 square feet building) at a cost of over $3 million, and God provided all of these funds, including a one day on-air fundraiser where they raised 1.6 million dollars!

Today, at 82 Jim is still working almost full time. He doesn’t have a set plan to retire, but there is an initial process underway of a succession plan. “I want to do everything I can to reach as many people as we can.  Radio, Internet, whatever!” he says. “If we don’t take advantage of these things, we will be held accountable.” 

Ruth adds, “He always has 3-4 new projects going on…we are always looking for new things to further the ministry.”

Ruth Campbell (Jim’s wife of 63 years)

RTN Team members attending CMB Momentum in 2023

“There have been so many amazing stories from listeners over all of the years,” he says, “I love every one of them. But I think my favorite story will always be from our own Rob Dempsey who is the Station Manager and Morning Show Host at His Radio. Rob was homeless many years ago and living under a bridge when he found a walkman in the trash and started listening to the original WCIE. One day, while listening, he gave his life to the Lord, and that changed everything for him. Who would believe that years later, he would eventually come to work for us and become a person who ministers to other radio listeners? I just believe in the power of Christian radio and Christian media!”

Jim Campbell in the tech room

Jim at The JOY FM

A Final Note from Jim…

Dear CCM Radio, 

Keep your passion. Surround yourself with people with the same passion.  Know why you do what you do. 

Jim Campbell

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Jim Campbell first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Jim Campbell appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Frank Reed – From Mainstream to CCM Radio

Frank Reed was born and raised in Baltimore. He remembers that his mother dragged him to church every Sunday. She was the more engaged of his two parents. When he was around 10, his 16-year sister went forward to the altar and after the service, his mom asked him if he would like to accept Christ, too. So, he did. In his words, he “grew up with all the Bible stories.” 

Around the age of 12, his family moved to Florida. “I loved being around the water!” he says. He spent every chance he could on the beach, in a lake, or in one of Florida’s crystal clear springs. In high school, he was insecure and struggled with academics. He admits that he really had no direction or plan for his life, but when a friend who worked overnights at the local top 40 radio station invited him to come over, he was hooked. He could not believe that you could get paid to do this! When he graduated, (having to go to summer school to finish), he signed up to attend the “Career Academy School of Broadcasting” in Atlanta. He worried his grades might keep him from getting in, but later realized…”If you have the cash, don’t worry about the grades, anyone can get into broadcasting school.” Seven months later, he returned to Florida with a 3rd Class FCC License, a resume, and an audition tape. 

He hit the pavement looking for jobs and landed his first radio job at WFIV 1080 AM in Kissimmee, FL. It was a full-service small market station that played traditional country music and even a hymn once an hour. It was a great first-timer’s experience. Soon, he moved up to another AM station in Mount Dora (north of Orlando), but the station had serious financial issues and so he soon departed. (Actually, he and a few others who hadn’t been paid simply left the station and drove away while Frank was still on the air. He remembers hearing the actual record bumping on the turntable at the end of a song as he drove off.) He really wanted to work at the big top 40 station WLOF in Orlando, but they told him, “you have no future in the business!” So, he found another job across town at an AM Country station. Because he was 21 and unpredictable, he and a few friends left their jobs after a short period of time and went on a surfing trip to California. That lasted all of about 3 weeks, but fortunately he had left a tape and resume at WKIS in Orlando and they soon called him to do 7- midnight. This is 1972.

On the personal side, Frank had ventured a little bit in and out of the Jesus movement, but had no real spiritual depth during this time. He was living the life of a 20-something DJ in the 70s. He remembered the Bible stories but they really didn’t seem to matter in his life during this season.

WIVY-FM Jacksonville 1974

When climbing the ladder of mainstream radio, you bounce around a lot. So, Frank moved to Cocoa Beach, Daytona, then Jacksonville where they had some ratings success. FM was just beginning to gain traction. WMJX 96-X (formerly WMYQ) soon called. They were in Miami and in the early 1970s were one of the first FM full power stations to play the hits. PD Jerry Clifton hired Frank to come and do middays, and he thought that he had finally landed his dream job! They were competing and they were winning. During this period, Frank put his faith on the shelf and his entire life was wrapped around the radio station. The on air team there became like family.

1976 at 96-X

But even as they were having success, WMJX ran into issues with the FCC and they eventually lost their license. The whole situation left Frank very frustrated and he didn’t know what he wanted to do next. He was only  26 years old at the time. So, he took a break from the radio business, went to Sarasota, and took a job hanging drywall. After a few months, he was visiting a friend and heard that someone was trying to get ahold of him. There were no cell phones in those days. In order to reach Frank, this potential boss  had to call Frank’s phone number in Miami where a friend that was taking care of his apartment told the guy to call Frank’s employer in Sarasota, who said to call Frank’s parents’ house. Frank’s Mom then told him to call Frank’s friend who lived  at  the beach. (Note: The point is that it took a whole lot of effort to track Frank down!) The PD was persistent. He was Bob Pittman who now runs iHeart Meida. But at that time, he was calling because he was completely revamping WNBC, (the flagship of the NBC owned and operated stations) and he wanted to know if Frank was interested in moving to the #1 market in America, New York City. 

In the summer of 1977, Frank  landed at LaGuardia Airport for his job interview for WNBC and he’ll never forget, they had him picked up in a limo. The limo driver had driven for celebrities like Bob Hope and others and pointed out all of the sites along the way in this incredible city. He dropped Frank at the 49th street entrance to Rockefeller Plaza. He did the interview and  got offered the job that weekend. He also remembers that there was another thing going on at this very same time in NYC, the Son of Sam killer (who had been committing multiple murders) was arrested on the day Frank was hired, it was August 10, 1977.

WNBC Promo Shot 1979

Frank started as the overnight guy on WNBC, but it was only a few months later, he was moved to the 10pm-2am slot, and it was not long before he was promoted to Afternoon Drive. Don Imus returned as the morning show host with Frank in the afternoon. His career was over the top! He was making crazy money and landed a penthouse apartment on Madison Avenue. Most people would say he was having huge success in the radio business, but he developed a drinking problem. He couldn’t stop drinking. It became so bad that he wouldn’t go home to visit his parents in Florida, because he didn’t want them to know. He kept committing to himself to stop, but he couldn’t. One day he made up his mind to abstain, and he started to soon feel the full effects of alcohol withdrawal. The symptoms were so bad that it triggered an intense panic attack which he thought was a heart attack. He called an ambulance and on the way to the hospital, he literally thought he was going to die. He was only 31 years old. The hospital firmly told him, “You have a drinking problem! You need to be admitted to our detox program.” But he didn’t. (He knew his parents were visiting from Florida the next day, so he faked his way through that visit, using tranquilizers to get through. He acted like everything was great.) 

But the severe withdrawal symptoms and the anxiety attack really were the wake up call he had needed. He knew that he had to stop drinking. He had an old Bible at the house and he started to read it. He started visiting a little church in Long Island. A Pastor friend that lived in Vancouver BC would spend hours on the phone with him, just giving him counsel and they would talk for hours (long distance). He began to ask soul-searching questions like, “How would this work considering the position that I am in? I don’t know if I can be a Christian and still work at WNBC?” He knew in his mind that if you are really going to follow Jesus, you can’t hide it.  You can’t be one person at the job and another at church.

Afternoons WNBC 30 Rock Studio 2A 1981

Looking back, he now believes that he should have gotten professional help during the detox period. He should not have tried to do it all on his own. He continued to have psychosomatic episodes. He would have chest pains, abdominal pain, and often severe headaches. He went to the doctor frequently, they would check him out, and find that there was nothing wrong with him physically. Eventually, he was recommended to a psychiatrist who evaluated him and said this, “It seems to me that  you are struggling with a decision. This decision has you torn up inside. I think the answer is for you to settle it, make a decision, and put it to bed.” He remembers those words and felt they really did help provide clarity. (Even though the psychiatrist was not talking about Spiritual things, this is what his advice meant to Frank.)  He took a risk and said a prayer like this, “Dear God., if this is all about you, I really need to know. I don’t know how I could follow you and continue to work at this radio station, but even if I have to let it go , I will let it all go.” And he ended the prayer, “Oh by the way, if the rest of my life could not be boring, that would be great too!”

In his words,“choirs didn’t sing, and there weren’t lightning bolt flashes in the sky”, but amazingly, within a few hours of this prayer, his WNBC boss randomly called an emergency meeting at the station.  The meeting made him nervous that he might be getting fired, but instead they sat him down and said, “We love having you on the air and want to keep you. We are putting together a new line-up. It will feature Don Imus in the morning, followed by Captain Frank, and a new guy in Afternoon Drive, named Howard Stern.” He was stunned. This was the perfect scenario that he never could have expected or dreamed up himself!  He says, “Believe it or not, I saw that meeting as a clear answer to my prayer to God. God had flipped the script on me. I thought my life and career was ending, but it really was just beginning!” He knew that now he was going to continue working for one of the biggest radio stations in America, but it was also going to be a lot less pressure. Now, all of the pressure was now going to be on that new guy!

Because of that series of events, Frank started praying about everything.  He started believing prayer really works! This was around 1982 and for the next 3 years Frank was on the air between Imus and Stern. Later WNBC added Wolfman Jack to the on air roster, too. What a lineup to be a part of! But his life was changing as he began drawing closer to God. He wasn’t a Bible thumping evangelist at work, but the word quickly got around that “Captain Frank is born again!” Both Imus and Stern had a field day making fun. During those years, when Frank often went into the studio to grab his music log, Imus would  be on the air and would often say, “Sit down Frank…Did you talk to Jesus again this morning?” Looking back, he describes Imus as playful about all of this, but Stern was more intense and  confrontational.  As Stern’s ratings increased, he became more unpredictable and unfiltered. Because of that, Frank kept his relationship at a distance. After 3 years, Frank was replaced by the TV personality Soupy Sales, but it was a great run of almost 8 years. He finally had peace in his life. Radio was fun again. He even had peace about being replaced and facing unemployment. 

Prior to this time, Frank was introduced to CCM music by Lloyd Parker who was running WLIX in Long Island. He  didn’t even know CCM existed! He developed a great friendship with Lloyd and his wife Ellen. There was even a short period of time at WNBC when he found out that a Sunday morning Public Affairs program was being canceled, so he convinced WNBC to run a Christian music program on Sunday mornings from 5:30-6a as “public affairs.” Lloyd helped him with the music. They played DeGarmo and Key, Sandi Patti, Amy Grant, Michael W Smith and even Dion. “I really owe Lloyd and Ellen a big debt of gratitude,” he says. “They really introduced me to the format and industry and have remained dear friends.”

After departing WNBC Frank moved back to Orlando and did something he had always dreamed of; He had a custom lakefront home built. He settled in again to life near the water. He listened to CCM station WCIE in Lakeland in those days (Jon Hull would become a friend) and loved the station, and he took a job at a Hot AC station (WOCL FM) doing afternoons in Orlando. He loved his quality of life. He was water skiing every other day. Things at the station were going well,  He was plugged into a great church. But for some strange reason that he could not explain, he was not able to work out his next contract and he received a random call asking him to come back to New York from Joe Battaglia to work for a Christian station called WWDJ-AM in NY. He had never really considered it. He didn’t think he would be a good fit for CCM Radio. One weekend, Joe’s consultant, Brad Burkhart, traveled to his lake house and that weekend made a huge impact. They talked all weekend about how he might  fit into Christian radio. He struggled and grappled with the decision, but he eventually knew he was being called by God to go. He moved from the lakefront home  into a basement apartment (sight unseen) in Hackensack NJ and hit the ground running.

Frank, Amy Grant, and Joe Battaglia WWDJ 1991

Carman with Frank at WWDJ 1991

“Making that move to NJ was monumental in my life,” he says.  There were so many great things that came from it.” The biggest was meeting the lady who would become his wife, Patti. “I met her at church and we’ve been married 31 years. I could easily be a workaholic but she has helped keep my life in balance. She’s an independent, fun, strong Jersey girl and I couldn’t imagine life without her. Aside from my salvation, she is God’s greatest blessing in my life.” He looks back fondly at his years at WWDJ. God was working on him and developing his character so that he could then minister to others.

Frank and Patti on Mars HIll/ KLTY Listener Trip to Greece

A year later, Frank and Patti were not yet married when Jon Rivers called from KLTY in Dallas, Texas asking Frank to come and become his Afternoon Drive host. He initially resisted. He was content in NY and knew that Patti was not very interested in moving to Dallas, but Jon was insistent. It took a special recruiting trip where KLTY flew them both down for a few days of Texas hospitality. By the end of that weekend, Patti was open to making a move and Frank and Jon struck a deal for the next two years.

Frank with CCM radio legend, Jon Rivers

In October of  1991, Frank and Patti were married, went on their honeymoon, and moved their life to  Dallas where Frank would be doing afternoon drive and eventually became the PD. He did not know it then, but it was to be a 31-year career move. Later, when Jon Rivers unexpectedly left in 2001, the GM asked him to cover mornings for a while as they searched for another morning show. That ‘covering mornings’ turned into 21 years of Frank waking up Dallas-Ft. Worth with “The Family Friendly Morning Show”, and later as co-host of “Frank, Starlene, and Hudson in the Morning”. When Salem Media purchased KLTY in 2000, he was told that being PD and morning host were too much for one person. He had to decide. “Do you want to do mornings or program the radio station?” Frank loved both but loved being on the air the most, so Chuck Finney was recruited  from mainstream radio to become the new PD.  They always had a great working relationship. “I think Chuck and I were on the same page 99% of the time. It was a wonderful season. We made some great memories together, had a bunch of fun and also a lot of ratings success.”

KLTY’s Celebrate Freedom in 2010 with Amy Grant

Winner of NRB Air Personality of the Year 2009

“30+ years on KLTY went by so fast,” he says.  There were so many great moments, and so many great friends. 

He loved and valued his relationships with so many artists, but his relationship with Steven Curtis Chapman goes all the way back to his earliest days in CCM radio. “I met him backstage at a little high school in New Jersey, just a young man and his guitar. His longevity and ability to stay creative and connect with listeners over a long period of time is amazing, and I have deep respect for him. After all the success, the highs and lows, he’s still the same person I met in 1988,” he says. A few months ago, when the on-air announcement about Frank’s departure from the KLTY Morning Show was made, he chose the new Steven Curtis Chapman song, “Don’t Lose Heart” to be played. “When Steven visited the station a few weeks prior I had told him, “Trust me Steven it’s a hit!” It eventually became his 50th #1 song, and Frank adds, “I’ve been fortunate to play every single  one of them!” 

Frank’s final break on the KLTY Morning Show was December 23, 2022.  But he’is not retiring. Wanting to stay productive, he calls it “semi-retirement!” In some ways, he is busier than ever doing public speaking, fundraising, talent coaching, and in January partnered with new friend David Sams and KLTY to launch Keep the Faith- Dallas/ Ft. Worth, airing Sunday mornings on KLTY.

Keep The Faith Dallas/Ft Worth recently earned the #1 rank in women 25-54 in the Nielson ratings on KLTY.

Looking back, here are a few thoughts in Frank’s own words…

“Joe Battaglia continues to be a mentor and trusted friend, he’s a gift to me and so many others”.

“Brother Jon Rivers wouldn’t take no for an answer.  I’m forever in his debt!  Love the man.”

“Mike Prendergast is one of the best PD’s in our business and I’ve loved working for him. He’s always had my back professionally and personally and I’m grateful.” 

“KLTY GM Jeff Mitchell is probably the best leader I’ve ever worked for, hands down. His kindness to me over the last few years and the way I was honored during my exit is something I will never forget. It was priceless.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever spent time with KLTY consultant John Frost and not come away without learning something. A brilliant radio person and good friend.“

“The highlight of my KLTY career has to be  the final  years of  Frank, Starlene, and Hudson in the Morning.  I think it’s because each of us were from such diverse backgrounds, and the chemistry of 3 completely different people coming together and sharing life together on the air really made it work. It was magical. Some of my best moments ever on the radio were with these two very special people. I love them both dearly.”

KLTY Morning Show Hitting #1 in DFW

“One thing I have always loved about KLTY is our pursuit of excellence.  We wanted it to be the best station coming out of the speakers, regardless of format, period.”

“I love our format and the difference it makes in people’s lives.  When I hear air personalities connecting on a deeper level and our format executed well, it makes my heart happy.”

Frank, Starlene, and Hudson

“Since I’ve stopped working full time, I have more time to stream stations from around the country while I’m out walking or on my recumbent trike and I’m convinced that the best radio right now (and the most meaningful) is being done by Christian music broadcasters.”

Dear CCM radio,

I was asked to write you a personal note as if I had been given the opportunity to speak in front of you.  Here is what I want you to know. What you do is noble, good, and wonderful. You’re involved in a craft that has eternal significance. You won’t always do it perfectly. That’s ok. Just keep showing up! Do your best. God will fill in the gaps. I’m honored to be one of you. I’m cheering you on!

Sincerely, 

Frank

Frank visits his old stomping grounds.

To read more about Frank’s career, check out “Frankly Speaking A Memoir”, available at Amazon.

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Frank Reed first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Frank Reed appeared first on CMB.

Wayne Pederson – Visionary, Humility, Big Faith, Collaborator

Wayne Pederson grew up on a dairy farm in Northern Minnesota. His life was all about the farm in the early years. “Cows are a lot like a radio station,” he says, “They must be taken care of 7 days a week!  Working on the farm created a great work ethic.”

A young Wayne Pederson

Wayne’s family kept a radio in the barn and he remembers that he loved listening to the radio while he worked. He also had a chance to visit his hometown station a few times and watch the DJs in action. They became his heroes. He knew he wanted to be a DJ from the age of 12. He even created his own radio shows while on the tractor all day. He remembers pushing knobs on the tractor as if he were starting up the commercial or next song. He produced hundreds of hours of radio programs on the seat of his tractor.

Wayne can still drive the tractor on the farm

He grew up in a Christian home and his family attended an Evangelical Lutheran Church where he accepted Christ at a young age. He vividly remembers one night, during his Junior year in high school, while returning from Bible camp on the church bus, God became very real to him. He clearly heard God’s voice speaking to him, saying “Wayne, I want to use you to help good, religious people find a relationship with Jesus Christ.” He remembers responding, “OK God, I’ll do anything!” That night, he committed his life to serving God in full time ministry.

He thought for many years that meant he would become a Pastor of a church. So, he went on to attend the University of Minnesota as a Philosophy Major and then to seminary. While he was still an undergrad, he randomly took one course in radio and tv production and he loved every minute of doing that. (He still had a love for radio!) So, on a whim, he decided to call Paul Ramseyer (who was the manager of KTIS AM and FM in Minneapolis) and asked if there were any part time jobs at the stations.  To his surprise, Paul hired him! (Even though he had zero experience except on the seat of a Farmall tractor!) Wayne immediately began working on Saturday and Sundays from 6a-3pm, and his work included turning on the transmitter, cueing up the records and reel to reels, recording weather forecasts, and answering the station phones, too. Back in the day, you did it all! KTIS AM aired mostly teaching and KTIS FM played music. Once again, he was bitten by the radio bug.  This was 1967.  The music mix featured the Bill Gaither Trio, Doug Oldham, Evie, and others, but the DJs at the station were given some freedom to play music of their choosing, and so, over time, he began to slowly work in some contemporary music, including; 2^nd Chapter of Acts, Phil Keaggy, and more. He was the youngest member of the staff. He would frequently get push back from the University and sometimes listeners, too. But he felt strongly that in order to reach the younger generation, the station needed to play music that will connect with them. A listener called one day and asked, “Why are you playing this crap on Christian radio?  Wayne replied, “Why are you calling songs that are glorifying the Lord, crap?”

Wayne at Age 27 at KTIS

He was eventually hired to do Afternoon Drive at KTIS, but he was still attending seminary. Yes, he was working 30-35 hours while in college to pay his bills. He was torn! He knew that God had spoken those words back to him in high school and he wanted to be obedient. He prayed and prayed. One night he had his face in the carpet, praying, “God I’ll do anything you want me to do. I just want to be in your will and have peace about it! I am willing to completely give up radio and obey you!” And within a few days, God made it clear that He did want him to be in Christian radio. As he was reading scripture, he felt  like God’s spoke to him and said, “this (radio) *is* my call on you. Christian radio *does* reach religious people who don’t have a relationship with Christ.” Looking back, he believes he had to first be willing to let go of his dreams and career aspirations before God could then give it back to him. He says, “God uses our DNA, our passion, our giftedness, and our interests. And He doesn’t ask us to surrender so that he can make us miserable. Instead, he’s waiting for us to surrender, so he can use us the way he has created us to serve! I had to be willing to let go of it before he gave it back to me.” After that moment, he never doubted again. Christian Radio is what God had called him to do!

From Afternoon Drive Host to being named Station Manager at KTIS at age 32, and then later to become   VP of Broadcasting for Northwestern Media at age 45…It was all an incredible time! Over the years, Paul Ramseyer was always both a Spiritual and Radio mentor to him. Wayne served at NW Media for 34 years and even when he became VP, he always tried to find a way to occasionally be on the air (which was his first love in radio.)

Memories

Wayne was often asked to help other stations with their Sharathon (on air fundraiser) and one of those times, he found himself on the air at WMIT in Ashville, NC. One afternoon during the event, he was on the microphone and Billy Graham casually walked into the studio. Wayne remembers that he was dressed like he just came in from moving the lawn, with a ragged sweatshirt and torn jeans and he looked like he hadn’t shaved for 5 days. This mighty man of God who was known around the world and was even a friend of US Presidents simply looked and acted like just another guy on the street. That day, Billy sat down and stayed in the studio for a full hour and they did fundraising together. Wayne was so impressed by the humility of this man. As a mighty orator and famous that he was, He was truly a humble and graceful man of God. “It confirmed to me,” he says, “Humility is one of the most important traits of a leader.”

Over the years Wayne hosted many Sharathons with friends, Todd Isberner, and John Brock

There were so many great concerts in those days, but one that he will never forget is when Evie came to the St Paul Civic Center and 16,000 people came to see her. Another was in the early 90s. KTIS decided to present a concert with Retro-artists, like 2^nd Chapter of Acts, Phil Keaggy, John Michael Talbot, and several other acts that had been big in the 70s and 80s. It was a risk, because they weren’t current on the radio charts and some on the team at the station were not sure that the radio audience even remembered these artists. It turned out to be a smash! The crowd was so large that is caused a traffic for miles. The auditorium filled up and was standing room only. It was so large that the artists agreed to do a second show later the same night for the overflow crowd at 9pm! The appetite for that early Jesus music was there, and still is. (Have you seen the movie Jesus Revolution?)

President of NRB

As Wayne’s industry influence began to grow, he participated in Industry leadership and served on the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Board for 20 years   He eventually was named Chairman of the Board at NRB (which was a part time, unpaid role, but vitally important). After 3 years as Chairman, Brandt Gustavson, (who had been NRB President for more than a decade) called him to let him know that he was battling cancer and would need to leave NRB. (Brandt passed away in March 14, 2001 less than 2 months after he had been diagnosed.) Shortly thereafter, Wayne was unanimously chosen to succeed Brant. He presented the entire NRB Board a 12-point agenda for modernizing, streamlining, and globalizing NRB. He and his wife, Norma, packed their bags and moved to Washington DC.

But just over a month into his job, Wayne was forced to resign as president of the NRB. He did not violate the organization’s statement of faith, code of ethics, or constitution. He simply worried aloud about mission drift. Wayne had done an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, and as the interview ended and staffers were packing up, Wayne answered an off-the-cuff (he thought it was off the record) question from the reporter. His said, “We (NRB) need to focus more on preaching the gospel than influencing politically.” That comment was printed without his knowledge in the article and set off a firestorm for some. A group of the more staunchly conservative and politically oriented NRB members had a phone call soon after and put pressure on the Executive Board to get rid of him.

“It was hurtful,” says Wayne, “I knew these people and considered them friends.” He could not convince them that he wasn’t going rogue. So, he sold his house in DC and on Feb 2002, he and Norma drove the icy roads back to Minnesota. It was a heart-breaking trip, but they happened to tune in to a Moody radio station on the drive and heard a message from Pastor Erwin Lutzer about Joseph in the Bible and how he was betrayed by his brothers, but Joseph was eventually was able to say, “What you meant for evil, God intended for good!”  They looked at each other and both agreed that they couldn’t wait to see what God has intended from this! Wayne reflects, “The experience of NRB took all of the pride out of my life. I no longer desired the prominence, visibility, or notoriety anymore. I needed that. It was hurtful , but I learned huge lessons. Anybody in Christian leadership has had to face trials. Remember, God uses those trials to shape us and mold our character and get us down to the bedrock of our faith. None of these experiences are tragic or final because God works all things together for good.”

Moody Radio, Reach Beyond, and More

Wayne and Norma didn’t have to wait long. Ministries were calling. He served with the Paul Cedar Mission America Coalition for 2 years, and then in 2004, he received a call from Dr. Joseph Stowell to come to be the station manager of WMBI in Chicago. They soon moved to downtown Chicago, and after a few years, Bob Neff passed away and Wayne was named VP of Broadcasting for Moody Radio.

Wayne with WMBI’s Morning Team in 2015

While he was at Moody, he was also serving on the board of HCJB World Radio. And, when their President resigned, the HCJB board asked Wayne if he would consider the role as their ministry President.

“I didn’t want to leave Moody. I didn’t want to leave Chicago. I loved my job!” Wayne says, “But I had learned to seek the Lord on things like this… So, I was sitting in my 11^th floor condo, and I pulled out my yellow pad and Bible. I began to read scripture, and pray, “Lord what do you want me to do here?  Where do you want me to be? And I came to the book of Romans where the verse reads How will they hear, unless someone is sent, and how is someone sent unless they are called, and then a few verses later where Paul says It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where the name of Christ is not known. I knew God was speaking to me to join HCJB. They are a ministry that uses radio to preach to unreached people those who have not heard the gospel. They prioritize the nations that are less than 2% Christian in their population.” He obeyed, resigned from Moody, and moved to Colorado Springs to lead HCJB for the next 8 years. During this time, he and his wife Norma spent 2/3 of their time traveling all over the world, helping spread the gospel through radio. They rebranded the ministry name to Reach Beyond.

CMB

After he departed NRB, Wayne was also approached by a group of CCM broadcasters who wanted to start a new organization that would be devoted specifically to the needs of CCM radio. (NRB was a larger, catch-all organization at the time, and included Christian television, teaching and talk radio stations, International ministries, and more.) Wayne was hired to be the first Executive Director of CMB (Christian Music Broadcasters) in June 2002. There were 60 stations who attended the first CMB convention in Orlando. Wayne continued as part-time Executive Director until 2004.

At Momentum, several CMB founders were honored. (Photo L-R, Joe Paulo, Dick Jenkins, Jon Hull, and Wayne)

“I was so delighted to be part of the team to help form CMB,” he says, “And now, look what God has done!”

Trials

In 2013, Norma was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was a shock. She went through initial surgery and chemo that followed and seemed to be doing well. Soon, she was able to travel again. In early 2014, she seemed to be doing fine. She even attended NRB. However, only two months after NRB, they were told that very aggressive ovarian cancer had returned. They were told in mid-March that she had 6-12 months to live, but 3 weeks later she was gone. “We were all with her,” Wayne says, “Our children and I were holding her hands in our living room at home. We were praying and reciting psalms as she departed into her heavenly body. That was the hardest and loneliest time of my life.”

But God had a plan. Wayne and Norma had both known a friend. Her name was Willi and she had  gone through cancer at the same time as Norma. Late in 2014, Wayne and Willi went hiking together as friends and immediately connected at a deep level. Nine months later, they were married at Glen Erie in Colorado Springs. “I’ve been blessed with 2 wonderful marriages in my life, with 2 wonderful women who love the Lord, love me, and who are so supportive of the work that I am involved in. First,  Norma for 45 years and now, Willi, for the last 8 years.”

Wayne and Willi Pederson

Today, Wayne and Willi live in Florida and Wayne continues to consult ministries and they serve on several ministry boards together. They travel frequently to the Middle East, as part Joel Roseburg’s Ministry. Wayne also works with Far Reach Broadcasting which works in Ukraine, Korea, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other unreached places. “I just can get away from that original call.” he says, “The fourth quarter of life can be the most satisfying season of your career. It is a sweet time!” He also survived his own cancer scare in late 2022 but is recovering well and he’s feeling stronger each day.

Wayne’s most embarrassing moment

The Billy Graham Leadership Team came in Minneapolis in the mid-90s. All of their leaders came as they were planning a crusade at the Metro dome. Billy Graham was there, along with Cliff Barrows, and Bev Shea. Wayne was part of the local committee involved in the strategy meetings. During a few minutes of down time, Wayne pulled out his Marantz cassette recorder and a mic and asked, “Mr. Graham, would you have time for an interview?” To which he responded, “yes!” The two sat down and did about a 7-8 minute interview, until… at the end, Wayne looked down, and realized that his tape had popped out of the recorder and none of the interview was recorded. NONE! He was so embarrassed. It was his chance of a lifetime to interview the Reverend Billy Graham! He didn’t know what to say or do. So, he just apologized, and said, “I am so sorry, but do you mind if we do it again?” And Mr. Graham graciously said, “Sure, it’s ok. No problem.” A few months later, when the actual crusade was happening, Wayne was able to go back-stage and meet the Evangelist and team again. He introduced himself, “Hello,  Mr. Graham, I’m Wayne Pederson.” Graham quickly replied, “I remember you!”

Dear CCM Radio,

If I were to talk to my 20 years old self, I would encourage that young guy with the words that Paul told Timothy, “Above all, guard your heart.” The CCM industry has grown beyond our wildest dreams. We could have never imaged that we would have audience numbers that we now have. Or the income that some of our ministries have. But with that success can come complacency and even pride. So, I encourage you again with this…“Guard your heart.” Make sure that everything you are doing is for the right reasons…not cutting corners… not with selfish gain in mind. Back in the early says of CCM radio, we had no choice but to fully rely on God.  I can’t help but wonder…Do we rely on God as much today as we did in the early days? Also, remember to stay humble the Lord, continue to be teachable, and finally to be accountable.

Blessings to you my Dear Friends,
Wayne

Wayne and Willi Pederson

Wayne’s story is now available in a book titled “The Journey. A Memoir by Wayne Pederson.” It is self-published. To order a copy for just $15, contact wpederson@me.com

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Wayne Pederson first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Wayne Pederson appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Bob Augsburg – Visionary, Humility, Big Faith, Collaborator

Bob Augsburg often says, “I’m just a kid who grew up on a dairy farm.” Just like WayFM, he had humble beginnings. His family’s dairy farm was located in Naperville, Illinois,  He has fond memories of the farm. Around the age 12, his dad decided that he wanted to leave frigid Illinois weather and the tough work of being a dairy farmer and the family moved to Cape Coral Florida near Fort Myers. That was in 1964. 

After high school, Bob didn’t attend college and instead got married at very young age to his sweetheart, Felice. He found work as a mainstream radio DJ, eventually working in Charlotte and later Nashville. While in Nashville he also played drums for a trio. The band had big aspirations, but God had difference plans.  

When Bob and Felice accepted Christ in 1973, that changed everything!

In 1974, Bob went to work for a Christian radio station for the first time. WWGM was owned by Crawford Broadcasting. In 1979, the couple felt called to return to Fort Myers to join WSOR radio and be closer to their parents. WSOR was a station for adults 35+, and Bob enjoyed his job, but he and Felice had a burden to see a younger audience reached. Somehow, he was able to convince the church (station) Board to allow him to block out a Saturday evening segment that would focus on youth and young adults. Within a short time, this weekend radio show was really connecting with local area youth pastors.  Soon, Christian Rock concerts started coming Southwest Florida. In 1983, while attending a Mylon LeFevre concert, Bob and Felice watched as about 150 young people went forward to give their lives to Christ. It was apparent to Felice that Contemporary Christian music was deeply touching youth. On their drive home from that concert, she said to Bob, ‘Why can’t we start a station that would play this music 24/7?”   God planted the seed in both of their hearts.

They had no idea how to start a radio station and they had no money. They were already struggling week to week, just trying to support their young family and keep their children in Christian school. “Looking back, it was a blessing in a way that we didn’t have the resources to just throw a lot of money at the problems and make them go away,” Felice says. “We had nothing but God to lean on.” After a few years of prayer and discussing the idea with other local parents and businesspeople, Bob and Felice formed a non-profit Florida Corporation called Southwest Florida Community Radio, Inc. On December 24, 1986, an FCC permit was granted. The permit allowed for the construction of a non-commercial FM radio station to serve the area with 50,000 watts. It would be one of America’s first Top 40 Christian radio stations. With little funds but great excitement and passion, Bob and the Board began raising funds and assisting with all the various projects to begin broadcasting as soon as possible. The call letters WAYJ were established with the brand name of WayFM which was derived from the scripture text in John Chapter 14 verse 6. Jesus said, “I am the “WAY”, truth and the life”. 

During those early years, Bob immediately became involved in the CCM radio industry. He valued collaboration with others and helping others. For many years, he helped stations with their Sharathon (fundraiser). He also launched Programming Plus (a monthly CD service that featured  customized listener support spots) and participated in National Christian Radio Seminar Steering Committee. (NCRS was the forerunner to CMB.)

NCRS Steering Committee 1986

On October 9, 1987, WayFM Ft Myers signed on the air. Bob was the initial Station Manager and Morning Drive host. There were 4  other staff members, (Jim Channel from Chicago who was “Captain Whamo” at WCFL in Chicago before he got saved and made the move to Christian Radio,  Steve Dees, Skipper T and Mike Shelly.)

WayFM staff at sign-on – 1987

Each of the team possessed a good deal of previous experience in both secular and Christian radio and some had moved across the country to join WayFM.  (They did this knowing that the station only had 2 weeks of reserve funds to operate on!)  But all were committed to the mission and to excellence in programming knowing that the younger audience would never be attracted to a station that sounded inferior to the mainstream Pop station in town.

Oct 9, 1987 – Local Pastors prayer dedication for WAYJ – WayFM/Ft Myers

There are many stories of financial miracles from the early days of WAYJ. In the first weeks on the air, a sizable check came in the mail from woman who had received an insurance settlement. God had told her to give WayFM the money. It kept the station afloat for another month. After that surprise check, listeners dropped in almost weekly to donate to the station. Eventually, Bob and Felice held a station share-a-thon and raised enough money for another year.

“God really comes through when you need it. He gives you the faith, Bob said. “In the Bible, where Peter is walking on the water … A week later he (Peter) might have thought about it and wondered, ‘How did I do that?’, but it wasn’t him. It was the Lord.”

Felice volunteered her time and Bob took only sporadic paychecks. Still, God always provided for their family. After a few years, WayFM caught on and listenership grew. The on-air share-a-thons they held started bringing in more money and with that came an opportunity for growth. 

After just a few months, Bob remembers an evening of Bible study at home where he was reading the parable of the talents where Jesus was commending those who used their talent to increase and multiply but rebuking the one who buried  his one talent for fear of losing it. Bob was convinced that God was speaking to him through this text. The conviction was clear in Bob’s mind that WayFM was somehow supposed to multiply and become more than one outreach in Fort Myers. It was difficult to grasp at the time given that they were barely able to meet their weekly expenses at the Fort Myers station. Nevertheless, Bob shared the news with Felice and the Board and all were in favor of trusting God.

In early 1988 with this new vision to explore the possibility of starting additional stations, Bob began to look closely at Nashville, Tennessee. Bob and Felice had lived in Nashville and knew there was a need for station like WayFM. Simultaneously there were many requests from the East Coast of Florida to expand to that region. By mid-1989, they had filed an application for new stations to serve both Nashville and West Palm Beach, Florida. The Nashville FCC permit was received in 1991 and Bob began to travel back and forth from Fort Myers to Nashville to begin the process of locating studio space, raising advance funds, and speaking to churches about the plans for the upcoming station. WayFM Nashville signed on the air on March 11, 1992. Word about the new station’s arrival spread quickly. On the first day, record labels, music artists, and other people in the industry sent them more than 400 faxes welcoming them to Nashville and pledging their support. Listeners also walked in and handed them checks.  

In early 1993 a friend of Bob’s, Dusty Rhodes, of Pittsburgh, contacted Bob to see if there were any opportunities for Management. The future station planned for West Palm Beach seemed a perfect fit for Rhodes. WayFM/ West Palm Beach Florida signed on the air in November of 1993 with Dusty Rhodes as their first Station Manager. It became an instant success and was self-supporting within just two months.

Dusty Rhodes/ WayFM West Palm Beach Manager, Bob, and Board Member, Eric Rhoads

In those early years, each of the WayFM stations began to learn how to sponsor and organize large Christian music concerts and even day long music festivals. West Palm Beach quickly established themselves as a major concert sponsor utilizing outdoor venues and seeing concert attendance grow from an average of 2,000 to 8,000 in just a few years. In 2002, Nashville set an all-time attendance record of 16,000+ celebrating their 10th anniversary featuring Third Day.

In 1996, WayFM innovated again. The Christian Hit Radio Satellite Network. (CHRSN) was launched. The Network was designed to help other stations who desired to reach the youth and young adults of their respective communities but lacked the manpower or resources to operate a station in their own. The Nashville WayFM station became the “flagship” station of CHRSN where the uplink remains to this day. Several CCM stations that are thriving today were able to get started by using CHRSN to supplement their local programming. 

Over the years, more WayFM station were added.  Each with incredible stories of how God provided the opportunity and the funds.  Huntsville, Alabama in 2003 and Denver, Denver, Colorado in 2004. Etc. 

“I’m grateful that God said, “Grow.” The easy thing would have been to stop at one station,” Felice said. “Who needed more headaches, right? But God was always tossing us new opportunities and challenges. We would look back at what he already accomplished and say, ‘Let’s trust him again.’”

WayFM COO Lloyd Parker, Bob, Longtime Board Member, Joe Battaglia, and Consultant John Frost in 2008

In 2015 WayFM was able to purchase a station in Dallas, Texas. The Thomas family, who had owned the Christian music station since the 1990s, was ready to retire. They didn’t want to hand over the station to someone who might resell it to a secular group. So, they contacted WayFM and offered Bob the station at a great deal. Listenership of the station more than doubled after the WayFM format hit the Dallas airwaves in 2015.

WayFM Dallas sign on; L-R; Bob, Engineer Turbo, PD Bryan Johns, and Network Assistant PD, Steve Shore

WayFM leadership also started getting serious about developing digital platforms in 2013. According to Bob, “part of discerning what direction God wants you to go is to look at the signs of the times.” Soon, a digital team was hired. The website, waynation.com was eventually created and designed to reach people who live outside the reach of WayFM radio stations.  Today, waynation.com features online music streams and podcasts, videos, articles, blogs, and more.

WayFM Leadership Summit 2016 (Front Row-L-R Lloyd Parker, Faron Dice, BJ O’Neal, Matt Hahn, Ken Inlow, Bob, Judy Bailey, Tom Sullivan, Zach Boehm, Adrian Olsen. Back row L-R Jim Marshall, Paul Anthony, Tim Dukes, Zach Cochran, Thom Ewing)

Bob felt led to step down in 2017 after exactly 30 years of leading Way-FM. WAY-FM grown to 21 broadcast radio stations and multiple translators reaching over one million weekly radio listeners, and a growing digital reach over 100,000 unique digital fans.

Bob and Felice Augsburg 2017

Today, the couple has moved back to Nashville to be near their children and grandchildren. Bob still consults with the Way Media (Hope Media Group) leadership team as needed and has found a second life after radio… landscape photography- capturing beautiful scenes from the Rocky Mountains and Blue ridge mountains.

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Augsburg first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Augsburg appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Bob Souer – Raising the Standard of Professionalism, Jesus follower and CCM lover, Kind

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Christian Countdown USA was the “must-listen” weekly syndicated Christian music countdown show. It aired on hundreds of CCM radio stations and helped the Christian AC format by raising the bar for excellence and creating a national Top 20 playlist. Bob Souer was the host of Christian Countdown USA from 1986-1996. He was, and still is, one of the smoothest voices you will ever hear, and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in radio and voiceover.  

Bob Souer grew up in the church. He came to fully realize his need for salvation as a young boy of 7 years of age. He was baptized at the age of 16. He believes that God has watched over him and guided his steps all through his life. 

His grandmother was the town librarian in the small town in North Central Minnesota where he grew up. As soon as he was old enough to read, he quickly became an avid reader; and maybe avid isn’t quite strong enough a word, because his grandmother actually told his mom that she thought he was reading too much! (For a librarian to say somebody is reading too much is pretty remarkable.) But as he reflects, he believes the love for reading eventually gave him an expansive vocabulary which has been a valuable asset in his voice over and broadcasting career.

But broadcasting and voice over wasn’t the plan. From Junior High through High School and then College, Bob wanted to train to be an opera singer. In his final year of college, he was even given an opportunity to audition for one of the main coaches at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. But as he was preparing, he learned that no matter how much this man (coach) liked him that day…He was not going to go straight to the Met. Instead, he was going to have to move to Europe for several years and grow his reputation. (That’s just how it worked.) Well, he had gotten married a couple of years before this audition, and he realized that dragging his wife to live in other countries was not going to be good. So, he cancelled the opera audition that day. But he still believes that those years of vocal training were NOT wasted because he has been able to use those skills every day in his voiceover and audiobook narration work. The breath support. The understanding of the line of a song (or now story) from beginning to end. And on and on. God didn’t waste a drop of what he had learned.

Bob got into radio in the craziest of ways… First, he worked as a sales manager for a very large record store in the Chicago area. (You remember the black vinyl discs?) At the store, one of the regular shoppers offered him a different job of selling houses and he took it. And shortly after that, one of the first people he sold a house to was a program director of a radio station. That PD hired him as an air talent. A little later, he was hired at WCRM a contemporary Christian music station that was based in Dundee, IL (a northwest suburb, a little north of Elgin). Over the course of all this time God was at work, teaching him how to be a communicator.

Christian Countdown USA was started in 1984 by Chuck Wagner (producer) and Jim Channell (The show’s first host). Chuck had been working for many years for the Moody Broadcasting Network and very much wanted to produce a show that was targeted at young people. They worked on this new show together. After a year, Jim needed to step away from hosting the program. Chuck then asked George McNerlin to host, which he did for the year 1985. But after a year, he too resigned.  Bob then auditioned to become the host and Chuck chose him to take over the show. That was in early 1986. The show was already airing on 200 stations, by then!

But it wasn’t the glitz and glamour of Hollywood! Instead, for a while, they recorded the show at Domain (Christian Syndication) studios and offices. But they couldn’t afford their studio fees, so they bounced around and scrounged studio time when and when we could, relying on the kindness of strangers and fellow broadcasters. It wasn’t easy and not a recommended way to meet a weekly production deadline! Eventually, Chuck bought a home in Wheaton and they pooled their equipment and bought a couple of new pieces of gear, including a custom “plate reverb” unit, a multi-track (4-track) Tascam reel-to-reel recorder and so forth, and they set it up in Chuck’s house.

The two made a good team. Chuck was producer and director. Bob learned much about voice delivery, audio storytelling, and connecting with the listener from Chuck. After a couple of years, Chuck was hired by CBN and so Bob moved the recording gear to the spare bedroom of his house and took over production. Chuck remained the owner of the program and eventually convinced the powers that be at CBN to hire Bob and move him to Virginia Beach. He continued the show from his house there.  Chuck later sold the program to the CBN Radio Network and eventually CBN sold their entire radio network to Salem. 

In the early years, Bob conducted and recorded all of the interviews.

Amy Grant, Chris Hauser and Bob at Amy Grant’s farm in April of 1988.

Old timers (and audio nerds) in radio might enjoy knowing these details…They bought lots of Ampex open reel recording tape (10 inch reels) back in those days, and recorded all of the interviews for the first several years on a reel-to-reel recorder which Bob lugged everywhere. They eventually switched to minidisc and then to a portable DAT machine for recording interviews. As for editing and production, they used the multitrack reel-to-reel deck to do final production of the show for the first 5 years, and then switched to using Digital Audio Workstation software in 1991. Only people with long memories will know the name Microsound DAW.

For many years, CC USA was distributed on cassette tape.

How were the Top 20 song selected back then? 

Bob says, “I don’t know for sure how the 20 songs were chosen in the beginning, but eventually we conducted a survey of several of our affiliate stations and then compiled the song list from their responses. After CBN bought the program in 1989, they took over compiling the song list and then for the last few years we worked out a deal with CCM (the magazine) to use their research.”

All good things must…

In 1994, Christian Countdown USA merged with a program that CCM magazine had started, and the name was changed to “The CCM Countdown with Bob Souer.” About two years later, the producers of the show decided they wanted a bigger star to host the show and asked Gary Chapman (who was a known CCM artist and was hosting a television program on the Nashville Network) to take over as host. There was a transition program in which Bob introduced Gary as the new host. From there, Gary took over as host of what was called “The CCM Countdown with Gary Chapman.” For Bob, it was a great 10-year run. About 5 years later, the producers decided to shut down production of the program. The show ended in 2001.

Bob Souer is the “Second nicest guy in voice over” 

In 2006 (after CC USA) Bob was cast to narrate the entire New King James Version of the Bible. Needless to say, that is jumping into the deep end of the pool in the world of audiobooks, because the Bible is not easy to read, with all of the Hebrew names and items and places and all that. But it was great audio book experience and took him eleven months to record at Thomas Nelson. This audio version of the Bible is still available on audible.com and amazon.com.

Bob Souer doing audio book narration at his home studio

After the Bible recording, Bob’s voice over and narration career began to take over. He was hired by a company, for whom he’s now narrated more than three hundred audiobooks! He actually ended up narrating the Bible twice. And he voiced John Calvin’s The Institutes of the Christian Religion, (another very large book with lots of Greek and Hebrew words.) 

Today, he voices audio books for several different publishers, narrating nonfiction, exclusively. Topics are all over the place: biographies, histories, theology, scientific books, books on mathematics. He has even read books that are strongly pro-evolution and the books that are strongly pro-creationism. In his words, “My job is to do the best job I can in presenting the author’s point of view as effectively and powerfully as I can. That’s what I try to do, whether I personally agree with it or not is immaterial. So yeah, I mean, it’s endlessly fascinating and there’s always something new to talk about.” If you google Bob Souer, you’ll see he’s mentioned at “the second nicest guy in voice over…

One last CC USA Story…

While Bob was hosting Christian Countdown USA, doctors discovered that his wife Kathy, had cancer. By the time they found, it was already stage four. She was able receive some really good chemotherapy that helped her to live an extra two and a half years. But on January 29th, 1988, at 1:21 in the afternoon, Kathy slipped from here to eternity.  Bob shares these thoughts…

When I was with my wife, after the oncologist delivered the bad news following the two-year remission, we sat there in silence for several minutes and then Kathy turned to me and said, “I don’t want to die, Bob. I want to watch my daughter Karen grow up. I want to live with you. I want to continue together.” Sometimes you have one of those moments where, you know, God reaches into the situation and provides guidance, because I don’t think any of what I said next was anything I could have come up with on my own. I said, “Well, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think what’s going to happen is that you’re going to step through that veil and turn around and Karen and I will be right there behind you. Because the only thing that we know about eternity is that it’s not in time. It doesn’t move in a linear fashion like time does. So, I don’t think you’re going to be aware of the passing of time while you’re waiting for us. We’re just going to be right there.” That’s what came to me. We don’t have the infinite perspective that God does. Our inability to see everything and understand it all at once would prevent us from being very good at being sovereign. 

Chuck Wagner filled in for Bob on CC USA on the week that Kathy died. They had already announced the news of her cancer on the show, but after her death the show received hundreds of letters of encouragement from listeners. Bob still has bags of letters stored today in his garage.

Final words from Bob…

Dear CCM Radio Friends, 

The single most important thing I learned from my time at CC USA was to listen carefully when you are doing an interview. Almost always, your guest will say something that will prompt a follow-up question and the interviews that flow like that are always the most interesting. When I reflect on my time hosting the program, my heart is filled with gratitude for all of the friends I made, the people I got to meet and spend time with and the many opportunities to talk with people about what God was doing in their lives. Truly, God is good, all the time!

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Souer first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Souer appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Bob (Anthony) Fogal – Passionate, Creative, Visionary, Excellence, K-LOVE, Air1

“Bob is a moral compass that can be counted on for counsel and honesty in all situations. He is dependable, super creative, fun to be with, challenging at times, makes lifelong friends due to his character, is an A+ announcer (but everyone knows that already), brilliant, and understands the finer points of radio programming thoroughly. Every time I speak with him he inspires me and yet we are so different you would have to position us as yin and yang, opposites. He has been an example to us all of how faith should be walked out in everyday life. He’s a man of prayer and vision. The vision for K-LOVE came straight from Bob’s mind. I just executed his written plan and look what happened!”
Dick Jenkins, EMF President 1986-2008

Bob (Anthony) Fogal was born & raised in Spokane WA and radio was always a huge part of his life. A little kid with a transistor radio that was always on and close by. Sleeping with it under his pillow as many kids did back then. Laughing at the DJs and enjoying all the music they played.

In the summer just before his senior year of high school, Bob went to Los Angeles to visit a friend. While there he listened to a radio station, 93KHJ. At the time in the sixties, it was one of the most popular radio stations in America, calling itself Boss Radio for Boss Angeles, with disc jockeys like the real Don Steele, Robert W Morgan and Charlie Tuna. If you’ve seen the movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” you would have heard KHJ used as the soundtrack backdrop. He made the decision then, to get into radio as a career and before working even one day in radio he wrote down his career goal…He wanted one day to be a DJ at 93KHJ.

By 24, he was on the air at 97KREM, a Top-40 station in Spokane that was part of the KING Broadcast Group. While at KREM Bob met the Program Director of KING’s Portland station, Alan Mason.  Notes Bob, “It’s still amazing to me now that God was putting people in my life way back then that would have such a profound, positive impact on EMF down the road.”  It was during this time that Bob discovered another great station that was winning national awards…610 KFRC in San Francisco. He happened to be traveling late at night between Spokane and Seattle, at a time when you could hear distant AM stations. There it was, coming in loud and clear! And his little cassette machine was recording it all. The DJ came on sounding so very good! When he got back home he listened to that tape over and over and finally worked up the courage to write a letter to that DJ. His name was Mike Novak. Surprisingly, Mike responded with a nice letter and the two started exchanging tapes of their shows and that began a friendship.

By 27 he had achieved his radio goal and was in Hollywood at KHJ working with Charlie Tuna, Dr. John Leader, Machine Gun Kelly and the others.

Bob at KHJ in LA in 1977

After that, he moved to that other amazing station, 610KFRC in San Francisco. During that time, 610KFRC won the national radio station of the Year award several times. The DJs were all super professionals at the top of their game. He had the career he had always wanted, along with the house, the pool, and the 911. He was being paid well to do a 3-hour show from 9-Noon following the legendary morning personality Dr. Don Rose.

The 610 KFRC Air Team included Bob

1980 KFRC, San Francisco

Crazy antics at KFRC with actors Martin Mull and Steve Martin

Life was good. But he knew there was a big piece missing. He was not right with God. He had grown up in church and remembered one verse very clearly…what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul? The meaning was clear. 

So, he began doing the research to determine exactly what he needed to do to get right with God. He began to read and reread the gospel accounts, focusing specifically on the words of Jesus. Fortunately, he discovered there was such a thing as red-letter Bibles with the words of Jesus in red. What a concept! The words of Jesus have many clear commands and directions. Some of Jesus words were easy on the eyes and ears, but some were not. He knew he needed to repent and turn the direction of his life around towards God, and to make a complete and unconditional surrender to Him.

One of the things clear in Jesus teaching was the phrase “count the cost,” and Bob knew there was going to be a cost. He says, “There was a period where for several weeks I was soberly and seriously counting the cost. I was considering all of the stuff, my dream job at KFRC, my friends and family, my house and all the other things that go along with a nice life in Marin County California. Was I truly ready to surrender it all to God? Was I prepared to give it all up if that’s what God asked of me? What if Jesus said to me the same thing that he said to the rich young ruler? Sell everything, give it to the poor and then come follow Jesus? Was I really ready to do that? I knew I had to be 100% ready if that’s what God asked! In the end I determined that, yes, I was indeed ready to surrender everything to the God who created me and committed my life to Him.”

He became a sponge for Christian teaching. He read the Bible cover to cover and over the next several months he was wondering what God wanted him to do with his life. The music that he was playing every day on KFRC was Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, etc. He wondered perhaps if there might be any Christian music that sounded as good as this music? The answer of course was that there certainly were other contemporary Christian songs. He soon discovered Keith Green, Phil Keaggy, 2nd chapter of Acts, Chuck Girard, The Imperials  and many others. A few months later, the thought came to him… “What would a “Christian KFRC” sound like? Could you have a radio station with the same level of professionalism and excellent sound that KFRC had but was a Christian music station? (With major-market level disc jockeys that talked normal, not “Christian-ese” and didn’t sound holier than thou?”) So, in late 1978, the vision for a particular type of contemporary Christian music radio station was born. Outlined right there on a yellow pad. That vision became the start of the K-LOVE Radio Network.

The 1978 Yellow Pad that was the vision for K-LOVE

Right around that time, Bob Dylan released his new album “Slow Train Coming”, along with the song “Gotta Serve Somebody” which BOB played on KFRC!  Wow! The seed that was planted began to grow! 

KCLB-FM

Bob tells the story like this…

I began sharing the vision I had for a “Christian KFRC” with others. We set up meetings in San Francisco at a small café called Our Fathers House. Jon Robberson and Joe Micheals were at some of the early meetings. God brought people to me who shared and affirmed the vision. Together, David Gilmour, Dave Laube and I formed a new nonprofit organization called Christian Media Ministries (CMM) in 1979. The purpose of this new ministry was to use contemporary media, specifically radio, to take the gospel and God’s truth out into the mainstream.

We went church to church talking to pastors about this new ministry, but that was a bit discouraging. Many pastors wanted nothing to do with that new so-called contemporary Christian music with the Devils beat! The very idea of a Christian radio station that would mainly play music and not be filled with 30 minute teaching programs sounded like a recipe for disaster to many of them. We were told many times it would never work. No one would ever support it financially. 

One of the 1st things we did, perhaps in response to the negativity, was to organize the prayer team…to keep praying that God would move and make it all happen! CMM even brought Chuck Colson to the famous Moscone Center in San Francisco to speak and bring attention to this new Christian music radio project.

In 1981 we heard about a small low power FM educational station that would be sold at a bankruptcy auction in Santa Rosa California. We sent representatives to the auction and put in a  successful bid of around $60,000. Many people contributed financially to make that happen mainly with smaller gifts. But ironically the largest gift that allowed us to purchase the station came from a man who was a beer distributor! We hired Ashton Hardy as our FCC attorney and he advised us to form a new nonprofit organization under a different name that better suited what we were trying to do. So, Christian Media Ministries became the Educational Media Foundation and moved the headquarters to Santa Rosa, CA.

Newspaper article announcing new Christian station coming to Santa Rosa in January 1982

EMF

At 6AM on October 15, 1982, KCLB-FM signed on in Santa Rosa, CA…and the first song was “Praise The Lord” by The Imperials. And they shared the new station slogan, too: “The Positive Alternative!”

EMF also began putting on Christian concerts as a way to spread the word about the new station project. John Fisher, Pam Mark Hall and Chuck Girard were a few of the artists that were featured in those early days. (Pam and her young daughter Emily even stayed overnight with Bob’s family in Santa Rosa back in those days.) Other concerts included The Archers, The Imperials, Steve Camp, Paul Clark, Brush Arbor, and others. Bob recollects, “The Imperials had just put on a fantastic concert and with the crowd still applauding, the group assembled at the front of the stage and sang, “Not to Us O Lord”. And I thought, “Yes! A great reminder of who is supposed to get the praise for all of this!”

Money was so tight in the beginning, but more people began joining the team. (Most of them were volunteers since there was no money for salaries.) One of EMF’s 1st volunteers was Nyoka Brooks who volunteered to oversee promotions and communications, putting out a monthly newsletter, putting on concerts and events, and an annual auction. She was also a gifted voice talent who was often heard on the air. Also, early on, David Daubenspeck came aboard as the first Director of Ministry and Operations.  David managed the Volunteer Team of board operators, office and promotions staff, and the Prayer Team.   

At one point the rent payment of $1,000 was due by 5p but they didn’t have it! It was about 4:45 in the afternoon and into the office walks a guy who says something like, “I have no idea what’s going on, but I was driving and I heard God tell me that I needed to come into the station and donate a thousand dollars to you! So, here ya go!” He left the money on the front desk and walked out. No one knew his name! But Bob and the small team were in awe of what had just happened and what God had done for this little blip of a radio station.

Bob also remembers that he attended his first industry gathering in 1980, in Dallas, TX. There weren’t many CCM stations on in 1980 and even fewer that were mostly music. But, he wanted to get a feel for where the industry was, and who else might be there that might be thinking along the same lines. He was pleased to find out there were several, including Jon Rivers, Brad Burkhart, and another guy who would become a good friend over the years, Rick Tarrant. In the coming years, the annual NCRS (National Christian Radio Seminar) was held, and back in those days, KLOVE and Air1 were among the stations that would broadcast “live from Nashville!” Bob still has kept his giant 22-ounce Word Records beer mug from an NCRS event. 

Even though KCLB started very small,  one of the earliest prayer requests was for signal expansion. They continually petitioned God to enlarge their outreach! And, they worked hard on making sure that the ministry foundation was solid. 

KCLB always spotlighted and helped other ministries, too. They teamed up to help the local Santa Rosa Rescue Mission, and they helped many local churches promote their events and outreach. Even the churches that didn’t like what they were doing were promoted. Bob believes that…“Our willingness to use our radio resources to help other ministries played an important part in our early growth!”

In 1986, EMF hired former mainstream DJ, Army vet, and savvy dealmaker Dick Jenkins, to take on station management and the role of President of EMF. Bob and Dick worked side by side for about 6 months, and then Dick completely took the reins. In Bob’s words, “Dick Jenkins came on board at exactly the right time and was exactly what EMF needed in terms of creatively executing the signal expansion plans! Dick’s contributions to EMF cannot be overstated. God used him in a mighty way to accomplish His plans.” Bob moved to Portland and continued to work for EMF as a consultant, while Dick went on to lead the explosive growth of new signals.  

Air1

In 1988, Bob started a new ORG called “Common Ground Broadcasting” (CGB) and filed an application for 107.5 in Portland. In March of 1991, KDBX-FM signed on the air with the slogan, “Spirit FM.” The on- air team included Joe Michaels, Larry Wayne, Bryan O’Neal, and Bob. And the Management team included Tim Bronleewe, Lee Nielsen, and a non profit ministry called, “Shepherd Northwest.”   

In 1994, they learned that another station, KLRD-FM in Southern CA was struggling. About that same time, Salem Communications approached them about buying KDBX.  So, after several meetings and a lot of prayer, the decision was made by CGB to sell KDBX and take over operations for KLRD, KXRD, and related translaters. The proceeds from the KDBX sale helped to pay off a number of loans, move the ministry base to Portland, and to maintain the original ministry objectives of Jon and Noonie Fugler…“to reach a younger generation of listeners with a more agressive CHR format along with the admonition to “Be doers of the Word, not just hearers only.”  They would operate under the name Air1.

R&R Featured a story about Air1 in 2001

Even during those Air1 years, Bob continued to work for EMF in various capacities, including as host of the K-LOVE morning show and Network Program Director. He reconnected with his old friend Mike Novak and recruited him to join K-LOVE.

Bob’s 20 year anniversary plaque with EMF

Eventually, Dick Jenkins proposed the idea to merge K-LOVE and Air1 with the benefit to Air1 of quickly expanding into more signals.

Bob’s EMF Service Award

After 20+ years with EMF, Bob left in 2002 shortly after receiving a service award for the merger.  He devoted his time to his “Gospel Spots” ministry that he had started in 1998. Gospel Spots placed evangelistic TV and radio spots on mainstream secular stations, in movie theaters and newspapers, and also put up evangelistic billboards around the country. 

Today 

Bob is back now in his home town of Spokane WA. He and his wife own and operate KOOL Oldies 107.1FM. He calls the station a “Museum of Original Rock Music” with over 5,000 songs in the playlist. Lots of Beatles, Beach Boys, Motown, Rolling Stones, etc.  KOOL has been on the air for 10 years and Bob is on the air, Monday through Saturday afternoons from 2-6pm.  Many of the oldie songs they play are clearly Christian or have a Biblical message. (Here’s a sampling of the Christian message songs: The Impressions have several songs including: “Amen”, “People Get Ready” and others. “Oh Happy Day” was a top 5 hit by the Edwin Hawkins Singers; Laurie London did an old Sunday school song “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” and it became an international hit, going to #1 on the U.S. mainstream charts in 1958.  And other songs on KOOL include “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers; Ferlin Husky’s “Wings Of A Dove”; “Spirit In The Sky” by Norman Greenbaum; Judy Collins “Amazing Grace”; “The Lord’s Prayer” by Sister Janet Mead; “Are You Ready?”by Pacific Gas & Electric; “Put Your Hand In The Hand” by Ocean; Bob Dylan, “Gotta Serve Somebody”; and “Jesus Is Just Alright” by The Doobie Brothers.) The audience definitely notices and they get many comments about these songs. Bob says that you can, and should do ministry wherever you are. The old adage “bloom where you’re planted” applies.  https://kool1071.com/

He’s also launched a new teaching ministry called “Bible Question Man” which will go live in late 2022. @biblequestionman.com @BQM.FYI

Lessons learned?

Bob says this…”I’ve learned that it’s too easy to become a “professional Christian.” You’re working every day around other believers, listening to Christian music, talking about Christian features, etc. But at the end of the day, did you personally get closer to God?  Don’t mistake being in Christian ministry with your own personal seeking after God’s truth and deepening your relationship with Him?”

Reflections? 

He says, “It was a blessing to me that I had the opportunity to bring so many great people into Christian radio, many of them for the first time out of secular radio. They all know who they are and so I’ll take this chance to say it was a genuine pleasure bringing them into Christian ministry and getting a chance to work closely with them.”

A few thoughts from Bob

“Hey CCM Radio …I have always believed that you have HUGE potential… to impact not only individuals and families, but cities, states and even our entire country for good. And now, as it appears to be getting darker and darker out there, I believe it’s even more crucial to make sure that the CCM ministry light is truly shining clear and bright to help dispel the darkness. I don’t know if we’re getting near the end, only the Father knows for sure. But whether we are or aren’t, make sure the truths you present each day are God’s Truths. Do your research in the Scriptures. Be strong and courageous! To God be the glory for the great things He has done. I’m praying for you.”

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Anthony first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Bob Anthony appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Lloyd Parker – Respected Leader, Infrastructure Builder, Administrator, Un-flappable

Lloyd (Parker) Erdvig played an important role in the sustainability, long-term growth, and maturity of CMB (Christian Music Broadcasters). He also helped grow and mature two of CCM Radio’s biggest media groups, leading them from “mom and pop” stations into industry leaders. His gift for organizational structure, delegation, and administration cannot be overstated. You also can’t share Lloyd’s story without mentioning his wife, Ellen. She has been his partner and co-laborer for every step of his career.

Born in New York City, Lloyd Parker’s parents settled in Huntington, on Long Island. They brought him to church at 2 weeks of age and raised him in a Christian home. He was always very involved in the church, participating in youth group, Royal Rangers, VBS, Christmas plays, and more. At the age of 15, driving home from church one Sunday, his father and brother reminded him that even though he had always been in church, he still needed to ask the Lord into his heart – it didn’t happen by osmosis. Right there, in the back seat of a ‘64 Rambler, Lloyd realized that he wanted a deeper relationship with God and committed his life to God.

With the intent of being a Science Professor or Biologist after graduation, Lloyd attended Evangel College (now University) in Springfield, MO. But in January of 1972, he was wandering around the campus and stumbled upon KECC, the college radio station. On that day, Program Director Dan Way offered him a Sunday afternoon shift and although he was a little hesitant, he agreed to give it a shot. Dan’s final question to him on that first day was, “Oh, and what is your middle name?” When Lloyd said, “Parker.” Dan replied, “OK. No more Erdvig. You’re now Lloyd Parker.”

Lloyd at KECC Radio (Evangel College) 1974

The radio bug bit! Within months he changed his major to Communications and about 18 months later he became the KECC Station Manager. In August ‘74, he applied and accepted the Program Director job at a new gospel station going on the air in Springfield, KLFJ. This was not a CCM station. Because of that, a few months later, on Thanksgiving weekend, the station manager called him into his office and said, “I’m sorry, but you’re fired.” (The first and last time he ever heard those words in his radio career!) The manager explained that although he liked the job that Lloyd was doing, the other owners outvoted him and wanted him gone. There was too much Andrae Crouch, Barry McGuire, LoveSong and The Archers on the air. They wanted more Florida Boys and Happy Goodmans. In short, Lloyd was programming the station too contemporary for them.

Lloyd at KLFC (Springfield) 1974

In August of ’75, Lloyd randomly picked up a copy of Billboard magazine and on the front page was a story of a new gospel station opening up on Long Island. A week later, he drove back home and applied for a news position at WNYG. He got the job, but within two weeks, it was clear that the new Morning Show host would be a better newsman, and he would likely be the better DJ. He soon became PD and moved to PM Drive.  A couple of years later, while attending the NRB Convention in 1977, he met a radio salesman from the station WWDJ in New Jersey, named Joe Battaglia. The two hit it off right away and eventually became lifelong friends.

Lloyd and Joe B 2009

WLIX Long Island and Joe Battaglia

In December of 1978, Joe B let Lloyd know that he had just bought into a station on Long Island, WLIX. He and the other owner, Dave Swanson, needed some help to get this station on a firm foundation and he asked if Lloyd would be interested in becoming the Program Director. In March of 1979, he moved over to WLIX. That summer, he also attended his first National Gospel Radio Seminar (NGRS) being held concurrently with the Christian Booksellers Convention in St Louis.

WLIX (Long Island) 1981

WLIX Playlist October 1980

At WLIX,  Lloyd was PM Drive host and also focused on growing revenue, building the team, and getting visibility for the station. There was very little real record promotion in the early days. Most DJs would just play whatever music they could get our hands on. Dan Hickling at WORD Records would visit WLIX frequently and supply them with all their latest releases.

Lloyd and his longtime friend and fellow New York DJ, Frank Reed 1983

After marrying in November of 1979, Ellen joined Lloyd for the trip to Dallas in the summer of 1980 for NGRS. The event was at The Dunfey Hotel in the middle of a triple digit heat wave and on the final day, the A/C broke down. Kent Burkhart was considered one of the fathers of Top 40 in mainstream radio and his son Brad was working in promotions for A&M Records in the Southwest and attended the conference. Lloyd met Brad near the hotel pool and picked his brain about programming, music rotations, hot clocks, spot breaks, charts, ratings and so much more. They talked until 3am! WLIX ended up being the first CCM station client for Brad’s new consulting company. In the early 80’s, NGRS Steering Committee Chairman Jim Black invited Lloyd to join the committee and be Programming Track Chairman.

NGRS (National Gospel Radio Seminar) Dallas- 1980 Jim Black standing. Lloyd second from left.

When Jim left in 1986, Joe B became Chairman and he asked Lloyd to become Vice-Chairman.Keith Whipple became Agenda Chairman. The three held those positions for about 12 years. In the mid 80’s, Ellen was hired as Secretary, the first paid position at NGRS. Around 1987, and after lots of discussion, The Steering Committee changed the name to National Christian Radio Seminar (NCRS) to better reflect the dominant CCM format. A few years later, the three decided the only way to get new blood in the leadership was for all to resign their leadership positions and it worked.

Lloyd and (wife) Ellen with NCRS Steering Committee 1984

In 1981 and 1982, NGRS was connected to the Music in The Rockies event held at the YMCA in the Rockies in Estes Park, CO. Everyone stayed at the Holiday Inn in town, met all day in the hotel and attended the concerts at the YMCA at night. There were many great memories with artists like Wayne Watson, Twila Paris, and Michael Card. Gary Chapman always seemed to be in the hotel lobby playing video games and just rockin’ it. One afternoon, WORD Records presented the first ever softball game between the radio guys vs the artists and label staff. It included Kathy Troccoli, Isaac Air Freight, Allen Weed, Dan Johnson, and others.

NCRS Steering Committee 1990

Joe B and Lloyd promoted loads of concerts together during those years. For example, an artist would fly in, do NJ on a Friday and then Long Island on the Saturday, or vice versa. In 1982, Joe booked a concert with headliner GLAD.

With Glad 1982

That concert also featured David Meece and a new artist named Carman. After the NJ show was over, there was a fan who arrived late and had missed Carman’s opening set. He had really wanted to see Carman. Lloyd brought him up to Carman at the record table after the show, where he explained that he had been witnessing to some friends and that caused him to be late. Carman then took him into the empty auditorium and had him sit down while he played his entire opening set just for this one kid. Then he took him back to the record table, grabbed an album, autographed it and handed it to the guy. It showed a great side of Carman’s character.

Along with Pastor Ted Bichsel, Lloyd started the WLIX / Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle Family Concert Series soon after, which ran for over 10 years. Scott Wesley Brown was the first concert in 1984 and over the years there were concerts with Steve Camp, Dion, Steven Curtis Chapman, Twila Paris, Chris Christian, Terry Talbot, Phil Keaggy, Kim Hill, Benny Hester, and many others.

Terry Talbot with Lloyd and (wife) Ellen

With Andrae Crouch 1976

With DeGarmo and Key 1992

Lloyd, Phil Keaggy, and Pastor Ted 1988

With Dion, 1985

Although the Dion concert was especially packed, the largest crowd wasn’t for a traditional CCM artist though. It was for Psalty – The Singing Songbook. Kids used to love the music of Psalty and his stories (on VHS tape). Psalty was a character created by early Christian artist Ernie Rettino. The night of the show, the families just kept on coming…Dads, Moms and kids filled the church to overflowing. When Ernie did the altar call, the front of the church was packed and not just with kids. Many adults committed their lives to Christ that night. By far, it was the greatest crowd and salvation response of any of the concerts.

In 1988, they acquired WLVX in Hartford, CT and programmed it similarly to WLIX. Lloyd eventually became VP/General Manager and part owner. Over the years, great talents like Jerry Williams, Dave Koch, Ed Lenane, Al Kim, Brian Fisher, and others worked at one or both of the stations. WLVX was sold in 1992 and WLIX in 1995.

Jerry Williams, Steve Curtis Chapman, and Lloyd 1988

K-LOVE

At a Michael W. Smith reception at NCRS in April of 1995, K-LOVE President Dick Jenkins walked up to Lloyd and said that he was looking for a General Manager for K-LOVE. After prayer and consideration, that following March, Lloyd made the move. There were about 20 staff members and about 25 signals at the time, but the next ten years saw tremendous growth! When he left in 2005, there were over 200 staff and 250 signals.

In the early 2000’s, K-LOVE needed more space and moved to the Rocklin, CA facility.  Eventually, they added 25 field offices around the country and some of the incredible staff members over the years included; Eric Allen, Art Garza, Daniel White, Virginia Walker, Jim Swaney, Dave Kelly, Dan Beck, Paul Goldsmith, Ken Mayfield, Dave Atkinson, Frank Hammond, Frank Kavenik, Brian Gantman, Bryan O’Neal, Jon Rivers and, of course, David Pierce and Sam Wallington.

Lloyd and fellow former K-LOVE Team members Art Garza, Eric Allen, and Paul Goldsmith 2015

Other fond K-LOVE memories for Lloyd include promoting the very first Spirit West Coast festival in Monterey, CA, launching Christian Music Planet Magazine (with the help of Editor Carol Crenshaw and Graphics Designer Norm McDonald), and launching the K-LOVE Friends and Family Cruise with Roy Morgan, President of Premier Productions. Lloyd and Roy had so much overlapping history that even includes Roy listening to Lloyd as a teenager on KLFJ in Springfield. Roy even once won a “Truth” album during a station giveaway. On the day that he picked up the album/prize at the station, he and his sister got into a fender bender…on that same day Lloyd was fired! (Not a great day for either!) The first-ever concert on a K-LOVE cruise featured Mark Schultz. Poor Mark, he was singing and playing the piano while watching the water bottles falling over on the floor and rolling around and he was trying not to be sick. He made it through, but it was rough. Almost twenty years and thousands of fans and hundreds of artists later, the K-LOVE Cruise is still sailing!

The listener response to the ministry of K-LOVE was amazing and almost overwhelming. Thousands of emails, phone calls and letters would arrive each month. These would be handled, at first, by phone operators. Eventually staff was hired to respond to written listener communication. Lloyd was so pleased when he was able to hire the first K-LOVE Radio Pastor, Jim Swaney, who created the ministry department. Later, they brought on veteran pastor Mike Henderson to lead and continue to meet these expanding needs. Ellen joined this team and would answer thousands of emails each month.

WayFM

In 2005, Lloyd joined Bob Augsburg and the team at WAY-FM as Chief Operating Officer. WAY was growing at the time and that meant assimilating facilities and more staff. Working with Matt Hahn, Faron Dice, Matt Austin, Zach Cochran, Jim Marshall, Steve Young, Thom Ewing, BJ O’Neal, Paul Anthony, Brant Hansen, Wally, Jerry Grimes, Tom Sullivan, Steve Shore and many others. Just like at K-LOVE, Lloyd helped move WayFM from  a mom and pop to a national media ministry. Way grew significantly in audience size and revenue, featured a number of national concert tours with ministry partners, and also participated with Premier Productions on a few cruises, too. (According to Lloyd, there is nothing like seeing Paul Anthony and Zach Cochran singing karaoke on a cruise, and Bob Augsburg singing Elvis songs.)

WayFM launched their Dallas station with bus boards across the city

He loved serving with Bob Augsburg at Way-FM, but the two don’t necessarily have the same love and affection for dogs. Lloyd’s favorite story to share is during a meeting, where he suddenly felt a touch on his leg. Startled and looking down, he saw Bob’s dog Harley. Later that day, while working, Harley came into Lloyd’s office. He stopped about 4 feet in front of his desk and proceeded to vomit on the carpet.  And, when Lloyd showed Bob the football-sized blob on the floor, Bob was shocked and said, “Did Harley do that?” to which he replied, “Well I didn’t!”   Bob was happy to clean it up, but while still kneeling on the floor and wiping things up, another staff member came into the office and to share that Harley had just had diarrhea all over the Media office floor, too. Needless to say, the entire office staff had to relocate to keep working that day and poor Bob was busy for the next few hours.

WayFM Leadership 2016

Click here for a special video message of Lloyd’s most embarrassing career moment:

NGRS, NCRS, & CMB each served to provide the Christian Music Radio industry with great events and resources to further the education and professionalism of the broadcasters in different ways and at different points in time. As good as the various educational sessions would be, I always felt the best part of these events was networking with my colleagues from around the country. Sharing ideas and seeking solutions to problems was always so valuable. Getting to spend quality time with artists and label representatives was also a big benefit. Labels reps like Grant Hubbard, Dan Michaels, John Taylor, Chris Hauser, Jim Houser, Jenny Lockwald, Kenny Rogers, Jeff Cruz, Jenn Allen, and many others over the years became friends and ministry partners. Hearing new music that was coming out would help with planning programming, concerts and promotions. It is so rewarding to see the continued growth and development of CMB, now CMB+, under the direction of Michelle Younkman and her amazing team. Being on the CMB Board of Directors in the early days, we could only dream CMB would become the organization it is today.

I remember a lunch break at CMB about ten years ago. Ellen and I had just gone through the buffet line and were sitting at our table when I felt a tap on the shoulder. Ellen sat down, then putting my food down, I turned to see a colleague with whom I hadn’t connected in a number of years. He asked for a few moments and then began to apologize for things he had done to me over a number of years. He asked me to forgive him, that he was wrong about some things. It was very heartfelt and genuine. I had never expected to hear those words, but accepted his apology and it was something I’ll never forget. A lot happens at CMB events that’s not on any agenda.

I learned a few lessons early on that were good reminders for me over the years. Early on in NY, a listener came up to me at an event and thanked me profusely for helping to save her marriage. She went on about how what I said on the air was just what she needed to hear and she took those comments as from the Lord and things turned around for her and her husband. The thing was I had no idea what I said and no memory of even mentioning marriage or divorce. But God somehow used my words that day to minister. You may never know all the lives you have touched and how the Lord uses your words to minister to people. What you do and say on the air or in your content today is more powerful than you may realize.

Similarly, never underestimate how the Lord can use a song to minister to a listener. I had booked a concert with an artist not really known for the spiritual depth of their music. It was good music and we played it a lot, but the lyrics didn’t usually deal with major issues. After the concert a listener came up to me and thanked me for bringing this particular artist and how their music had just touched them and that she felt closer to the Lord listening to it. I was grateful for this good reminder of how God uses the music we play for His purposes.

On a practical note, I wish I had been involved in less meetings. Although at times they are absolutely necessary, most meetings waste a lot of time and don’t usually accomplish much. I would now try to be more diligent about having a specific agenda and sticking to it, with less rabbit trails and making sure everyone was ready to go at the start time, keeping the meeting time short. Interestingly, I recently read that, unless paid to attend, Mark Cuban does not go to meetings at all.

Resigning a few years ago from WAY-FM and then starting some consulting work, COVID-19 hit and, well, plans change. On the GMA Board of Directors until 2021, I remained at my position as Co-Chairman of the GMA Radio Committee until last January.

Lloyd and Ellen at GMA Board Dinner 2017 with Pat and Debbie Boone

It was 50 years since walking into KECC at Evangel. I have been very blessed to be a part of a number of amazing ministries and am very grateful to all my supervisors for the opportunities given me. Living just off I-75 in Central Georgia has allowed me one way to connect with some friends and colleagues as they’ve driven down the interstate on their way to and from Florida.

I am thoroughly enjoying this season of life. When my daughter Taryn and her family had a house built in Kathleen, GA, Ellen and I had one built next door. We see them every day and the grandkids come over nearly every night in their pajamas around 8:30 to kiss us goodnight. I mean, it doesn’t get much better than that! Recently, while Ellen and I were driving with the three of the grandkids, my 5 year old grandson Parker asked from the backseat, “Grandpa, what do you do for work? Do you work?” Before I could answer, my 8 year old granddaughter Maddie said, “Grandpa works, he cuts our lawn each week!”

Lloyd and Ellen with some of the Grandkids (Daughter Taryn and Husband Nate’s 3 children)

All 6 of the grandkids (Son Rory and wife Nicole’s 3 kids, and daughter Taryn and Husband Nate’s 3 kids) at Lake Tahoe

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Lloyd Parker first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Lloyd Parker appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Dan Baughman  – Visionary, Change Agent, Dedicated, Team Builder

Dan Baughman didn’t take the traditional route to Christian broadcasting. He didn’t take a traditional path to becoming a Christian either. He thought he was living a pretty good life. He didn’t have a lot of time for God, but always tried to be a good person. As an adult, he and his wife decided to enroll their son into Christian school, but it wasn’t because of strong spiritual beliefs. He says he didn’t even realize at the time that by placing him in a Christian school, he would be surrounded by Christians. But it happened. The influence of Christianity became more and more a part of his life. A few years later, as Dan was looking at some of the drawings of the children at the school, he noticed that each child in the school wrote what they were thankful for. He was shocked that his son, Brad, had wrote that he was thankful his dad was a Christian. In Dan’s words, “God set the whole thing up… putting me in an environment full of Christians. I began to be convicted that I need to give my life to Christ fully. I came to Christ, November 29, 1989.” 

Soon after, he turned his radio dial to the local Christian radio station for the first time, and his first thought was, “That is just bad radio!” The station he was listening to was doing a fundraiser and encouraging people to get involved, so Dan went to the radio station to see if he could help. He soon was answering phones during the fundraiser and eventually was helping with the lawn care at the station. After that, occasionally doing some on air shifts and filling in during staff vacations. Later, he was asked to consider running for the Board and he was voted in as the President of the station board in 1996. In 2001, he accepted the position of President/CEO for CVCO “Christian Voice of Central Ohio” (WCVO/Gahanna-Columbus and WCVZ, Zanesville).

Making changes

The stations were losing a combined $250,000.00 a year and WCVO’s CUME was around 33,000. Dan knew changes needed to happen. He changed the name to “River Ministries” and WCVO soon became known as “The River.” He invested into Arbitron (now known as Nielsen) ratings because he wanted to learn as much as he could about the audience and the potential audience. (He believes strongly in the value of the ratings matrix. Even today, he wonders why many stations do not see ratings as a priority in their budgeting.) He was determined to put the listener first and believed that was going to be the secret to success. That ratings information led to making some radical changes in the format of the stations and it wasn’t long until the changes led to increased revenue and Cume growth. Dan believes to this day that God brought him to these stations “to trade in wheelchairs and walkers for car seats and strollers.” The stations eliminated the preaching and teaching format and changed to CCM, and ripped the bandaid off quickly instead of slowly.

It wasn’t a smooth transition. There were board members and some listeners that opposed the moves that were being made. Some felt that CCM music is not real ministry and called it “new age music, and watered-down Christianity.” The board voted multiple times to fire Dan. There were countless complaint letters, and phone calls. Some callers said, “Yes please, let me speak to Satan.” During this time, God audibly told Dan to keep moving forward, and to “be still and know that I am God”.  He was often ready to “go back to Egypt” because things were so difficult. But God surrounded him with the right supportive people.

Jim Foster and Dan On Air Fundraising

More changes

Both radio stations they operated were operating as a non-com stations, even though they were on the commercial frequency. Dan worked to switch the stations to fully commercial status. And that’s not all… WCVO began as a 3kw operation and it was soon upgraded to 6kw for much better reach.

The Team at The River 2007

Later, WCVZ was sold, but 3 additional stations were acquired.  Today, River Radio Ministries has signals in Columbus, Chillicothe, Newark, and Lancaster OH, and they continued to be committed to serving their communities. Dan believes that The River was transformed from an embarrassment to the community to a national leader with a desire to help raise the bar in all of CCM broadcasting.

Dan with wife (Vicky) at a WCVZ event

Dan pushed for excellence in everything. There were logo changes, slogans, core values, and even a new mission statement. Alan Mason and Tim Miles were a big part of those. (The original mission statement was really long and the team wrestled it down to “Encouraging Connections, Sharing Jesus.”) The team began running everything through that easily memorized statement. They started TEAM FUN who planned monthly team events: ice cream walk, Starbucks run, bowling, serving, chili cookouts, card games, movie days, came Friday. Each of these things helped The River literally change from a sterile, white corporate office building to a vibrant, colorful culture where the team was built on trust.

One more important thing to note here…The River defied another industry trend, by investing in marketing. During the initial format flip, there was a significant marketing blitz. That shouldn’t be overlooked. Many stations still hesitate at spending marketing dollars. To this day, The River understands the value of marketing. Early in the transition to the River, Dan told a secular concert promoter that he hoped to sound as good as the local big AC station in town and wanted advertisers like Kroger on the air. The promoter laughed and told Dan that would NEVER happen. Since that time, The River has consistently beaten that station in the ratings in Morning Drive, and had Kroger (and every other grocery chain at different times) on the air for over 15 years, showing that when you strive for excellence, you can achieve the seemingly impossible.

Team members along the way included…Tate Luck, Mike Russell, and Consultant John Frost,  who were key to the launch of The River. They spent countless hours planning each launch going from a preaching/teaching format to an all CCM format. Another name that was instrumental was Scott Thomson from an accounting and process standpoint, Matt Levin in Engineering, automation, audio processing and Computers, information systems, and networking, and Todd Stach later helped to rally the teams and move forward in programming and music. There was also a  big loss along the way. Sales Manager, Chris Heigel, lost his life to cancer while working at the River. That was a tough season for the team.

When asked about some of his fondest memories, Dan remembers concerts with PFR, Big Daddy Weave, and a concert with Amy Grant. What he remembers even more than the Amy concert was her kindness.  He describes Amy as “the kindest and most real person that he ever met.”

PFR appeared at a 2003 concert in the park

Dan recently retired and is turning 70 this year. He plans to spend more time with his wife and family, do some traveling, and just enjoy more free time with wife Vicky, and dog, Bailey. 

Note from Dan

Dear CCM Radio,

As we did an analysis back in the early years of The River, we quickly learned the reason that  income and Cume were declining at our radio station(s). We were following people to the grave instead of attracting a younger audience. Change is hard! I have boxes of letters upset people wrote when we changed the format and targeted a younger demographic. But the Bible mentions fear 365 times, so never let fear be the reason to not make changes. Sure, we might lose some listeners and donors, but at the same time, we will gain donors and start appealing to more younger listeners. Also, market the new format so everyone knows we’re here. Become a welcome mat for the listeners. I quickly realized we’re here to manage the business and God will manage the ministry. 

Let your light shine through marketing! Jim Leightenheimer, board member and professor at Cedarville University said: “We increased effectiveness marked by unifying our mission [resulting in] a committed, engaged, loyal team, a growing and loyal audience recognized by the industry and peers for excellence.  The River has the best team!

God called me to this position, and I honestly resisted it. I asked God to open doors then quickly cursed him when he did. God revealed to me that He equips the called and not necessarily calls the equipped. When I read in the Bible how God used a donkey, I then knew I was good. Again, the station’s reputation wasn’t good, but He protected me every step of the way. 

Reflecting back, changes could have happened quicker, and an expansion program put in place for bigger signals. We had no computers and had to develop file sharing and build servers and software to help us understand and manage our business. An immediate goal was to sound as good as other stations in our market so we started to invest in our power plant and processing. Today stations in our market want to sound as good as us. Always strive for excellence because of who we serve.

The last but most important thing:  I read a book called Good to Great, and in it the author, Jim Collins, writes that our greatest asset isn’t simply people, “it’s good people.” Of all the assets we have we need to make sure that our people feel appreciated and valued. Tap into their knowledge and ideas. TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM. Make it hard for them to leave because they feel so appreciated.

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Dan Baughman first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Dan Baughman appeared first on CMB.

Welcome to another story about one of the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music Radio. You can read previous stories here. Some of these pioneers started radio stations with just a few dollars to their name. Many had very little radio experience. Some worked in mainstream radio before coming to CCM. But each had vision, a calling, and a deep passion for using Contemporary Christian Music Radio to impact their community.

Jim McDermott – Maverick, Determined, Big Vision in Small Market

Wikipedia lists Camdenton, Missouri with a population of 4038 people in 2019, but you might be surprised at how many long-term CCM radio veterans have been a part of the Jim McDermott-Spirit FM/ KCVO story. Read on. 

Jim McDermott grew up going to church, but it was formal and non-evangelical. (You know, just go to church, be good and you will go to heaven.)

Jim’s Senior picture at 17

During his junior year of high school, he had the opportunity to hear the true Gospel, and after graduation, he finally made the decision to give his life to Jesus and that changed his whole direction in life. Instead of going to Iowa State to be an electronics system’s engineer, he took the advice of his sister and went to Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, MO. That was a great decision because he met his wife Alice there. 

At SWBC, Jim felt called to the ministry but not as a Pastor. So, he went on to seminary with the idea of becoming a college professor, but God had other plans. After watching the 700 Club in 1976, he was struck with the clear vision of how many people could be reached through broadcasting. Finishing his M.Div., he tried to find a media job, but it wasn’t until he moved back to Missouri that he got his first radio job in 1978. After a year of playing country music, his first Christian radio position moved him to Gilmer, TX. I 6 months, he was promoted to station manager for KLXL in Dubuque, IA.  In 1983, Alice and Jim moved back to Camdenton, MO (the Lake of the Ozarks) where they would start KCVO.

It January, 1983, when Jim was approached by a doctor friend about starting a Christian station. There were some exploratory meetings and from those meetings a group of four men met regularly and began to plan how to get this new station started. In January 1984, they filed for a 3kw FM in Camdenton and in October of that year, the FCC granted the construction permit. This was the beginning of KCVO, “the Christian Voice of the Ozarks.” (Keep in mind, Jim was only 31, and knew nothing about fundraising.)

KCVO “Groundbreaking, using a piece of tower, with his daughter Christy and Nephew, JJ.

Amazingly, they raised enough in donations to build a 24’x28’ studio building, buy equipment, and sign on the air.  The entire building only cost $3,500 to build, because they received so many donated materials including shingles , roofing, wall studs, roof trusses, sliding doors, windows, vinyl flooring and a lot of labor. As the building went up, Jim was out there building the foundation forms by himself one day, and member of his church came by to see the progress. He told him that his forms would collapse as soon as they started pouring concrete. Soon, this 70-year-old, former banker, jumped in with a sledge and proceeded to put bracing all around the plywood forms. According to Jim, “God provides even when you don’t know you need help!”

The original studio equipment left a lot to be desired: Left over cart machines, a used Russco board, etc.  He remembers that he purchased the old control board, two microphones, and a Revox reel to reel tape deck — all for $250!

KCVO first day on the air, September 2, 1985

September 2, 1985, KCVO signed on. The first song on the air, was Gentle Hands, by Truth! Dean O’Neal, who lived in KC somehow heard about the station and drove down to be there. He was only around 19 at the time and was already a radio geek. Those first few years were very lean financially. There was no “safety net,” and they needed at least $5,000 per month to keep the station alive. Some months it came down to the last day, but in the mail just enough money would come in. There were only two full-time employees: Jim and Gordie Wenzel. They each covered 9 hours on the air, M-F! Thankfully, some part-timers came in on the weekend. They even used heat from the transmitter to stay warm. If you have heard Todd Isberner share radio stories, you may have heard him tell the “horse story.” KCVO hired Todd to help during their second Sharathon in May 1986. (Keep in mind, the station building was in the middle of a field that was rented out for pasture. The station had a window that looked out over that field.) The station window was open for some fresh air, and Todd walked into the lobby and there was a horse with its head stuck completely through the window. Yes, KCVO was THAT station!

KCVO first promotion “Bibles Behind Bars” 500+ Bibles collected for a women’s prison

One of the biggest struggles was keeping an old transmitter on the air. Jim quickly gained lots of experience replacing tubes, fixing transistors and trying not to get electrocuted. These were all done  in his “spare” time.

Over a hundred people have worked at KCVO-Spirit FM through the last 36 years. In 1987, Jim was struggling to find someone to do a live music show in the afternoon. A young man who had done radio part-time in St. Joseph, MO, just happened to see a sign they had on the highway, and called to see if they needed help. His name was Faron Dice. The main problem was they didn’t have the funds to pay another full-time person. So, at GMA that year, Jim sought the advice of Jon Hull, who challenged him to “Go for it and watch God work.” He did hire Faron, who only stayed with them for a year, but he helped increase the station quality a notch or two.

After Faron, a 21-year old Army wife from Fort Leonard Wood joined KCVO. Her name was Lisa Williams. She came in one day looking for a job – any job – even cleaning toilets. But Jim knew within 5 minutes that she was someone he needed to put on the air. While her first few shows were a bit squeaky, she soon blossomed into a talent who played a big part in helping KCVO become a successful station. Lisa was also instrumental in pushing for the name change to Spirit FM in February, 1994. At this point, the station had grown with translators and had expanded beyond the “Ozarks.” 

And then there was Caryn Cruise (Sweat). While driving home on a Saturday night, Jim heard Caryn randomly on-the air on the KCVO weekend “teen” show, when she was just hanging around as a groupie. He called her the next week and hired her. She eventually took over the afternoon show and Bob Thornton lured later her away to KXOJ in Tulsa. Jim is also certain that he introduced Caryn to Jeremy Sweat at a CMB summit in Dallas. That led to their marriage, a move to work at Salem Nashville, and now they are doing mornings together at KCBI, Dallas. 

Other notable talent who spent time at Spirit FM include Fred Young, Karen Dye, KC Wright, Jack Robertson and current morning show co-host, Brook Ullum.

In those early years, there was no money to sponsor concerts, so the station piggy-backed on to any event they could. Gordon Jensen, came to Jim’s church for a concert, so they made it a KCVO event. A college kid from Eldon, MO, brought in Wayne Watson, who was a big named artist at the time. Later, as the station grew, there were Sharathon concerts with Mark Lowry, Bruce Carroll, Michael Card, Billy Sprague, and Phillips, Craig and Dean. They also had the privilege of helping the Missouri State Fair put on a CCM concert for several years in the 90’s.

KCVO Newsletter 1990

During one Mark Lowry concert in November a huge snowstorm happened during the show, so that when people walked out the door, they encountered 7” of snow! Several groups were stranded at the Lake for two days. But to make it worse, Mark was booked in Bolivar, MO the next night and St. Joseph after that. He referred to this as the tour from frozen hell! 

Jim first attended NGRS (National Gospel Radio Seminar) in 1982 while working at KLXL in Dubuque. Gary Chapman, Twila Paris and Silverwind were the new artists that year. He met Lloyd Parker and Joe Battaglia at this meeting in Estes Park. After a couple of years out of radio, Jim and Alice attended GMA (Gospel Music Association) in Nashville in 1986. “It was amazing! Jim says, “I met so many of my long-term radio friends that year: Allen Henderson, Steve Swanson, Rick Tarrant and Jon Hull. That was the year it changed from NGRS to NCRS (National Christian Radio Seminar.”) Being a “squeaky wheel” kind of guy,  Jim lobbied that year for a separate inspo radio chart, since inspo artists were some of the top sellers. A few months later, Musicline added the chart and Brad Burkhart came along a little later with an inspo chart in this publication, CRR (Christian Research Report). Anyone remember CRR?

NCRS Steering Committee in Sarasota (around 1994?)

By 1988, he had volunteered to be on the Agenda committee and several years after that was invited to be on the NCRS Steering committee. “I realized,” he says, “that through NCRS I was learning how to do radio the right way, and I wanted to play a role in the organization to pass on what I was learning.”  He later had the privilege of being there when CMB was formed and served as the first Small Market board member.  He is adamant when he says, “CMB has helped so many stations to attract audiences far beyond what we all dreamed in those early days. I am thankful to get to play a small part in that growth and be a champion for small market stations.”

Thoughts from Jim today: 

One of the first lessons I learned as a non-com station manager was that people give to people (they know and trust), not to organizations. Every station needs to be meeting your listeners face to face as often as you can. Get your personalities out of the studio. Use social media to actually be “social” with your listeners. Just responding to a text can turn a listener into a fan.

Another secret to my “success” is to never be satisfied. I once thought that if KCVO could ever get to an income of $12,000/month, we would be set for life. Small thinking will hinder your growth. God opened doors for us to expand with translators and multiple stations to the point where we are a sizable Midwest network. You’d think at 68 I’d be satisfied to just coast. Nope! We applied for several new stations during the recent FCC filing window and hope to add to our network soon. Never be satisfied. God can do more than you can ever dream through your stations.

Last, but not least, please do not forget or minimize that we are CHRISTIAN music broadcasters. If we try to just blend into the culture, we will lose the very source of our power – GOD! He must be pre-eminent in our programming. Yes, you can find fresh and relevant ways to present the message, but it is JESUS that we have to share above all else!

Where do we go from here? #1 – as I just said, keep Jesus at the forefront of everything we do. Don’t compromise the message just because it’s unpopular. #2 – Love people. Our programming has to reach out to touch not only the ears of our listeners, but to allow opportunity for listeners to have their lives changed for the better. #3 – Remember: two things a listener cannot get anywhere else are your personalities and your promotions. Hire the best people you can and give them the tools to succeed. Challenge everyone on your staff to strive for excellence and always do more than is expected. For radio to survive in a digital, on-demand world, we have to find creative ways to tangibly affect our listener’s lives beyond the medium itself. These are challenges for me and I hope all of my CMB friends will take them on, too.

Spirit FM staff today – Brook, TJ, Scott, Jim, Michele, Jackie and Amanda

Who is a CCM Radio Pioneer that should be featured in a future article? Reach out to me at fdice@onechild.org.

Faron Dice has been in Christian Music Radio for almost 40 years. He is the former Chief Content Officer for WayFM, and currently loves working with radio stations and artists as National Director of Radio and Artist Engagement for OneChild.

The post CMB Pioneers: Jim McDermott first appeared on CMB.

The post CMB Pioneers: Jim McDermott appeared first on CMB.