Wileys selling TV and radio stations with plans to retire

Jul. 24—Longtime owners Suzie and Bill Wiley are retiring as soon as they are able to sell WYAM-51, Decatur's only local television station, and radio station 890 AM.

Suzie Wiley, producer of the weekly TV show "Valley Happenings," said they plan to sell the station and its 3.4 acres on Central Parkway Southwest. The listing price is $1.32 million.

"The federal radio and TV license comes with the station purchase, if the person can be approved by the government," she said.

Suzie Wiley, 75, said she and her husband, 77, are retiring to spend more time with family and also to travel and play golf.

"I have a young niece and nephew and grand-nephews we want to see. We want to go to a baseball game and watch a ballet class," she said.

Bill Wiley said he's looking forward to playing more golf.

Suzie Wiley is a Youngstown, Ohio, native and her husband is from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. They met at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She briefly was a high school teacher and was a volunteer for a number of nonprofits while he owned a fleet roll steel business.

The couple moved to Decatur in 1995. Bill Wiley was president and chief executive officer as he led the construction and startup of Trico Steel, which later became Nucor. The plant started operations in 1997.

"We love Decatur," Bill Wiley said. "We like the size of Decatur. It's easy to get around, and we know a lot of people."

Suzie Wiley entered the TV business in 1998 with the show "Just Suzie." She bought time, sold the advertising and produced the show. Later, she changed the name to "Valley Happenings," and she said it's now the longest continuously running female-produced show in the nation.

Bill Wiley retired from Trico Steel in 1998, and they purchased the television/radio station in 2002.

"We were too young," she said. "I was 50 and Bill was 53. I told him, 'I followed you (to Decatur) so you can do what you wanted to do, now let's do what I want to do.'"

She handles the programming while he runs the business and manages the technical aspects of the television station.

"I pay the bills and I'm the equipment keeper," he said.

Suzie Wiley said their strengths are complementary.

"It's a right brain and a left brain. That's why we're a good match," she said.

Suzie Wiley has been a high-profile member of the community since her husband worked at Trico when they arrived in Decatur. She led a project in which a group of "Trico girls" raised money and then built Adventure Park, a playground at Wilson Morgan Park.

Known on air as Ms. Suzie, she said she "had a bunch of fun" over the years covering a number of community activities like high school baseball, soccer and football games. Her station was known for televising the Decatur and Austin high school bands' halftime shows.

The TV station, carried by Spectrum and WOW cable companies, showed a debate between then-Mayor Lynn Fowler and Don Kyle in 2004. It was a race that Kyle won for his first term as mayor.

"We tried to involve the community and let the community know how they could get involved," Suzie Wiley said. "We love our little station. People know about the station now. They didn't know about it before."

One of her fondest memories is an episode on "Valley Happenings" about heart issues and the American Red Cross in which they did a segment on cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

"I was in Kroger and this young couple came up to me," she said. "They said, 'Ms. Suzie, thank you so much for that lesson on CPR. We were able to give our baby CPR because we knew how to do it from your show.'"

The radio station, Fiesta Mexicana 890 AM, was the first all-Hispanic radio station in Decatur and is now the only one in the city. It is affiliated with Radio Azteca. Bill Wiley said the radio station has over 40,000 Spanish-language songs and features several live hosts.

Mayor Tab Bowling, who has been a "Valley Happenings" guest a number of times, said he appreciates the programming and entertainment the Wileys have provided through the years for Decatur.

"We're going to miss them," Bowling said. "But we hope Suzie and Bill enjoy retirement."

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.