KGNC radio station celebrates hitting the century mark, inducts 3 into hall of fame
Amarillo radio station KGNC 710 AM held a ceremony Wednesday to honor its 100th anniversary and to introduce three new additions to its Hall of Fame.
On hand for the event were Mayor Ginger Nelson and State Rep. Four Price, who both spoke to the impact and importance of the local radio station for the Amarillo community.
“Growing up in Amarillo, I do not remember a time when KGNC was not a torchbearer for news and information in the community,” Price said. “Not many entities can say that they lasted 100 years, and with the changes that have occurred in media, it says a lot for them to reach this milestone.”
Nelson spoke about her own listening experiences: “Having grown up in the rural parts of the Panhandle, KGNC has a very special place in my heart, especially when many times it was the only radio station we could receive,” Nelson said. “You guys have played some role in 51 years of my life.”
Inducted into the Hall of Fame were Morgan Tanner, a radio host for 100.9 the Eagle; Charlie Singleton, chief engineer for KGNC; and DJ Stubben, who has fulfilled a variety of roles for KGNC over the years.
KGNC, one of the oldest radio stations in the country, had its first broadcast on May 19, 1922. It generated its signal with 10 watts of power, with its callsign being WDAG. Purchased by the Globe-News Publishing Company in 1935, the station changed to its current callsign of KGNC. In 1947, the station began broadcasting at its current 10,000 watts.
David Lovejoy, news director and on-air personality for KGNC, presented the new Hall of Fame inductees and spoke about their impact on the community.
“This is truly a broadcast hall of fame for people that work in media; it doesn’t matter if you are support staff or sales. We are all a community, and these inductees are what make it better,” Lovejoy said.
“Everything has been said to kill radio; we are like the proverbial cockroach that keeps coming back,” Lovejoy said. “The one thing is we are free. One thing that keeps us relevant is reflecting where we are at. One thing that we stress is local people talking about local things.”
He said that in almost every generation, broadcast radio has been written off as obsolete with new media types, such as music videos, cd’s, satellite radio and now streaming eating into the audience.
Singleton was introduced as a man who keeps everything running at KGNC.
“If you have a problem, Charlie can invent a solution,” Lovejoy said. “He never panics; he always is there to figure out a solution. His dedication to this building and the people that work in it is the reason we are proud to honor him.”
For the first time in its Hall of Fame history, two women were honored with induction for their contributions, Stubben and Tanner.
Stubben, a staple with KGNC over the years, spoke about her induction.
“I am very pleased to be included with many of the people that were honored with me; I am glad to be a part of the orchestra that we as a team are,” Stubben said. “The broadcast industry is alive and well at KGNC.”
Joining Stubben as an inductee was Tanner, who has been a major part of 100.9 the Eagle as a host and now content director.
“This is such a huge honor for me; I love radio and have done it for close to 45 years,” Tanner said. “David (Lovejoy) said such wonderful things about me. I do not feel like it's something I deserve, but I will make sure I live up to his words each and every day of my career.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: KGNC radio hits century mark; inducts three into hall of fame
